Newsletter: Today: The Mid-Atlantic Special. Lawmakers’ Freebies.
I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.
TOP STORIES
The Mid-Atlantic Special
A five-state sweep for Donald Trump. Four out of five for Hillary Clinton. Yes, both candidates called for their respective parties to unify behind them after Tuesday’s polls closed. It’s not happening. Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Bernie Sanders vowed to press on. County-by-county results are here, while analysis, speeches and more about how the night unfolded are here.
‘I Lost Half My Life’
Beatriz Gonzalez was working in her Norwalk barbershop when she got the horrible news: Her daughter, Nohemi, was one of the 130 people killed in the terrorist attacks on Paris. “I have this feeling in my heart that she’s still here,” Gonzalez says. “Almost everything I do, every moment, everything, I’m thinking about Mimi.”
Nightmare in Acapulco
Businesses closed. Schools shuttered. Streets were deserted. That was the scene in Acapulco this week after two brazen attacks by suspected drug gangs on federal authorities occurred Sunday night. The incidents left one attacker dead and one policeman wounded, but the gun battle has gripped the city in fear. Take a closer look at a once-vibrant tourist destination that is now Mexico’s murder capital.
Medi-Cal’s Big Test Ahead
Next month, California will start to offer free healthcare to immigrants younger than 19 who are here illegally. It will be done via Medi-Cal, the state’s low-income health program. But should that same coverage be extended to adults without legal status in the U.S.? Read on to see what options exist for dealing with a much thornier issue.
The Free Sporting Life of Politicians
Want to play a round of golf or see a basketball game for free? Work on your stump speech. The Times has tallied all the free sporting events state lawmakers attended in 2015 — and who paid for them, based on disclosure forms. See what athletic freebies were most popular with politicians and sort through the details here.
CALIFORNIA
-- Clash over an anti-Trump motion boils over in Anaheim: “Keep your noses out of the national election.”
-- Steve Lopez: Loyola Marymount’s “Trump” wall sparks soul searching.
-- A gated community in the Bay Area insists the drought is over and wants green lawns again.
-- Bill Cosby loses a bid to throw out a sexual battery lawsuit stemming from an alleged incident at the Playboy Mansion in 1974.
NATION-WORLD
-- A former Virginia governor plans to argue to the Supreme Court that buying political access is a constitutional right.
-- Photos: Chernobyl, 30 years after the nuclear power plant disaster.
-- This may be South Sudan’s best chance to end years of gang rape, looting and random killing.
-- The leader of the Church of Scientology is looking to stop the publication of a tell-all memoir written by his father.
-- The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a moon orbiting the dwarf planet Makemake in the outer solar system.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Who will inherit Prince’s fortune? It may take years to find out.
-- Kelly Ripa calls for workplace respect and gets an apology as Michael Strahan decides to exit early.
-- Times critic-at-large John Scalzi on why the sad puppies can’t take credit for Neil Gaiman’s success at the Hugo Awards for science fiction and fantasy.
-- The L.A. Film Festival puts an emphasis on diversity and will feature 42 world premieres.
-- How Key and Peele got Keanu Reeves to voice a cat in the film “Keanu.”
BUSINESS
-- At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, shipping traffic is up, but competition is rising too.
-- Comcast is reportedly in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation.
-- Tribune Publishing Chairman Michael Ferro says Gannett is “trying to steal the company.”
SPORTS
-- The Clippers’ curse has gotten worse: Blake Griffin is out for the rest of the playoffs, and Chris Paul is sidelined indefinitely after surgery.
-- Old Rams quarterbacks can’t wait to see who the new Rams QB will be.
OPINION
-- The battle for truth over Saudi Arabia’s ties to 9/11.
-- The “Patt Morrison Asks” podcast: Prince, David Bowie and patterns in celebrity deaths.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Smart but not very happy? You’re not alone. (The Atlantic)
-- Artworks are fetching record prices, but the auction houses are scrapping for business. (Bloomberg)
-- UC Santa Barbara researchers say Waze users can be vulnerable to hackers’ stalking them. (Fusion)
ONLY IN L.A.
Life imitates art: Gael Garcia Bernal plays a character inspired by L.A. Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel in the comedy series “Mozart in the Jungle,” but even he was surprised when the Dude arranged for him to conduct the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl last year. “I remember for like a full 30 minutes I was thinking, ‘What am I doing? What is this? What is this? Why? Why? Why? Why? No,’” Bernal told The Times’ Yvonne Villarreal. Watch their full interview here.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
