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Newsletter: Today: Trump and Healthcare: The Bully Pulpit, or Just a Bully?

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, left, and President Donald Trump met with Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday.
(Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images)
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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

Trump and Healthcare: The Bully Pulpit, or Just a Bully?

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As the House of Representatives pushes for a vote on the GOP healthcare bill Thursday, President Trump had a blunt message for Republicans: Vote for it or enter a world of pain. He told that them that failure could cost them their majority in Congress, and he pointed to one lawmaker, saying, “Mark, I’m gonna come after you.” (Was it a joke, a threat or a bit of both?) But so far the votes don’t seem to be there. Here’s where all of California’s House Republicans stand.

The Trump Advisor With the Nixon Tattoo: I’m Not a Crook

Roger Stone has been called “the Dirty Trickster” and “the Prince of Darkness.” He has a tattoo of former boss Richard Nixon, smiling, on his back. And earlier this week, Democrats suggested he could be a key figure in the FBI’s investigation of potential coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia. His response: “Everything I did was perfectly innocent and legal,” he told The Times.

More Politics

-- A Ukrainian lawmaker says former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort hid payments from a pro-Russian party.

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-- Under fire over the Russia investigation, White House officials chose to change the subject.

-- Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch told senators he would be independent, impartial and willing to rule against President Trump.

Chief Beck: This Is the Result of Immigrants’ Fears

For months, law enforcement leaders have feared a breakdown in trust between minority communities and police amid Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Now, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck says reports of sexual assault and domestic violence made by the city’s Latino residents have plummeted this year. “Imagine your sister, your mother, not reporting a sexual assault for fear that their family will be torn apart,” he said. That drew a sharp response from an ICE spokeswoman, who dismissed Beck’s comments as speculative.

L.A.’s Sheriff: But No ‘Sanctuary State’

Just like the LAPD, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has drawn the Trump administration’s ire for its misgivings about getting involved in deportations. But unlike many L.A. political leaders, Sheriff Jim McDonnell has come out strongly against plans to create a “sanctuary state.” McDonnell, the child of Irish immigrants, feels caught between both sides of the issue.

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Defending the Arts: L.A. Without the NEA

Trump’s budget blueprint generated lots of headlines last week as it called for a big increase in military spending and huge cutbacks elsewhere. So how does that translate to real life? Columnist Steve Lopez visited a Torrance medical science investigator whose work on fighting ever more virulent infections is funded by the National Institutes of Health, targeted for a 20% cut. Meanwhile, our arts and entertainment staff has launched a daily series called “L.A. Without the NEA,” which looks at the cultural programs that would disappear if money for the National Endowment for the Arts were eliminated.

CALIFORNIA

-- New research suggests the Newport-Inglewood fault poses a bigger risk than previously thought.

-- A Los Angeles-based charter school network is defending its spending practices, including its founder’s $471,842 income.

-- Voter turnout in the March 7 mayoral election in Los Angeles wasn’t a record low after all. It was 20%, which is still pretty bad.

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-- These maps show you the noisiest places to live in California.

-- Watch: Diana Carrillo describes the incident in which she says a waiter asked her, “Can I see your proof of residency?”

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Spring just got here, but winter is coming with a “Game of Thrones” live show at the Forum.

-- A screenwriter whose credits include “Total Recall” is suing Disney, saying it stole his idea for “Zootopia.”

-- Chuck Barris, creator of “The Dating Game” and “The Gong Show,” passed away at his home in New York on Monday. He was 87.

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-- Inside Dave Chappelle’s “secret” stand-up show to celebrate his Netflix specials.

-- It looks as if “Beauty and the Beast” will make it to Malaysian theaters without cutting out the film’s “gay moment” after all.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Shirley MacLaine is earning rave reviews for the indie drama “The Last Word.” Last week, she spoke about the Oscars, the late Robert Osborne and her goals at age 82. “What I want to do now is devote my life to concentrating on roles for older women that can help this culture become more equal not only in gender but in age.”

NATION-WORLD

-- South Korea says a new missile launch test by North Korea has ended in failure.

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-- “War is changing. It blows my mind that they’re targeting people as they’re running away”: inside a Mosul front-line clinic staffed by American medics.

-- The recent killings of two men in Mexico dramatize how environmental issues have become a human rights battleground in Latin America.

-- The U.S. and Britain are banning certain electronic devices in the passenger cabins of planes flying from several Middle Eastern and African countries.

-- Here’s why global warming could lead to an increase of 100,000 diabetes cases a year in the U.S.

BUSINESS

-- Readers are weighing in on our story about California’s farmworker shortage, and some say they’re interested in working in the fields themselves.

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-- Uber, trying to leave its troubles behind, backs its CEO and pledges more diversity efforts.

SPORTS

-- The U.S. defeated Japan in a World Baseball Classic semifinal game at Dodger Stadium, which was probably bigger news in Tokyo than here.

-- The UCLA men’s basketball team could use more roaring success from Ike Anigbogu when they meet Kentucky this week.

OPINION

-- If Trump wants to end the Russia investigation quickly, he should try cooperating.

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-- Can senators reject Gorsuch for purely political reasons?

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s latest work looks at the working-class voters who embraced Trump. (The New Yorker)

-- Aristotle, creator of the computer? (The Atlantic)

-- In Iraq, the English word “hello” has become a way to say “good-bye.” (Wall Street Journal)

ONLY IN L.A.

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What does it take to build a competitive video gaming team? For Jack and Paullie Etienne, co-founders of L.A.-based Cloud9 Esports Inc., it means keeping track of their players’ practice time, cutting off their Internet at 2:15 a.m. to encourage proper rest, and offering a full range of paid benefits. That’s one way to go “1-up.”

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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