Today: The Echoes of Anita Hill

Sept. 18, 2018 5 AM PT

A generation after Clarence Thomas, the Senate heads for another battle over judging allegations of sexual misconduct.

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The Echoes of Anita Hill

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation in the Senate is now in limbo, as he and Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor accusing him of a decades-old sexual assault, are set to testify publicly about the allegations Monday. Ford considers the incident an “attempted rape,” while Kavanaugh says, “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone.” The impending showdown is drawing comparisons to the televised hearings surrounding Anita Hill’s claims of workplace sexual harassment against then-nominee Clarence Thomas. Here’s a look at how much has changed — and hasn’t — in the 27 years since.

More Politics

-- Moving to undermine the Russia investigation that has threatened his White House tenure, President Trump has ordered the declassification of sensitive FBI documents and other records involving several high-profile adversaries.

-- Trump has announced new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports that will take effect Monday. This time they will affect many consumer goods.

-- Trump’s proposal to create a “space force” would cost nearly $13 billion over five years, according to an internal Air Force memo.

-- The Trump administration is cutting the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year to a maximum of 30,000.

After the Storm, Floodwaters Rise

Flooded towns. Rising rivers. Closed roads. North Carolina has been among the hardest hit by Florence, which has killed at least 32 people, most of them in the Tar Heel State. More than two feet of rain has slammed some places, turning the Carolinas into a maze where escape and relief are far from simple.

The Emmys: Call Them Unpredictable

Nothing should surprise us these days. Still, the Emmy Awards managed to do so. Nominees who weren’t supposed to pick up an award did. Director Glenn Weiss used his acceptance speech to propose to his girlfriend. And four decades after playing Fonzie, Henry Winkler won his first Emmy for “Barry.” As for the big picture, HBO and Netflix tied for most the victories on the night, showing just how splintered TV has become. At least one thing felt familiar: the hits and misses on the red carpet.

A Different Kind of Sticker Shock

One big perk of driving an electric car in California is the ability to use the carpool lane as a solo driver. But on Jan. 1, the owners of as many as 220,000 low- and zero-emission vehicles could lose the white and green clean-air decals that give them access. The reason: The carpool lanes are too crowded. Some say that, rather than going after Prius drivers, the state should target carpool lane scofflaws first.

Germany’s Great Divide

It’s been nearly 30 years since the Berlin Wall fell, but in some ways Germany’s east and west are still not fully integrated. That includes attitudes toward asylum seekers. Though Chancellor Angela Merkel was raised in what was then East Germany, the area has recently been home to a number of anti-Islam and far-right rallies.

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MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- It’s been an especially bad summer for mosquitoes in L.A. County. These fish can help.

CALIFORNIA

-- A new study says that to improve student achievement in the state’s schools, education has to start well before children show up for kindergarten.

-- A proposal to allow pot deliveries statewide has prompted law enforcement leaders to warn of increased crime.

-- Is L.A.’s homeless population closer to 100,000? One nonprofit is offering an alternative view of the data.

-- Republican Young Kim holds a slight edge over Democrat Gil Cisneros in the race to succeed GOP Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, according to a poll.

Get more midterm election coverage on our Decision California page.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Actor-comedian Tom Arnold filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department accusing “The Apprentice” TV executive producer Mark Burnett of battery at a pre-Emmy party.

-- Coincidentally (or not), Viceland’s “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes With Tom Arnold” premieres tonight. It takes aim at Burnett.

-- Asia Argento has threatened legal action against fellow actress and #MeToo figure Rose McGowan stemming from allegations that Argento sexually assaulted a minor.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Forty years ago Monday, Meryl Streep won her first Emmy Award for her role in the limited series “Holocaust.” Not to be outdone, Kermit the Frog and friends got their first Emmy for “The Muppet Show” too. Check out more winners in this Emmy timeline.

NATION-WORLD

-- Mexican authorities said they discovered three cargo trucks packed with 124 starving Central American immigrants, nearly half of them children, in the southern state of Oaxaca.

-- In Iraq, Prime Minister Haider Abadi once seemingly could do no wrong. Now he appears to be on the way out.

-- A mayor in the Philippines said it’s unlikely any of the dozens of people feared buried in a landslide set off by Typhoon Mangkhut will be found alive.

BUSINESS

-- Meet the man who’s paying SpaceX to fly him around the moon and back in 2023: billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

-- Ajit Pai, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is taking aim at California’s net neutrality bill. Columnist Michael Hiltzik calls his arguments threadbare.

SPORTS

-- Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins is joining the Clippers’ front office as executive director of research and identity, a position the team calls the first of its kind among NBA franchises.

-- As USC’s football team struggles, head coach Clay Helton is keeping his composure and raising the intensity level at practice.

OPINION

-- America needs to hear from Christine Blasey Ford, and Monday’s hearing should be only the beginning of an inquiry into the matter.

-- How to stop a handful of gadflies at Los Angeles City Hall from being disruptive? Officials need to tread carefully.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Some far-right news websites tried to label Kavanaugh’s accuser as a “troubled” professor, but they identified the wrong Christine Ford. (MSNBC)

-- A closer look at how Sarah Huckabee Sanders operates as press secretary in the White House. (The New Yorker)

-- Julie Chen is reportedly stepping down from “The Talk” after her husband, Leslie Moonves, left CBS Corp. amid allegations of sexual harassment. (CNN)

ONLY IN L.A.

Honk if you loved the music of Cecil “Big Jay” McNeely. Not familiar with the name? You should be. With his honking tenor saxophone, he helped define Los Angeles rhythm and blues and set the stage for the rise of rock ’n’ roll of the 1950s. One Times reviewer called a 1952 concert of his at the Shrine “a veritable hepcat jive orgy.” On Sunday, McNeely died at age 91. But his influence lives on practically any time someone belts out a wild saxophone solo.

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