Newsletter: Today: Is Trump Pushing for an Imperial Presidency?
The latest from our editorial board: a look at President Trump’s attempts to undermine American institutions. 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
Is Trump Pushing for an Imperial Presidency?
“I alone can fix it.” To Donald Trump’s supporters, his words at the Republican National Convention were a rallying cry. To his critics, they were a warning. Part 3 of the Times Editorial Board’s series of editorials on the Trump presidency assesses his “dangerously authoritarian vision of the presidency”: “What’s uniquely threatening about Trump’s approach … is how many fronts he’s opened in this struggle for power and the vehemence with which he seeks to undermine the institutions that don’t go along.”
Who Is the Real Devin Nunes?
In Washington, Devin Nunes has been called Inspector Clouseau, a patsy and worse. In his hometown of Tulare, a farming community southeast of Fresno, he’s still seen as a model of success. What’s behind these drastically different views of the congressman leading the House Intelligence Committee? Read this revealing portrait of Nunes by Times political writer Cathleen Decker, who visited Tulare to get the locals’ view.
After Bashing China, Trump Will Meet Its Leader
Global trade. North Korea. Taiwan. Many sensitive topics are likely to come up when Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday and Friday. Add in a clash of styles — Xi, the man of protocol, and Trump, the provocateur — and there’s a frisson of anxiety in the air. Will it be a showdown, or more harmonious, including a minor economic concession from China? Here’s one more worry: If things go south, some cybersecurity experts fear a wave of hacks against U.S. companies.
More Politics
-- This could hit those living in California, New York and other blue states hard: A plan by House Republicans calls for axing the federal deduction for state and local taxes.
-- Senators are working quietly on a long-shot bid for compromise on Supreme Court nominee Neil M. Gorsuch. Democrats have secured enough votes to filibuster.
-- A San Francisco-based federal appeals court will hear arguments on Trump’s latest travel and refugee resettlement restrictions in May.
-- Egypt’s authoritarian-minded president got a warm White House welcome, while Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, traveled to Iraq in a visit that underscored Kushner’s growing role.
Driving While Undocumented, but Not Unlicensed
Does giving driver’s licenses to immigrants living illegally in the U.S. make the roads safer? While people argue the wisdom of that practice back and forth, a Stanford University study has found that it appears to have helped lower the number of hit-and-run accidents in California. “It’s shocking to see how you have these controversial debates and everyone is flying blind in terms of evidence,” says one of the researchers.
The FAA Clears Harrison Ford for Takeoff (but Watch Out for Those Landings)
When Harrison Ford, who has had his fair share of plane mishaps, landed his small plane on a taxiway at John Wayne Airport in Orange County two months ago, he narrowly missed a jetliner with 100 passengers aboard. Federal authorities have determined that the 74-year-old actor should not face discipline but take only “awareness training,” which he is said to have already completed. Tapes show Ford was apologetic and embarrassed by his dangerous mistake.
CALIFORNIA
-- The state could be facing more than $860 million in costs to repair roads, bridges and highways damaged from this winter’s storms.
-- More than half of the 24 candidates running in L.A.’s 34th Congressional District are women, and some say Trump spurred them to run. Voting is today.
-- A Los Angeles County judge has denied the latest effort by filmmaker Roman Polanski to resolve his 40-year-old statutory rape case.
-- Want to know what Yosemite’s bears are up to? There’s a website for that.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Here’s what the TV show “Big Little Lies” left out from the book ending.
-- Classical music critic Mark Swed takes us inside a star-studded tribute to retired Nonesuch Records President Robert Hurwitz.
-- La’Porsha Renae found fame on “American Idol.” Now she’s trying to stay true to her moral compass while navigating the music industry.
-- India banned the movie “Lipstick Under My Burkha” because of its “lady-oriented content,” “sexual scenes” and “audio pornography.” It plays in L.A. this week.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
Roger Ebert was one of America’s most recognizable film critics, with a Pulitzer, a hit TV show and a popular blog. Despite battling cancer and losing his speaking voice, he remained prolific, writing more than 300 movie reviews in 2012. He died on this date in 2013.
NATION-WORLD
-- Russia blamed terrorists for a deadly explosion in a subway train in St. Petersburg, the hometown of President Vladimir Putin.
-- Florida’s Republican governor took away 21 more first-degree murder cases from a Democratic prosecutor who has said she will no longer seek the death penalty.
-- So many journalists are being killed in Mexico that one newspaper has decided to shut down.
-- A Saudi princess says Saudi Arabia’s women are misjudged and don’t need others to speak on their behalf.
-- A story of two sisters in the western U.S.: One faces early onset Alzheimer’s. The other plans to be with her for the journey.
BUSINESS
-- Fox News was hit with another sexual harassment claim as Mercedes pulled its ads from “The O’Reilly Factor.”
-- The value of Tesla stock has overtaken that of Ford, and Tesla Chairman Elon Musk got in a dig at short sellers.
-- Are you ready to be chipped? Companies have started implanting microchips into workers’ bodies.
SPORTS
-- Columnist Bill Plaschke checks in on the Dodgers’ 60th opening day in Los Angeles and finds out what Vin Scully was doing.
-- Watch: Learn how to throw a pitch in 60 seconds, or at least not look terrible doing so.
-- North Carolina pulled away in the final moments to defeat Gonzaga, 71-65, for the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
OPINION
-- The Bundy family and followers are on trial again. Win or lose in court, theirs is a lost cause.
-- Kevin de León personifies the Trump resistance. Why isn’t he running for governor?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Officials say Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to Putin met in the Seychelles islands as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and Trump, who was then nine days away from his inauguration. (Washington Post)
-- Get an exclusive look at what some companies are proposing for the design of Trump’s border wall. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
-- A son tries to understand his father’s experience being the only black man on the 1951-52 University of Oregon Ducks basketball team. (The Undefeated)
-- Comparing Melania Trump’s official White House portrait to those of Michelle Obama and Nancy Reagan. (Vogue)
ONLY IN L.A.
You’ve heard of Dodger Dogs. What about the Dodger Burger? The brand-new concoction is “a beef patty smothered in BBQ sauce, topped with four Dodger Dog slices, caramelized onions and a couple of jalapeño poppers,” reports sports columnist Dylan Hernandez. Apparently, it tastes better than it looks.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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