Newsletter: Today: The Ghost Ship — What Did Oakland Officials Know? Trump’s Cabinet Turns to the Right.

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 Ghost Ship: What Did Oakland Officials Know?

The Ghost Ship, the converted warehouse in Oakland where a catastrophic fire killed at least 36 people, had been on officials’ radar for more than two years: Legal sparring among residents and partygoers. Neighborhood complaints about trash and construction. An investigation into possible code violations. An inspector who visited but never went inside. Here’s what we know so far.

In the Underground, They Felt Safe to Be Themselves

What drew the young artists and unconventional dreamers who perished in the Oakland fire? For one, the underground community made them feel safe to be themselves — in the long tradition of the Bay Area’s counterculture spirit that these days can feel overwhelmed by tech startups and outrageous housing costs. Here are their stories.

L.A. Goes on Alert

The tip came from overseas: an imminent bombing of the Metro Red Line’s Universal City station. But is it credible? “This could be real, it could be a hoax,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. “We’re asking the public to stay calm and vigilant.”

Trump’s Cabinet Turns to the Right

Donald Trump had some positive things to say about some federal aid programs that serve the poor. Some of his picks for Cabinet positions have not. The latest case in point: Ben Carson, whom Trump tapped to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than once, Carson has complained about the government’s “mandated social engineering schemes.” It could be another sign that a Trump administration will shrink the social safety net.

California Vs. Trump, Round 1

In the California Legislature, first came the swearing in. Then came the clash over how to respond to Trump. Democrats introduced bills to provide attorneys to immigrants in the country illegally, refuse assistance to a proposed registry of Muslim immigrants and require any wall built along the Mexican border to be approved by California voters. Republicans called it grandstanding or worse: “Some of the rhetoric that I heard today, I felt like I was watching a speech from Trump, to be honest,” said one GOP lawmaker.

More Politics

-- GOP congressional leaders are struggling to balance long-held Republican principles with Trump’s plans.

-- Joe Biden wouldn’t count out a 2020 run for president, but he was asked in an emotional moment.

Of Fake News and Real Guns

For weeks, the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in the D.C. area has been the subject of a scandalous but untrue story claiming that Hillary Clinton, campaign chairman John Podesta and the restaurant’s owner were hiding a child sex-abuse ring. Over the weekend, a gunman showed up and said he was there to rescue the children of “Pizzagate.” So how do you stop fake news from having real-world consequences?

Warning! There Are Too Many Warning Labels!

Do your eyes glaze over when you see a warning label? It’s OK, you can admit it. Researchers from some Ivy League universities say that the warning-label system on products “fails miserably at distinguishing between large and small risks” and can mask the big dangers. They told consumer columnist David Lazarus how those warning stickers can be made more meaningful and less like Chicken Little.

CALIFORNIA

-- From celebrated lawman to disgraced defendant: Jury selection in the trial of former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges is underway. Here’s why it may be hard to convict him.

-- L.A. ethics officials are investigating an allegation that the Police Department’s watchdog broke the rules by showing a reporter a document about an inmate.

-- Snow and rain in the Northern Sierra Nevada are giving some hope of drought relief.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- The Grammy nominations are this morning. Our live coverage is here.

-- Mandy Moore says her role in the hit TV show “This Is Us” came at a crucial juncture in her life: in the midst of a divorce and feeling stuck in trying to reinvigorate her career.

-- Amid new outrage over the film “Last Tango in Paris,” director Bernardo Bertolucci says the rape was scripted, but the butter wasn’t.

-- Jimmy Kimmel has hosted the Emmys twice. Next year, he’ll take on the Oscar duties. Are “mean tweets” in the offing?

-- My kingdom for a can of beans! “Table Top Shakespeare” offers a radical take on the Bard at UCLA this week.

-- If you saw the end of “Westworld’s” first season, you probably had questions. You’re not alone.

NATION-WORLD

-- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will accompany President Obama at Pearl Harbor. Abe will be the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit the site after the 1941 bombing.

-- A Supreme Court majority appeared to lean in favor of Democrats in Virginia and North Carolina seeking to rein in what they call racial gerrymandering by GOP-controlled legislatures.

-- A jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared in the murder trial of a white former South Carolina police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man in the back.

-- The arrest of a 17-year-old Afghan refugee suspected of raping and killing a young German medical student is turning into political storm over Angela Merkel’s immigration policy.

-- There’s a bitter divide in America … about organic and genetically modified food.

BUSINESS

-- The driverless car industry is hopeful that Trump’s nominee for transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, will go easy on regulations.

-- Netflix and 20th Century Fox are battling over claims of poaching executives.

SPORTS

-- The Dodgers re-signed 36-year-old pitcher Rich Hill to a three-year, $48-million contract.

-- The NFL’s top teams are still looking to make a defensive stand.

OPINION

-- Take Trump seriously but not literally? How, exactly, do you do that?

-- An animal advocate says the mountain lion known as P-45 doesn’t deserve to die, and neither did the 10 alpacas he killed.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- The painful moral choices for a Theranos whistle-blower from a powerful family. (Wall Street Journal)

-- When a 5-month-old baby was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, it was the start of an unimaginable journey for him and his parents. (Boston Globe)

-- In the Stans: A video tour of the landscapes of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. (National Geographic)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

For decades, Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead was a Christmas-themed rite of passage in Southern California. But in the late ’90s, the kiddie rides, toy shop and reindeer barn fell on hard times, and the park near Lake Arrowhead closed. Just like Frosty the Snowman, though, it would be back again one day: A new incarnation opened over the weekend after an 18-year absence.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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