Today’s Headlines: Trump charged with 34 counts in hush money indictment

Hello, it’s Wednesday, April 5, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Trump charged with 34 felony counts in alleged hush money cover-up case
The criminal complaint made clear that the case against Trump is about more than just Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who was the focus of much of the speculation before Tuesday, legal experts said.

More about Trump’s indictment

• Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records.
• Photos: Scenes from inside and out as Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts.
• Supporters and critics of Trump — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — fill a park across the street from the courthouse amid extra security ahead of his arraignment.

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Hundreds of ‘undercover’ LAPD cops to sue city over photos

More than 300 Los Angeles police officers who worked in sensitive assignments gave notice that they will file a negligence lawsuit against the city, accusing it of endangering their lives by releasing their department photographs along with images of thousands of other officers under the state’s public records law.

Those images, along with photos of 9,000 other LAPD officers, were posted online by an activist group last month.

Classical music is driving unhoused people out of an L.A. Metro station

The classical music at the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station near downtown Los Angeles — along with floodlights at either end of the station platform — are part of a pilot program that L.A. Metro operations and security, in cooperation with law enforcement, began implementing at the station in January.

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 plaguing the station.

California public school enrollment continues to decline

California public school enrollment has continued to decline this school year without any bounce-back from steep drops during the pandemic years, although the pace of decreases has slowed.

Overall, enrollment for the 2022-23 school year went down 0.69%, or nearly 40,000 children, bringing the total to 5,852,544, according to newly released state data.

California’s fastest growing and shrinking counties

Recent census data show urban California counties shrank in population and rural counties grew, but trends are moving back to the pre-pandemic status.

Several large urban counties — including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara — have rebounded from population losses that hit hardest at the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, in rural counties such as Lassen and Yolo, population numbers have fluctuated due to local changes, such as the closing of a prison or the construction of new housing.

Here are the 10 counties in California with the highest rate of population loss between July 2021 and July 2022.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Visitors at the Museum of Tolerance watch a video presentation after a tour that included exhibits on antisemitism in Nazi Germany and a discussion about instances of hate in the present day. Read more: “A search for tolerance in the heart of Jewish L.A. reveals fear, resolve and signs of hope”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

A flooded California farm town pleaded for weeks for federal aid. It’s finally on the way. The major disaster declaration signed by President Biden will bring long-awaited FEMA aid to Pajaro and other storm-battered communities in California.

Under pressure, the Board of Supervisors pulls an unpopular motion to decrease the jail population. Two years after the county approved a plan to close Men’s Central Jail, the facility remains open, and the latest set of ideas to close it has sparked criticism.

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake shakes near Hollister. The earthquake on Tuesday occurred 15 miles from Prunedale, 16 miles from Gilroy, 17 miles from Salinas, and 22 miles from Soledad.

NATION-WORLD

Finland joins NATO, dealing a blow to Russia over the war in Ukraine. Finland’s white flag emblazoned with a blue cross was hoisted at NATO headquarters as the Nordic country joined the transatlantic alliance, a move ending decades of neutrality and spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

DNA shows a woman was on a famed 17th century Swedish warship that sank on its maiden voyage. A U.S. military laboratory has helped Swedes confirm what was suspected for years: A woman was among those who died on a 17th century warship that sank on its maiden voyage, the museum that displays the ship said.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

‘The Bachelor’s’ crisis over race runs deeper than its creator. As Mike Fleiss departs and the show’s own Black stars publicly demand accountability, behind-the-scenes changes point to a franchise at a crossroads.

Barbie Ferreira on why she left ‘Euphoria’ and not wanting to be ‘the fat best friend.’ Months after Ferreira announced that she would not return to HBO Max’s “Euphoria,” the actor and model revealed this week the real reason she left the hit series, a move she called a “mutual decision.”

Ten of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s beloved Los Angeles haunts. Basquiat spent about a year and a half living in L.A, between 1982 and 1984. Here are some of his favorite haunts.

BUSINESS

Job openings slip to 9.9 million, a positive sign for the fight against inflation. U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February, the fewest since May 2021 and a sign that the job market may be starting to cool, which would be welcome news for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.

She’s seen tragedy and trauma up close. Now Sara Sidner is CNN’s go-to in daytime. Star correspondent Sidner joins “CNN News Central,” the network’s attempt to showcase its journalism bona fides to an influential audience.

Writers Guild of America calls for strike authorization vote as talks stall. Leaders of the Writers Guild of America are asking its 11,500 members to authorize a strike should they fail to reach an agreement on a new contract with the major Hollywood studios.

SPORTS

Michael Grove overcomes illness as Dodgers’ young pitching experiment begins. Grove was the first pitching prospect to start for the Dodgers this season and delivered mixed results in a 13-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Why Russell Westbrook helps the Clippers more than he did with the Lakers. “He figures it out wherever he goes,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of Westbrook, who fits well with the Clippers after a rocky Lakers tenure. Westbrook will be the Clippers’ starting point guard as he faces his former team for the first time since the Lakers dealt him at February’s trade deadline.

OPINION

Why Trump’s indictment is filling ‘never again’ Trumpers with dread and despair. For all the talk about how this indictment helps Trump solidify Republican support, it hurts his — and the party’s — prospects in 2024.

Hulking SUVs and trucks are deadly to pedestrians. Why aren’t regulators pushing for safer models? American car buyers’ love of big SUVs and trucks is one reason pedestrian deaths have hit a 40-year high. California lawmakers are considering a proposal that could charge car owners a fee for registering heavier vehicles.

ONLY IN L.A.

A view of Figueroa and downtown L.A. from the Moxy hotel.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

High-rise hotels set to open in downtown Los Angeles. A high-rise with two hotels and an over-the-top restaurant and bar scene is set to open this month by Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles as travelers embrace the road again and the hospitality business climbs out of the crater it sank into during the pandemic.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, in 1993.

(Mark Terrill / Associated Press)

On this day in 1994, Kurt Cobain, the singer for Nirvana — arguably the most important American rock band of the ‘90s — died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Seattle home. Cobain was 27, leaving behind his wife, Courtney Love, and daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

A single-page suicide note was found next to the body. Authorities would not release its contents, but the electrician — who found him dead in his home — said in an interview with KNBC-TV news that the note was covered in dirt from a potted plant and written in ballpoint pen — ending with the words: “I love you, I love you.”

His death prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans.

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