Newsletter: Today: Trump’s Deal or No Deal
President Trump’s erratic deal-making style is leaving lawmakers in both parties wary.
TOP STORIES
Trump’s Deal or No Deal
It began, yet again, on Twitter: President Trump attacked Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, falsely claiming that they are demanding higher taxes and “unchecked” immigration as the clock ticks down to a potential government shutdown next week. That led to “Chuck and Nancy” pulling out of a meeting with Trump and their GOP counterparts to discuss making deals on some must-do items. Though Democrats were the target this time, Trump has blindsided Republicans more than once too, leaving many in both parties distrustful of negotiations with him. Meanwhile, Trump did make some concessions to try winning over reluctant Republicans on the GOP tax plan. It would take only three of the roughly half a dozen remaining GOP holdouts to block the Senate tax bill.
More From Washington
-- The latest test launch by North Korea of an intercontinental ballistic missile suggests it’s possible one could reach Washington.
-- In some of the toughest criticism of Russia to come out of the Trump administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slammed Moscow for what he called a campaign of force, intimidation and subterfuge.
-- A federal judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order to keep Trump designee Mick Mulvaney from serving as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Political Ambition and a Dark Past
When Republicans in Broward County, Fla., elected Rupert Tarsey to the local party’s executive committee, they didn’t know much about him. Roughly 2,700 miles away, in Beverly Hills, some people knew a lot about Tarsey, but under a different name: Rupert Ditsworth. His savage beating of a fellow student at the exclusive Harvard-Westlake High School in 2007, when he was 17, was reduced to a misdemeanor on his record. Now it’s putting his political ambitions in jeopardy.
Grammys: The Next Generation
The Grammys have long been criticized for being behind the times, often honoring artists who should have won awards decades earlier but didn’t. This year’s nominations are different — heavily skewed to rap, hip-hop and R&B with artists such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee and Bruno Mars. For the first time in the awards’ six-decade history, there was not a white male among the album-of-the-year nominees. Perhaps the most telling departure? No Beatles or Beatles-related recordings are in contention. See the full list, which even includes a nomination for Bernie Sanders.
Inside the Polanski File
Last month, Steve Lopez wrote a column reminding readers that producer Harvey Weinstein had been one of those defending Roman Polanski when the director was facing possible extradition to the United States in 2009. Then Lopez got an email that began: “I’m Mr. Polanski’s attorney.” Lawyer Harland Braun contends that Polanski, who fled the U.S. in 1977 before being sentenced for sexual intercourse with a minor, has already paid the price. Lopez looked through the Polanski file and disagrees.
‘Just Drive,’ She Said. And the Car Did …
At the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, you’ll see plenty of new vehicles with all kinds of capabilities. What you won’t see is a seamless voice-controlled operating system that would allow you to do everything such as start the car, check on weather conditions, download coupons and pay parking tickets. But industry insiders say it’s coming, as automakers, suppliers, tech companies, software firms and others all fight to get in on the action.
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Band of brothers: The 0-11 Hawkins High School football team refuses to give up.
-- Actor Bambadjan Bamba comes out as undocumented.
-- Singer Adam Levine has listed his Bel-Air home for $18.9 million, just four months after buying it.
CALIFORNIA
-- Sacramento lobbyists, staffers and lawyers urged lawmakers to overhaul how the state Assembly tracks and handles sexual harassment claims.
-- A developer looking to build 1,130 hotel rooms near the L.A. Convention Center could receive $103.3 million in public financial assistance over 25 years under a proposal going to the City Council.
-- Jeen Han, who was dubbed “the evil twin” for plotting to kill her “good twin” sister in Irvine, might get out of prison after 19 years.
-- Scientists say they’ve unearthed fossil remains of a sea cow that lived in the shallow waters off Southern California’s Channel Islands about 25 million years ago.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- NBC has fired “Today” host Matt Lauer for “inappropriate sexual behavior.”
-- Director Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Oscar-winning virtual-reality project, “Carne y Arena,” was influenced by a migrant woman’s death.
-- Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” received its first major honor of the awards season, as the movie about the journalism industry was named the year’s best picture by the National Board of Review.
-- New Marvel Comics editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski has a hidden past: He used to write for Marvel under the name Akira Yoshida.
-- Sugar Plum Fairies, Scrooge and Lemony Snicket: A selection of 13 L.A. holiday events for kids.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
“I’ve often been accused by the critics of being myself on the screen. But being one’s self is more difficult than you’d suppose. Anyway, who else would I be? Marlon Brando?” That was Cary Grant, the leading man of “The Awful Truth,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “His Girl Friday” and many more films, who died on this date in 1986.
NATION-WORLD
-- Las Vegas police say a man wearing a wig, glasses and a mask robbed a cash cage at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and escaped in a car. Actor James Woods was among those who tweeted he saw it.
-- The accused ringleader of the 2012 Benghazi attacks was convicted of terrorism-related charges but found not guilty of multiple counts of murder.
-- A U.S. prosecutor says a Turkish-Iranian gold trader with ties to Turkey’s president has pleaded guilty in a billion-dollar economic sanctions-busting and money-laundering scheme.
-- Protesters have taken to the streets in Honduras, where election officials still have not declared a winner in Sunday’s presidential vote amid allegations of fraud.
-- About 15% of Americans with HIV don’t know they’re infected, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BUSINESS
-- California utilities and energy authorities are warning that Southern California Gas Co. might not be able to provide enough natural gas for all its customers if a cold snap hits this winter.
-- Record online shopping on Cyber Monday, especially on smartphones, capped a strong Thanksgiving weekend of holiday retail sales nationwide.
SPORTS
-- Security camera footage is inconsistent with the FBI’s account of an August meeting that is a key part of the college basketball bribery case against USC associate head coach Tony Bland and would-be sports agent Christian Dawkins.
-- Clippers power forward Blake Griffin could be out up to two months with a knee injury. Columnist Bill Plaschke thinks the team should trade and tank.
OPINION
-- Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin writes that the GOP’s tax plan is terrible for L.A.
-- Father Gregory Boyle on how to bridge the gap between “us” and “them.”
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- In 2016, Trump acknowledged and apologized for his comments in the “Access Hollywood” tape. Now he’s reportedly suggesting it’s not authentic, as well as going back to questioning President Obama’s birth certificate. (New York Times)
-- CNN says it’s boycotting a White House Christmas party. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ response: “Christmas comes early!” (Politico)
-- Who owns the art made by wartime captives at Guantanamo Bay? The U.S. government says it does. (Miami Herald)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
A $300,000 Ferrari — and its driver was asking for gas money. Something didn’t add up. When police arrived at a Mobil station in Santa Ana, they found an exotic car that had been trashed and a man with a long rap sheet. The Ferrari’s owner had reported it stolen two weeks earlier. “It was just like ‘Gone in 60 Seconds,’ ” she says. Except for the ending.
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