Newsletter: Today: Travel Ban in Court — Get Your Ringside Seat. DeVos Faces Her Biggest Test.

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

Travel Ban in Court: Get Your Ringside Seat

Before President Trump even took the oath, legal observers figured the federal courts would check his executive power, but few expected the first clash would come less than three weeks in. An appeals court in San Francisco will hold a hearing this afternoon regarding Trump’s travel ban — which you can follow live on latimes.com — after it received filings from federal government lawyers versus those of more than a dozen states, nearly 100 businesses and a number of former security and intelligence officials. (Read the documents here.) And don’t blink, because it could end up in the Supreme Court later this week. Will the judges take Trump’s many tweets on the subject into account too?

@realDonaldTrump, Meet @LATstevelopez. Can You Match Wits?

Speaking of those missives of 140 characters or less … They have the power to shape international relations, move the stock market and stir public sentiment for or against Trump. We’ve compiled everything Trump has tweeted since he’s become president and put them in context with our coverage. Meanwhile, columnist Steve Lopez has been limbering up his fingers for a Twitter war with the commander in chief. Do you think Steve’s ready?

More Politics

-- Without citing evidence, Trump says terrorist attacks go unreported by news media. (By the way, here’s our report from last year on the attacks you likely didn’t hear about.)

-- “We strongly support NATO”: Trump dialed back his criticism of the alliance.

-- There’s a long history of presidential untruths. Here’s why one political scientist says Trump is “in a class by himself.”

@realDonaldTrump, Take Our Bullet Train Funding, Please!?

After Trump threatened to hold back funds from California, should it become a sanctuary state, Atty. Gen Xavier Becerra says he’s ready to battle back if necessary. Meanwhile, California’s House Republicans have a suggestion for where the president could save some money: They’ve asked the administration to block a $650-million federal grant for the state’s bullet train project until an audit of the project’s finances is completed.

DeVos Faces Her Biggest Test

Of all Trump’s Cabinet picks, Betsy DeVos has faced the hardest path to confirmation. Phone calls have poured into Congress against her, two GOP senators defected, and Democrats held a last-ditch, 24-hour debate to sink her chances. And there was that comment about guns in schools and grizzly bears. Even so, DeVos will probably squeak by when the vote comes today.

The Pain of Sandy Hook, Made Even Worse

Imagine the pain of losing a child — and then being tormented by strangers denying it ever happened. The families of those who died in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting have been fending off “Sandy Hook truthers” since 26 children and staff members were gunned down in 2012. Residents say it’s only getting worse, and the town is drafting a letter calling on Trump to sever his ties to Alex Jones, who has pushed the theory that the shooting was staged.

CALIFORNIA

-- For Iranian Americans in Southern California, Trump has complicated an already tricky trip to the motherland.

-- Two and a half decades after a deadly Westlake apartment complex fire, the LAPD has made arrests in the case.

-- The Zika virus is here to stay. Here’s how California is preparing for that new reality.

-- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman pleaded guilty to wrong-way driving on the 5 Freeway, thus avoiding jail time.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Was Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show political? Or not political enough? (Let’s face it, she shilled for Tiffany & Co.) Four arguments for the former.

-- Two-time Tony winner Al Pacino will portray playwright Tennessee Williams in “God Looked Away” at the Pasadena Playhouse. It’s a work-in-progress opening Wednesday.

-- Inside the Oscar nominees luncheon, where the clarion call was “art has no borders.”

-- Influential L.A. artist David Axelrod, whose work was sampled by Dr. Dre and Eminem, has died at age 83.

-- It looks as if Sean Spicer thinks Melissa McCarthy’s impression of him needs a little work.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” began its three-season run 50 years ago this week. Its often controversial and political content led CBS to abruptly pull it, but that wouldn’t be the last we heard from Tom and Dick Smothers.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Kremlin wants Fox News to apologize for the “insulting” comment Bill O’Reilly made about Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a “killer.”

-- Israel’s parliament approved a bill to give the government authority to retroactively legalize thousands of homes in West Bank settlements.

-- The United Nations has reported that 923 children in Afghanistan were killed last year, the most since the U.N. began keeping track seven years ago.

-- Once again, the ACLU is taking its place on the front lines of a liberal resistance.

-- An Australian lungfish named Granddad, the longest lived aquarium fish in the world, has died in Chicago. He was thought to be at least in his 90s.

BUSINESS

-- Are you being misled about the speed of your Internet connection? Columnist David Lazarus takes a look at a lawsuit against providers.

-- The politics and economics behind the most controversial Super Bowl ad.

SPORTS

-- Like the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick, columnist Sam Farmer is already looking ahead to the NFL’s next season.

-- Bill Plaschke visits Lucerne Valley High, where the boys’ basketball team refuses to quit, loss after loss.

OPINION

-- According to Trump, the U.S. is no better than Russia.

-- UC Berkeley’s descent from place of learning to victimology hothouse.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- The Bowling Green Massacre? Kellyanne Conway talked about it in an interview days before her MSNBC appearance. (Cosmopolitan)

-- Power siblings: Federal defender Michelle Gelernt advocated on behalf of “El Chapo,” then a week later in the same courthouse it was older brother Lee, an ACLU attorney, challenging Trump’s travel ban. (The New Yorker)

-- English has become the lingua franca of science, but sometimes that leaves important research ignored. (The Economist)

ONLY IN L.A.

He’s a 19-year-old student with an Iraqi passport who loves Johnny Cash and Metallica. When he left L.A. to renew his visa, Abdullah Al-Rifaie suddenly found himself caught in the travel ban, wondering whether he’d ever be allowed to continue his studies here — and if he’d miss Metallica at the Hollywood Palladium next week. Lorraine Ali has the story on her nephew’s journey to LAX on a wing and a rock ’n’ roll prayer.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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