Today: Showdown in Texas. How ‘Left’ Is Clinton?

Hello. I'm Davan Maharaj, the editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines you shouldn't miss today.

TOP STORIES

Showdown in Texas

On one side: a 56-year-old New York conservative and fiery critic of radical Islam. On the other: a would-be jihadist from Phoenix. Their worlds collided in a quiet Texas town at a contest for prophet Muhammad cartoons. Police killed the attacker and an accomplice before they could blast their way inside; but the clash highlighted anew the fine line between free speech and hate speech in the struggle between radical Islam and the West. Find the latest here.

What's 'Left' for Clinton?

Hillary Clinton's in no rush to box herself into positions, but the coalition that propelled Barack Obama to the presidency is restless. It's not giving her the benefit of the doubt. She's clearly not "left" enough for unions. She's tried to edge away from Obama. Now, a litmus test looms: Where will she stand on Obama's Pacific trade pact, which the left is mobilizing to fight.

'Spitting Rocks'

Food poisoning is hardly good fortune, but an odd-looking chicken leg might have saved the lives of Californians Andrew and Jennifer Maiorana. As others forged ahead on a trek in Nepal, they had to hole up and rest in a three-house hamlet. Then the quake struck. "The mountain was spitting rocks," Andrew says. Somehow, the hamlet held up. Other trekkers met a different fate.

Inside Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo boasts of great success in selling additional accounts and services to clients. In a civil complaint, the L.A. city attorney paints a darker picture: "unfair, unlawful and fraudulent conduct" involving customers' private information, and sometimes their assets. It was prompted by a Times article on sales pressure at bank branches. The bank says it will fight the allegations.

Nevada's Special Envoy

George Flint is the only brothel lobbyist in the only state to sanction legal prostitution. At 81, he's been at it half a century. He's not the cigar-chomping, flashy type you might expect. He's the son of two preachers and highly regarded in Carson City. Now he's retiring, and April 12 has been declared "George Flint Day."  His thoughts on the future of prostitution might surprise you.

CALIFORNIA

-- Accounts of sex, betrayal and rage emerge in court records on the shooting of a Bell Gardens mayor by his wife.

-- The California Assembly votes to block the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

-- More details emerge about the death of Silicon Valley executive Dave Goldberg.

NATION-WORLD

-- Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson join an increasingly crowded field of Republican presidential primary candidates.

-- President Obama says riots like Baltimore's are fueled by "a sense of unfairness and powerlessness."

-- Charlotte Elizabeth Diana: A name that hits all the right royal notes for Britain's newest princess.

-- Mediators call urgent talks as violence flares up in Ukraine.

BUSINESS

-- Comcast now has more Internet customers than cable TV subscribers.

-- Corinthian Colleges Inc. files for bankruptcy protection. 

-- David Lazarus: How checks always bounce the banks' way. 

SPORTS

-- Even without Chris Paul, the Clippers beat the Rockets, 117-101, in Game 1.

-- Carson considers $50 million in bonds to finish a cleanup at the site proposed for an NFL stadium.

-- Manny Pacquiao will have right-shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

-- The latest scores and stats.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Musicians speak -- and sing -- out after the social unrest in Boston. 

-- Star Wars Day: The Force is still strong in comics.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Special treatment: Under U.S. law, Cuban refugees don't have to be from Cuba.

-- The first player ever chosen in an NFL draft never played a down of pro football.

-- Germany opens a Nazi museum in the party's former headquarters.

ONLY IN L.A.

All Work and All Play: Day-old breakfast sits in a pan on the stove. Fast-food cups leave rings on the coffee table. They stay up until 4 a.m. playing video games and don't stumble down for breakfast until noon. But this isn't a frat house. These guys play video games for a living. Here's the story of Team Fusion, a struggling minor-league squad playing the popular online game "League of Legends."

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.