Today’s Headlines: California’s snowpack is the deepest in 70 years

Hello, it’s Tuesday, April 4, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

California’s snowpack is among the deepest ever

California’s wet and wintry start to the year has resulted in perhaps the deepest snowpack recorded in more than 70 years, officials said.

The snowpack is so deep that it currently contains more water than Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, according to a Times analysis of snow sensor data.

But though the bounty has eased drought conditions, experts warn that the dense Sierra Nevada snowpack will soon melt, potentially unleashing torrents of water and creating considerable concern about spring flooding in valleys, foothills and communities below.

More about the recent storms

• Stunning before-and-after images: Northern California’s San Luis Reservoir went from almost empty to 100% full.
  

Trump braces for criminal charges in New York

With former President Trump’s arrival in New York on Monday, Mayor Eric Adams said police were prepared for protests around his Tuesday arraignment but urged protesters and “rabble-rousers” — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — to “be on your best behavior.”

Adams and New York Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said there were no specific or credible threats in the run-up to Trump’s court appearance but that the city would be significantly increasing its police presence as a precaution.

More politics

• In Minneapolis, President Biden told reporters he has faith that New York City police will prevent any unrest in response to Trump’s planned arrest Tuesday.
• Who is Juan Merchan, the N.Y. judge handling Trump’s case?
• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has voiced support for former President Trump, who has been indicted. But in the House speaker’s Bakersfield district, the reaction is more nuanced.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting and the latest action in Sacramento.

Hidden expulsions? Schools kick students out via transfers

California has long touted its low expulsion rates. But vague reporting requirements may be allowing schools to mask expulsions as transfers.

These transfers block students from attending their schools and push them onto new campuses or into smaller, alternative schools, according to an investigation by the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit education newsroom.

While some educators defend transfers as a gentler alternative to expulsion, critics say these moves have limited or no due process protections and can carry the same problems associated with expulsion by disrupting a child’s education.

Disney chief Bob Iger calls DeSantis’ actions ‘anti-business’

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger shot back at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid an escalating tussle over the company’s political positions and its ability to self-govern its expansive resorts in the Sunshine State.

The dispute has been simmering since Disney took a public stand a year ago on Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation that bans public school discussions about sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. After Disney’s then-chief, Bob Chapek, said the company opposed the bill, DeSantis lashed out, leading an effort to strip the company’s self-governing powers for its parks in central Florida.

Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege

The much-hyped remote-work revolution hasn’t landed in all places with equal force. The five states where employers offer the most flexible policies are liberal, wealthy and mostly coastal. Workers in Southern states with below-average union representation, minimal education and more traditional definitions of hard work are showing up to their offices, factories and other job sites.

But some local politicians and business leaders worry that a return-to-work economy in red states will limit the talent pool, locking people into low-paying, backbreaking labor while Californians and Coloradans work laptop jobs from home and cash big checks from tech companies.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Tommy The Clown summons the next member of T-Squad to greet and entertain the kids at Brooklyn Chanel’s 10th birthday party, in Inglewood.

(Wesley Lapointe )

Two dozen young Black performers packed a pair of Chevy Suburbans and a Dodge Charger on their way to a celebration. The vehicles were emblazoned with the crew’s name, “The League of Clowns”; a booking number; and the painted face of its founder, Jesse Philpott, a.k.a. Roc’co Tha Clown.

CALIFORNIA

From ‘Boy Meets World’ to the ballot box: Actor Ben Savage’s campaign for Congress is the latest test of how much celebrity matters in American politics.

This hidden flaw in California homes can cause major earthquake destruction. A defect that can cause single-family houses to collapse has received little attention until now. Some California homeowners will soon be able to apply for grants to help pay for the retrofit.

NATION-WORLD

This doctor says bans won’t stop her from getting abortion pills to women in the U.S. Dr. Rebecca Gomperts has sailed on shipboard clinics, delivered abortion pills by drone and seen the inside of countless courtrooms. She’s received international accolades for her work, but has also been shouted down, pelted with eggs, even confronted by warships off the Portuguese coast.

Which countries send migrants to the U.S. border, and what are they fleeing? The deadly fire at a migrant detention center in Mexico highlights why, amid harsh U.S. immigration policies, migrants make the journey to the border.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

The Justice Department accuses Activision Blizzard of ‘suppressing’ esports salaries. The DOJ has filed an antitrust suit against video game giant Activision Blizzard for allegedly suppressing the wages of competitive esports players.

WWE and UFC will combine to form a $21.4-billion sports giant. It is going to be a fighting sports and entertainment powerhouse led by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon will remain involved as executive chairman.

A new film about Air Jordans almost benched a Black Nike exec. Enter Chris Tucker. The actor talks about scripting his ‘Air’ character, Howard White; the prospects for ‘Rush Hour 4’ and returning to ‘Friday,’ and more.

BUSINESS

Hiltzik: Saving Social Security from its ‘reformers.’ Don’t listen to the doomsayers: Social Security is healthy today, and the U.S. is rich enough to improve it — if the wealthy pay their fair share.

SPORTS

Gianni Infantino’s FIFA growth strategy has no time for human rights issues. FIFA president Gianni Infantino continues to court authoritative regimes and look the other way on human rights issues in his relentless expansion quest.

Love Augusta National? These golf fans built mini Masters paradises in backyards. The Masters and Augusta National, a tradition like no other, has inspired golf fans to re-create the holes and scenes in backyards all over the country.

OPINION

Speed cameras save lives. California is long overdue to try them. Legislation in Sacramento would allow pilot programs in six cities to issue automated tickets. It’s not a moneymaking scheme; it’s about making streets safe.

It’s a miracle most Americans pay their taxes. Crypto could upend that norm. The IRS has set some ground rules to tax digital assets such as Bitcoin, but questions remain about what to do for NFTs, lending and more.

ONLY IN L.A.

L.A. Metro has been blasting classical music at the MacArthur Park station along the Red Line as a means to deter crime and prevent unhoused people from taking refuge underground.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A battle is being waged at the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station near downtown Los Angeles. The weapon of choice? Loud classical music.

L.A. Metro’s goal with the music and lights is to reduce crime and drive away unhoused people. But the use of music is divisive, with online commentators calling it an inhumane torture tactic. Critics also argue that it does nothing to address the root causes of the problems at the station.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

In this Jan. 12, 2011 photo, film critic Roger Ebert works in his office at the WTTW-TV studios in Chicago.

(Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)

Roger Ebert died 10 years ago. He was 70.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic’s gladiatorial “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” assessments turned film reviewing into a television sport, and his passion for independent film helped introduce a new generation of filmmakers to moviegoers.

We appreciate that you took the time to read Today’s Headlines! Comments or ideas? Feel free to drop us a note at headlines@latimes.com.