Newsletter: Today: Should This Presidential Monument Come Down?
First, it was Confederate monuments. Now, statues offensive to Native Americans are poised to topple across the U.S.
TOP STORIES
Should This Presidential Monument Come Down?
Since 1906, a bronze statue of President William McKinley has stood in the central plaza of Arcata, Calif. Tribal activists and other townspeople accuse the 25th president of having directed the slaughter of Native peoples and say the monument must come down. Of course, not everyone agrees. Yet if the McKinley statue goes, it could be the most significant one removed because of an emerging movement — one focused on monuments related to what Native groups describe as a centuries-long war against their very existence.
Trump Gets a Bee in His Easter Bonnet
President Trump tweeted his Easter greetings on Sunday, then launched into a tweet storm about immigration, the border with Mexico and the North American Free Trade Agreement that proclaimed, “NO MORE DACA DEAL!” Only time will tell whether this is a Trumpian negotiation tactic or the president genuinely is ruling out efforts to bring back deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Here’s what is clear: Trump’s frustration.
More Politics
-- China raised import duties on pork, fruit and other products from the United States in an escalating tariff dispute.
-- Over the weekend, Trump renewed his attacks on Amazon and on California Gov. Jerry Brown.
-- In the Trump administration, few people are safe. Who might get booted next?
Take the Oil, Forget the Whales?
In the hunt for offshore oil, ships fire blasts of pressurized air that can be heard underwater as far as 1,500 miles away. For decades, environmental rules have protected whales and other marine life from the noise by limiting the location and frequency of these seismic survey blasts. But oil companies say such regulations are unduly onerous, and two bills backed by Republicans in Congress aim to do away with them.
The Crown Prince in Bel-Air
The most sought-after player in Hollywood this week isn’t a director or actress; it’s Mohammed bin Salman. The 32-year-old crown prince of Saudi Arabia has several meetings with entertainment power players, including an event at Rupert Murdoch’s Bel-Air estate. It’s part of his U.S. tour to present a new vision of the country, which in December ended a 35-year ban on movie theaters. But along with the opportunities for Hollywood come some serious obstacles.
Signs of a County’s Hopes
If you’ve ever driven through Shasta County in Northern California, you’ve probably seen the signs on the roadside. “No Room for Racism,” they read — a response to a series of tragic events that began 30 years ago in this rural area. Naturally, it’s not as simple as that. “I appreciate the gesture, but we have to do much more than put up a sign,” says resident Gregory Cheadle, who attended a Trump rally in 2016 and was singled out by the then-candidate as “my African American.”
OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND
-- ICE agents have been arresting farmworkers, sparking fears in the Central Valley over immigrants and the economy.
-- Deportees at a migrant shelter on Mexico’s border with Texas face an agonizing choice: Turn back or try crossing again.
-- How Cape Town, South Africa, found water savings in ways that California never dreamed of.
-- A Christian critic wrestles with new biblical films and the hope of a better “faith-based” cinema.
-- Scared about the ruling on cancer warnings for coffee? Public health experts say you should go ahead and drink up.
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic lived up to his billing with his first goal for the L.A. Galaxy.
-- We visited Puebla, Mexico, in July 2017. Then came a big earthquake in September. Here’s what we found when we revisited Puebla in February.
CALIFORNIA
-- Many of the loudest voices in a movement to block an Irvine shelter for the homeless were Chinese Americans who came together through social media apps and community groups. But victory has come at a cost.
-- “Nothing seems to change”: After the killing of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, a demand for police reform grows.
-- Authorities say a car crash off a cliff on the Mendocino Coast, which killed a Washington couple and at least three of their six children, appears to have been intentional.
-- Thousands of Californians are eligible for Las Vegas shooting compensation funds, but they haven’t applied.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Steven Bochco, the boundary-pushing TV creator behind “NYPD Blue,” “L.A. Law” and “Hill Street Blues,” has died at age 74.
-- Hours after the hit revival of her sitcom “Roseanne” was renewed by ABC, Roseanne Barr apparently tweeted about a bizarre conspiracy theory involving child sex-trafficking.
-- A look at how the team behind “Ready Player One” wrangled a bonanza of pop culture references into a single film.
-- Hilary Swank, who went from being fired from “Beverly Hills 90210” to a film career that has earned her two Oscars, has returned to TV in the FX series “Trust.”
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
“Just the facts, ma’am.” On this date in 1922, Jack Webb was born in Santa Monica. He’d go on to success as the producer of TV shows such as “Emergency” and “Adam-12,” and as the star of such motion pictures as “Pete Kelly’s Blues” and “The D.I.” But he was best known as stone-faced Sgt. Joe Friday on “Dragnet.” He died in 1982.
NATION-WORLD
-- Pope Francis’ Easter message called for peace, beginning with Syria.
-- Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial will open with jury selection today, in a different environment than the first. (Think #MeToo.)
-- This former president of Botswana stands out, and not just because he once crashed an air force plane.
-- Meghan Markle’s father lives in a quiet Baja California town, but the British paparazzi have come knocking.
-- Tiangong-1, China’s defunct space laboratory, has returned to Earth, with pieces apparently splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.
BUSINESS
-- Fox News host Laura Ingraham is taking a weeklong vacation after advertisers continued to abandon her program over her remarks about Parkland high school shooting survivor David Hogg.
-- As China puts the brakes on overseas investment, Los Angeles’ development boom has already taken a hit.
SPORTS
-- In the NCAA men’s basketball championship game tonight, Michigan’s commitment to defense will get its biggest test yet against Villanova. In the women’s tournament, Notre Dame defeated Mississippi State on a last-second shot.
-- The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani has his flaws, columnist Dylan Hernandez writes, but he also has the look of a future superstar.
OPINION
-- Congress is finally responding to the threat from foreign hackers and weaknesses in the election infrastructure, but will it be enough?
-- The Sierra Nevada snowpack will be 64% smaller by the end of this century. We need to prepare now.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- The Trump administration claims that immigrants bring crime into America. The numbers don’t back that up. (New York Times)
-- Sinclair Broadcast Group, the biggest owner of local TV stations in the U.S., is having its news anchors read a script echoing Trump’s anti-media rhetoric. Some are chafing at the idea. (CNN)
-- Nashville has become one of the nation’s leading bachelorette party destinations that isn’t named Las Vegas. But many people in Music City aren’t happy about it. (BuzzFeed News)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
When UC Irvine law student Tess Messiha was told to rest in bed for three weeks during her pregnancy, she worried she might have to take a leave of absence. Instead, she attended classes, virtually, with the help of a robot she controlled from home. She recently gave birth to a boy, is now back in class — and grateful that, when it came to accommodating her, the university really raised the bar.
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