Newsletter: Today: White Nationalists’ Man in the White House? What’s Driving the Electric Car Dream.

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

White Nationalists’ Man in the White House?

Steve Bannon took leave from Breitbart News — a website that has served as a platform for the alt-right to espouse white nationalist and anti-Semitic views — to run Donald Trump’s campaign. Now, some are reacting in horror after Trump named him to be chief strategist in the White House. Take a closer look at a man who in 2004 said: “I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.”

Is Trump Teachable?

During the campaign, President Obama called Trump “woefully unprepared to do this job.” Now that Trump is president-elect, class is in session. After meeting in private last week, Obama gave out some public pointers via a news conference in which Obama offered admiration, instruction and outright flattery for the man who questioned his citizenship for years. Here’s how Obama is trying to win over Trump.

LAPD Chief to Trump: We Are Not a Deportation Force

Trump’s advisors are working on plans to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants in the country illegally who are, he says, criminals. How would they do it? By resuming workplace raids and putting pressure on local police and jails to identify targets. Though Obama has expelled 2.5 million people, more than any other president, the tactics proposed by Trump’s team would set up a conflict with L.A. and the law in California. Already, LAPD Charlie Beck said he has no plans to change the department’s refusal to enforce some federal immigration policies.

More About the Trump Transition

-- SEC chief Mary Jo White will step down nearly three years early, clearing the way for Trump to reshape the way Wall Street is regulated.

-- Trump’s plans to scuttle or amend the Iran nuclear deal remain a work in progress.

-- Hello? Is it you? Trump gets a call from Vladimir Putin.

-- The latest on the anti-Trump protests.

Paul Ryan’s ‘Cure’ for Medicare

With the prospect of a unified Republican government in January, House Speaker Paul Ryan has brought back a favorite theme: fixing Medicare. “Obamacare rewrote Medicare … so if you’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well,” Ryan told Fox News. “What people don’t realize is that Medicare is going broke.” Columnist Michael Hiltzik says that’s simply not true and that Ryan is looking to push costs onto senior citizens.

What’s Driving the Electric Car Dream

Have you toyed with the idea of buying an electric car but been driven away by the price or by range anxiety — that feeling that you’ll run out of power before reaching your destination? You’re not alone. Electric car sales account for less than 1% of the overall U.S. market. So why are car companies pushing them so much, as we’ll see at this weekend’s L.A. Auto Show? Read on.

CALIFORNIA

-- The union that represents L.A.’s rank-and-file police officers complained there were too few officers to handle anti-Trump demonstrations. It also blasted the mayor’s support of the protests.

-- Watch: Virtual-reality video of an anti-Trump protest in downtown Los Angeles.

-- Democrat Kamala Harris will soon join a Republican-controlled Senate. Here’s where she sees common ground.

-- Live octopus? Animal activists want it off the menu.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Gwen Ifill, a veteran journalist and co-anchor of “PBS NewsHour,” has died at age 61.

-- With wit and warmth, Hollywood bids goodbye to Garry Marshall, the creator of “Happy Days” and so much more.

-- Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary of “Downton Abbey” fame) goes from propriety to thievery in the smart and suspenseful TV series “Good Behavior.”

-- Pulitzer-winning novelist (and Times Critic at Large) Viet Thanh Nguyen speaks out on war, capitalism and Trump.

-- “Miss You Like Hell” is an immigration musical for the new Trump era.

-- John Oliver on Trump: “He is not normal.”

NATION-WORLD

-- Two West Virginia officials are facing criticism over a racist Facebook post about Michelle Obama.

-- The Obama administration said it will continue to withhold a final permit for completion of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota.

-- U.S. armed forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor says.

-- The people of a small Slovenian town are excited that Melania Trump is about to become first lady of the United States.

-- Statin medications can prevent heart attacks and strokes. So why aren’t more women and ethnic minorities in the U.S. using them?

BUSINESS

-- Trump tapped the misery of factory workers, but can he bring back their jobs?

-- American Apparel has filed for bankruptcy again, and this time it’s different.

SPORTS

-- The Dodgers fell short of the World Series, but their 22-year-old shortstop Corey Seager was the unanimous choice for National League rookie of the year.

-- The USC-UCLA rivalry is a big deal, but what role does it play in recruiting?

OPINION

-- Don’t buy Trump’s flip-flop on marriage equality. LGBT rights are anything but safe in his White House.

-- Californians are to blame for the avocado shortage. Deal with it.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- What do white nationalist leaders think of Bannon? (CNN)

-- Facebook employees are questioning the role of fake news in the election, according to sources. (BuzzFeed News)

-- Hate crimes surged in the U.S. last year, according to the FBI. (Washington Post)

-- A 300-year-old mystery involving bones, royalty and murder. (National Geographic)

ONLY IN L.A.

Would you drive on the 405 or 110 freeway, only to get out of your vehicle, pay a few hundred dollars to borrow a German sports car and then drive some more? That’s what Porsche hopes you and thousands of others will do at its newly opened facility called the Porsche Experience Center. A former golf course in Carson has been converted into a 4.1-mile track with banked curves, water hazards and a slalom driving area. Starting price: $384 for 90 minutes in a 718 Boxster. But first, you’ll have to sign a waiver.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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