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Newsletter: Today: What the Bombing in Syria Means for the Hermit Kingdom

The North Korean flag flies over the country's embassy in Beijing.
(Fred Dufour / AFP/Getty Images)
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The Trump administration is sending a not-so-subtle message to North Korea. 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

What the Bombing in Syria Means for the Hermit Kingdom

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Pyongyang is nearly 5,000 miles from the Shayrat air base in Syria, but the Trump administration hopes Kim Jong Un got the message: Don’t risk being next. With a key holiday coming Saturday, North Korea has warned of testing an intercontinental ballistic missile or an underground nuclear weapon. The U.S. has sent ships toward the Korean peninsula and made note of its “full range of options.” All this comes after President Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But while the Trump team works through what’s next in the complicated Syrian situation, the stakes with a nuclear-capable North Korea are much higher.

Why the L.A. Times Took a Stand on Trump

Millions read last week’s series of editorials on Trump from the Times Editorial Board. (If you missed any, catch up on all of them here.) But some of you wondered: Why take a stand on him 11 weeks into his presidency? “Rather than wait until the public grew inured to the lies, the undermining of democratic institutions, the demagoguery and bluster, we decided to lay out our concerns at length and in detail,” the board writes. Take an inside look at what went into the series.

The Consequences of Cutting Global Aid

How do you prevent further conflict in the world? Some say it starts with reducing extreme poverty and disease, and that’s why they’re questioning the Trump administration’s proposal to dramatically cut funding for major international health initiatives. Right now, the U.S. is the largest funder of global health programs, including family planning, a hot-button issue among conservatives. Instead, Trump says that money should be used at home.

More Politics

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-- Neil Gorsuch will be sworn in this morning, and his effect on the divided Supreme Court will begin immediately.

-- Trump leaned heavily last week on the Washington establishment he vowed to disrupt.

-- The story about Susan Rice is a tale of two media worlds.

A Horror-Filled Sunday in Egypt

Islamic State is claiming responsibility for suicide bombings at Egyptian Coptic Christian churches in two cities on Palm Sunday that killed more than 40 people and injured many more. Just last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi had met with Trump at the White House and pledged to work together to fight radical groups. Now, Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency in the country, which already has clamped down on political expression.

Pension Reform: Is It All in the Phrasing?

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California has been facing a public pension crisis for some time now, but it hasn’t been easy trying to get a pension reform initiative in front of voters. What’s the holdup? Some advocates say they can’t get a fair shake because of the language on the ballot. It’s written by the state attorney general, usually a Democrat elected with strong union support. Read the latest in our pension crisis series.

It’s Quiet in the Valley of the Rio Grande

The busy border in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has gone suddenly quiet. The number of immigrants caught crossing illegally into the United States has dropped dramatically; in March, it hit the lowest monthly total in at least 17 years. Border officials say they aren’t doing anything differently. Instead, they say it could be because of any number of factors, including Trump’s tough talk, more security on Mexico’s southern border and even an increase in smuggling fees.

U.S. Border Patrol agent Marlene Castro keeps watch in Hidalgo, Texas, a once-bustling but now quiet crossing point.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Voice of the L.A. Kings Says Farewell

The first time Bob Miller applied to be the L.A. Kings’ play-by-play announcer in 1972, he didn’t get the job. But as fate would have it, the hockey team hired him the next year, and there he would stay. On Sunday, at age 78, the Hall of Famer called the last of 3,353 Kings games — and became the final part of L.A.’s sportscasting trinity, along with Vin Scully and Chick Hearn, to leave the airwaves. Miller still has plenty of stories to tell.

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OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- Columnist Steve Lopez says California’s environmental crusaders have helped save our state. Now, they’re facing down Trump.

-- Gov. Jerry Brown made it official: The long California drought is over.

-- How the sausage gets made: Nearly $1 billion in side deals by Gov. Brown and Democratic leaders paved the way for a legislative vote to raise the gas tax in California.

-- What happens when an iconic Vegas neon sign becomes a Hillary Clinton-bashing, far-right Twitter persona?

-- A young man in Oakland has captured the wisdom of his elders on a blog and in a book called “OG Told Me.”

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-- Myanmar’s long-suffering Rohingya Muslims hoped that Aung San Suu Kyi would make them full citizens. They were wrong.

-- Almost forgotten, Fred Claire played a crucial role in the Dodgers’ last World Series.

-- With his wife on the mend, columnist Chris Erskine is working to return his house to semi-chaos.

CALIFORNIA

-- Payouts for misconduct claims against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have soared; they topped $50 million last year.

-- The L.A. County district attorney’s office has seen a big drop in the number of public corruption prosecutions. But why?

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-- The LAPD goes electric: It will be among the first agencies to get Ford’s latest creation, the world’s first “pursuit-rated” hybrid police car.

-- Here’s what you need to know about the “super bloom” at Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County. It’s expected to last only a couple of more weeks.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Snoop Dogg rapped for Tupac Shakur, Joan Baez sang, and David Letterman introduced Pearl Jam.

-- The latest from our “L.A. Without the NEA” series: Tim Robbins on his $50-a-week first acting job, and why it proves the power of the NEA.

-- Did you miss Alec Baldwin as Trump and Bill O’Reilly on “Saturday Night Live”? Here you go.

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-- Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren is suing Glenn Beck and the Blaze for wrongful termination over her comments on abortion.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Chuck Connors was a professional basketball player, then switched to pro baseball, before embarking on a long Hollywood career. But to most people, he’ll always be the Rifleman. “It’s no problem at all for me,” he said in 1983. “My whole ability to make a living is derived from the fact that I was ‘The Rifleman.’ ” Connors was born on this date in 1921; he died Nov. 10, 1992.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Taliban fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Now Russia is increasing its contact with the militant group and complicating the U.S. war effort.

-- Arkansas officials plan to push ahead with seven executions starting April 17.

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-- Israel’s conservatives are facing a tough lesson: Trump’s policies may not be so different from Obama’s approach.

-- Portland’s most visible homeless encampment is moving, but the underlying problems persist.

-- Astronomers say they’ve caught wind of an atmosphere around a super-Earth known as GJ 1132b, just 39 light-years away.

BUSINESS

-- Wal-Mart is aggressively expanding its e-commerce effort in competition with online king Amazon.

-- Index funds are massively popular with small investors, but they have their risks too.

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SPORTS

-- At last! Sergio Garcia won his first major golf tournament on his 74th try on the 73rd hole of the Masters.

-- A crazy comeback: The Angels scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Seattle Mariners, 10-9.

OPINION

-- Battle lines in the White House civil war: See the illustration by Steve Brodner.

-- Why was this Seder different from all other Seders?

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WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A brief history of the term “law and order” in the United States. (Longreads)

-- How did Prince Charles become so unpopular in Britain? (The New Yorker)

-- This $635 meal in Paris was unforgettable: Care for a canapé that “looks like a Barbie-sized silicone breast implant”? (The Guardian)

ONLY IN L.A.

“América Tropical,” David Alfaro Siqueiros’ Olvera Street mural with a strong social message, was whitewashed shortly after it was created in 1932. For seven decades, it remained covered until it finally underwent conservation work and received a 2012 rededication. The downside? Being exposed to downtown L.A.’s life of grime. That’s why it’s getting a bath.

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