Today’s Headlines: The GOP and the NRA want to stop gun violence research. California is a target

Hello, it’s Wednesday, July 26, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

The GOP and the NRA want to stop gun violence research. California is a target. California is the epicenter of American gun violence research, largely because it maintains an extensive repository of firearms data and, unlike other states, has historically made much of the data available to scientists studying the root causes of gun deaths.

A lawsuit brought by gun-rights activists now threatens that longstanding data infrastructure. And although the federal government began funding gun-violence research again in 2019, following a two-decades-long drought, that funding is under threat from House Republicans, who have vowed to kill it.

More politics

• In declaring the county a stalwart defender of gun rights, Shasta supervisors opted to dial back an earlier proposal that would have allowed the county to ignore state and federal gun laws.
• Interviews and records provide a rare insider’s look at the influence of unelected power brokers in the city that is home to Disneyland and the Angels.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature move at the California Capitol: Jam the Legislature.

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

Nudity, stunts and cost: Why self-taped auditions are a lightning rod in the actors’ strike. When the actors’ union is striking over major issues such as wages, the use of AI and retirement funds, it may seem odd that something like self-taped auditions could be a point of contention. But they are.

Actors report that technical demands for self-tapes have increased. Some get shot with multiple angles, even stunts. Actors felt they were being required to pay prohibitively large sums for a chance at a job.

The education gap between Latino and white students widens, a report says. A recent report by Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes Latino student achievement, shows that the number of Latino students enrolled in colleges is up but the graduation rate has not seen an increase.

The numbers in the report demonstrate the harsh reality that Latino students across the country are facing, and the obstacles they have to overcome compared to their white counterparts.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Andrew Truelove puts his hands over his face while sitting in front of the Beacon Light Mission in Wilmington.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

From a one-way flight to sleeping in a parking lot: Diary of a California dream gone sour. Andrew Truelove arrived in Los Angeles with big dreams. A month later, he was sleeping in the parking lot behind a Torrance shopping center.

CALIFORNIA

A politician allegedly said he wanted to shoot up Anaheim City Hall. Officials kept it quiet. The city of Anaheim was aware of one of its then-council members, Jordan Brandman, acting erratically for months before his resignation, and kept his behavior under wraps.

L.A. County says phone calls will be free in all its jails by Dec. 1. L.A. County supervisors vote unanimously to give the Sheriff’s Department four months to stop charging inmates and their families for phone calls.

The Agua fire leaps in size in Santa Clarita Valley as firefighters battle multiple blazes. The Agua fire, near the edge of the Angeles National Forest, swelled from 4 acres to 100 acres in less than two hours, L.A. County firefighters said.

NATION-WORLD

Inside the growing cult of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Latin America’s political star. The brash young autocrat has won legions of fans throughout the region for a sweeping crackdown on gangs that has dramatically lowered violent crime.

Netanyahu ignores Biden — and masses of Israeli protesters — to step back from democracy. Netanyahu and his right-wing government pushed through a law opponents believe will gut the power of Israel’s judiciary and destroy a central pillar of its democracy.

A federal court blocks Biden rule limiting asylum for migrants, a major blow to the administration. Biden administration officials have said in court declarations that without the policy, border crossings would increase, straining government resources.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Column: The ‘Barbenheimer’ effect should scare the studios into ending the strike. “The business may have changed, but two simple facts remain: If you want to make money in the movie business, you need to make movies. And to make movies, you need writers and actors,” Mary McNamara writes.

I did the ‘Barbenheimer’ doubleheader. Here’s what I learned. “If there’s anything these devoted and industry-savvy audiences demonstrated, it’s that the ‘Barbenheimer’ effect is real. The last thing they want is to lose their movies — again,” David Viramontes writes.

Julian Sands’ primary cause of death deemed ‘undetermined’ by authorities. Officials were unable to determine the cause of death “due to the condition of the body,” a public information officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department told People magazine Monday, adding that such an outcome “is common when dealing with cases of this type.”

Essay: Being a Barbie girl in a first-gen immigrant world.
As a child of Mexican immigrants in the U.S., writer Elvia Limón’s Barbie was one of her first and most vital links to American culture. And how she got nearly 40 dolls and played with them was unique to her first-generation immigrant experience.

BUSINESS

After an explosive ‘Barbenheimer’ weekend, the movie business needs to get out of its own way. With the actors’ and writers’ strikes still raging, and with neither the guilds nor the studios engaging in talks to resolve their contract disputes, it’s going to get worse.

UPS reaches tentative contract with 340,000 unionized workers, averting a potentially calamitous strike. The Teamsters called the tentative agreement “historic” and “overwhelmingly lucrative.” It includes, among other benefits, higher wages and air conditioning in delivery trucks.

SPORTS

Dodgers to honor Kobe Bryant. Here’s how to get his jersey with No. 8 and No. 24 on it. The jerseys are not available stadiumwide during the Dodgers-Padres game, but only to fans who purchase a special event ticket package for that game.

Bronny James suffers cardiac arrest at a USC workout and is in stable condition. James, 18, is currently in stable condition after a brief stretch in the intensive care unit, according to a spokesperson for the James family.

OPINION

Why are so many college presidents resigning? Despite the high-blown rhetoric about developing critical thinkers, the No. 1 goal is to keep the money flowing. As long as presidents can do that, they’ll weather any storm. When they can’t, they’re out.

Don’t panic over malaria in the U.S. But do worry about mosquitoes. Recent malaria cases could be harbingers of climate change-related alteration in mosquito habitats that reshape the geography of human disease and could hinder decades’ worth of progress in fighting mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S.

ONLY IN SoCAL

Chef and Owner Carlos Salgado in front of Taco Maria in Costa Mesa.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

Critically acclaimed Taco María is closing this Saturday. But “it’s not the end,” Chef Carlos Salgado says.

Saturday will be the last evening of service at the restaurant’s current location at OC Mix at SoCo Collection in Costa Mesa. The restaurant opened there in 2013. He has no other location identified but said he wants to stay in Orange County, where the chef and his restaurant originated.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Seven years ago, Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first woman to lead a major-party ticket.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

On this day seven years ago, Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman chosen to lead a major-party presidential ticket.

While Clinton had been pioneering, she had also been controversial, as her achievements were tainted by scandal.

The Times wrote about how the former first lady, New York senator and Cabinet secretary came to be one of the most admired women in the country — but also one of the most disliked and mistrusted.

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