Today’s Headlines: Jan. 6 panel votes to subpoena Trump

By Amy Hubbard and Laura Blasey

Hello, it’s Friday, Oct. 14, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

The Jan. 6 committee voted to issue a subpoena to Trump

The House Jan. 6 select committee voted unanimously to issue a subpoena to former President Trump, capping off what could be its final hearing by laying out the case that Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election were premeditated.

The move follows months of hearings by the committee to make the argument that blame for the insurrection should be placed squarely on Trump’s efforts to stay in power despite knowing he’d lost the election. Thursday’s hearing summarized and built upon evidence of that scheme.

Panel Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said: “The committee needs to do everything in our power to tell the most complete story possible and present recommendations to help ensure nothing like Jan. 6 ever happens again. ... But the need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond our fact-finding. He is required to answer for his actions.”

More politics

• The Supreme Court will not intervene in the fight between the Justice Department and Trump over classified records storage.
• USC offered Karen Bass a scholarship before she was admitted to the social work school, records show.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting and the latest action in Sacramento.

Today’s L.A. City Council meeting was canceled, and its next steps are unclear

The council will not hold its regularly scheduled meeting amid calls for the resignation of two members, acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell said.

“The people’s business cannot be conducted until we have these next two resignations,” O’Farrell said at a City Hall news conference, referring to Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, who were heard on the leaked audio that included racist remarks and led to Wednesday’s resignation of Councilmember Nury Martinez.

Also:

• For Black Angelenos, the recording stoked anger and their fear of losing hard-fought gains.
• Unearthing who leaked the recording has become a parlor game among the politically savvy. Some speculated the meetings were recorded for note-taking; some wondered if a disgruntled labor union employee was responsible; others pointed to political enemies of the trio of council members.

Rising prices are set to gobble up Americans’ Thanksgiving budgets

That turkey you’re planning for the big family get-together is going to give you a nasty peck on the pocketbook. So will the flour for the gravy and the butter for the rolls.

The latest government report on consumer prices showed poultry prices are up a whopping 17% from a year ago. Flour is up 24%. Butter and margarine are up 32%. Almost across the board, inflation showed few signs of slacking. And in areas central to most consumers’ everyday lives, prices are rising at faster rates than many Americans have seen in their lifetimes.

Social Security benefits are set to rise by 8.7% in 2023, the biggest boost in decades — kids will benefit too

The cost-of-living adjustment means the average recipient will receive more than $140 extra a month beginning in January, according to estimates released Thursday by the Social Security Administration. Recipients welcomed the benefit increase while noting the impact of inflation.

It’s not just older people who will gain. About 4 million children receive benefits, and an untold number of others also will be helped because they’re being cared for by Social Security beneficiaries, sometimes their grandparents.

Pfizer said its bivalent booster increased antibodies for Omicron variants

Pfizer Inc. and its German vaccine partner BioNTech said their new COVID-19 booster designed to target the dominant Omicron subvariant produced more antibodies against the intended strains than did the original version of the shot.

In a study, blood from 80 volunteers collected seven days after getting the booster showed an increase in neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, the companies said.

Stay up to date on variant developments, case counts and vaccine news with Coronavirus Today.

CALIFORNIA

The California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant in Orange County. Less than six months after rejecting a proposal for a major desalination plant in Huntington Beach, the commission OK’d the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project in Dana Point. It’s a different, smaller project and could serve as a model for future projects.

Rappers are rethinking security protocols after the killing of PnB Rock. L.A.’s Black music community has suffered a string of high-profile and violent losses of life over the last couple of years. Amid wider debates about rising violent crime rates in the city and nationwide, many artists are taking new measures to stay safe.

A federal report found that O.C. officials repeatedly violated the Constitution in a jail informant scandal. It isn’t uncommon for jailed informants to offer information to prosecutors or investigators. But after a nearly six-year investigation, federal authorities allege the Sheriff’s Department and prosecutors used some inmates in the jail as “agents of law enforcement” tasked with getting incriminating statements from other inmates.

A new report has found that broadband internet isn’t equally available in L.A. County. Low-income residents often pay more for the same or worse service than their neighbors in higher-income areas, according to a new report from the California Community Foundation and Digital Equity L.A.

NATION-WORLD

A jury recommended life in prison for the Parkland school shooter. The man, now 24, will be sentenced to life without parole for the 2018 murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after the jury said it could not unanimously agree that he should be executed.

The U.S. will allow some Venezuelan migrants to enter. The program, which will be capped at 24,000 migrants, is similar to one implemented for Ukrainians after the Russian invasion, officials said. Each migrant will need a sponsor in the U.S. and will have to apply, while migrants who cross the Mexican border without authorization will be turned back.

Kyiv was hit by “kamikaze drones” as Russia kept up its assault. Russian forces used Iranian-made kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine’s capital and Odesa regions Thursday and slammed other areas with missiles as Moscow punished the country for a fourth day for a bomb attack on a landmark bridge.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

What you get (and don’t) with Netflix’s new ad-supported plan. Under pressure from increasing competition, the Los Gatos streamer said it would launch a cheaper, ad-supported plan at $6.99 a month starting on Nov. 3 in the U.S. Viewers on the plan will see four to five minutes of ads each hour.

Why doesn’t “The Rings of Power” feel like a hit? The Amazon expansion of the “Lord of the Rings” universe is the most expensive television show ever made. Amazon reports that the show broke Prime Video viewership records. Yet it’s also garnered mixed reviews from critics and viewers, and it hasn’t generated the same buzz as other shows.

L.A.’s working magicians hone their tricks at private “magic jams.” It’s a chance to connect with like-minded magicians and share tips, work through a challenging trick, or practice dialogue for a show. There might be more than a dozen magicians, at different stages of their careers and of varying skill levels, in attendance at jams held in the backrooms of bars or restaurants.

Samuel L. Jackson stars in a not-always-in-tune Broadway revival of “The Piano Lesson.” Jackson leads a top-notch cast in the first Broadway revival of one of the Pulitzer-winning works in August Wilson’s 10-play cycle chronicling Black life in 20th century America. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, really, writes theater critic Charles McNulty. But something hasn’t gone quite right. Ensemble chemistry is a delicate matter. The actors are all fine individually, but their magic fails to coalesce.

BUSINESS

Consumer inflation rose 8.2% over the last year. Inflation accelerated in September, according to a government report. Further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve are expected. Thursday’s report represents the final U.S. inflation figures before the Nov. 8 midterm elections after a campaign season in which spiking prices have fueled public anxiety.

Kroger is seeking a merger with rival supermarket Albertsons to create a grocery giant. Kroger, which owns Southern California’s Ralphs supermarket chain, is in talks with Albertsons on a deal, people familiar with the matter said. The details and price of the deal are not yet public, but any potential transaction may face antitrust scrutiny.

OPINION

It’s not just the Senate: Trump’s Big Lie and the Jan. 6 riot are also on Nevada’s ballot. The state presents a test of whether one of those directly responsible for the reckless and corrosive lie that led to the Jan. 6 riot will get the punishment he deserves, or be rewarded with a seat in the U.S. Senate, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak.

SPORTS

Tony Gonsolin will lead a “collection of arms” for the Dodgers in Game 3 versus the Padres tonight. The pitcher will start the pivotal game in the best-of-five series, with the teams tied at one game apiece. Manager Dave Roberts said, however, he wasn’t sure how long Gonsolin would go: “Obviously less is more, but if we have to use six arms ... we’ll do that.” Meanwhile, columnist Dylan Hernandez says the 111-win Dodgers have now proven that they’re not choke-proof.

YOUR WEEKEND

The celery root entree at Damian’s.

(Shelby Moore / For The Times)

Check out Damian. The Los Angeles restaurant opened just as the pandemic hit. Two years later, what began as a famous chef’s grandly announced entrance to the L.A. market has settled into a restaurant that feels intentionally engaged with the city, writes restaurant critic Bill Addison. He writes of the restaurant’s “improbable centerpiece that has never disappointed: a bulb of celery root, nixtamalized, baked and then braised in garlic, lemon and butter, all to achieve meaty density. A chunky dollop of salsa macha made with morita chiles adds campfire fragrance, and the plate is finished with shaved ruffles of lightly pickled celery root set over a pool of mole blanco rich in pine nuts. There may be no finer example of California-Mexican modernist cooking within the boundaries of Los Angeles County.”

Go straight to Hellhole Canyon County Preserve. Casey Schreiner at our sister newsletter The Wild recommends visiting the San Diego County preserve on Saturday for some Halloween-themed fun — among events: a live birds of prey demonstration, a stargazing party, a costume contest and, so things aren’t too creepy, a screening of “Sing 2.” The free event starts at 4 p.m. Info here. Casey also encourages stepping outside to scope out eight-legged creatures because it’s spider season; the orb weavers are busy, and the tarantulas are feeling romantic.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

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What happens after you donate your body to science? About 20,000 bodies are donated to scientific research and education in the U.S. each year — it feels altruistic and it can be cheaper than a traditional burial. But although bodies have been used in medical research for centuries, the idea of donating one is new. This piece takes a deep dive into the world of body donations, and the “places where watchful caretakers know that the dead and the living are deeply connected, and the way you treat the first reflects how you treat the second.” MIT Technology Review

Instagram and review sites have broken travel. Low-cost airlines and cheap deals have made it easier than ever for people to travel abroad, experiences that were once limited to the wealthy. But it also means more people are trying to optimize their experience, with true luxury just out of reach. With “too many people wanting to experience the exact same thing because they all went to the same websites and read the same reviews,” a place like Positano, Italy, becomes an Instagrammable hell. Vox

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Oct. 14, 1963: Chuck Yeager checks a Lockheed Starfighter at Edwards Air Force Base, where he was the first commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School.

(Los Angeles Times)

Seventy-five years ago today, on Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. The former World War II combat pilot climbed into an experimental Bell X-1 jet — orange in color, with “Glamorous Glennis” painted on one side. He’d volunteered for the opportunity.

A B-29 flew the X-1 to an altitude of 25,000 feet over Rogers Dry Lake before releasing the Glennis (named for Yeager’s wife) through the bomb bay. Yeager rocketed to 42,000 feet and reached 700 mph, shattering the sound barrier, The Times wrote in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of the feat. That occasion brought another sonic boom courtesy of Yeager as the retired brigadier general, 74, repeated the performance.

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