Today: Russia, the Slapdown and the Silence

March 27, 2018 5 AM PT

In a ramp-up of the conflict between Russia and the West, the U.S. has given 60 Russian officials a week to leave.

TOP STORIES

Russia, the Slapdown and the Silence

The White House announced that President Trump ordered the expulsion of 60 alleged Russian spies from the U.S. and the closing of the Russian Consulate in Seattle, its last diplomatic outpost on the West Coast. The move is the most aggressive diplomatic slapdown of Russia since the end of the Cold War, done in coordination with more than a dozen European allies and Canada, over the nerve agent attack on a former Soviet spy and his daughter in Britain this month. Trump, usually a man of many words, had nothing public to say about it Monday.

Forecast: Continued Storminess

The Stormy Daniels case is another conflict Trump has remained uncharacteristically silent about. After the porn star’s interview on “60 Minutes,” which drew 21 million viewers, it was left to White House spokesman Raj Shah to say, “The president doesn’t believe that any of the claims that Ms. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate.” Meanwhile, the legal fight has escalated, with Daniels filing a defamation claim against Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and Cohen’s lawyer demanding a retraction and apology from Daniels. What’s your take on this mess? Columnist Robin Abcarian’s verdict: “Big whoop.”

More Politics

-- The Commerce Department says the 2020 U.S. Census will include a question about citizenship status. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said the state will sue.

-- Texas and more than a dozen other states led by Republican governors got behind the Trump administration in its lawsuit over California’s so-called sanctuary laws.

-- News that the U.S. and China are open to negotiating to avert a trade war put investors in a buying mood Monday, giving the stock market its best day in more than two years.

‘I Want Justice for My Baby!’

Video shows the Sacramento police officers pursuing Stephon Clark shouted, “gun, gun, gun,” before fatally shooting the 23-year-old. They reportedly fired 20 rounds at the unarmed African American man in the backyard of the house where he lived with his grandparents. “Why didn’t you shoot him in the arm? Shoot him in the legs? Send in dogs? Send in a Taser?” his grandmother asked. “Justice! I want justice for my baby!” The death has sparked protests and calls for an independent investigation. But some who have criticized police for opening fire on Clark have also expressed support for how Sacramento officials have handled the aftermath.

The Keys to the Kingdom

In Saudi Arabia, ride-sharing services such as Uber and local competitor Careem have benefited from the long-standing religious edict that women are not allowed to drive in the country. Soon, that ban will be lifted, but rather than fret, the companies foresee greater opportunities. They’re planning on recruiting female drivers, who might open a market for female passengers uncomfortable with an unknown man behind the wheel. It’s still not clear, though, if authorities will restrict women’s ability to drive professionally in any way.

Kershaw’s Pivotal Season

After 10 years in the major leagues, all of them with the Dodgers, pitcher Clayton Kershaw is often called the greatest pitcher of his generation. He has three Cy Young Awards, was named the MVP in 2014 and has been on seven All-Star teams. The only missing box on his career checklist involves a World Series championship, which he came achingly close to last year. Will his 11th season be his final one in Dodger blue?

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- A mountain lion roamed a neighborhood in Azusa before being tranquilized.

-- Actor Evan Peters says he’s learned a lot in channeling Andy Warhol, Charles Manson, Jim Jones and other characters in the show “American Horror Story: Cult.”

CALIFORNIA

-- The anti-“sanctuary state” movement is picking up steam in Orange County after Los Alamitos leaders voted last week to defy the state’s law.

-- A federal report says the state signed up an estimated 450,000 people under Medicaid expansion who may not have been eligible for coverage.

-- Two Gardena police officers have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of using their position to acquire firearms and illegally selling more than 100 of the weapons.

-- Who will be L.A.’s next police chief? Thirty-one people have applied for the job.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- “Roseanne” is back, and the Conners discover you can go home again, especially in an ABC reboot.

-- TV critic Lorraine Ali says Ridley Scott’s aptly titled television series “The Terror” turns macabre Arctic history into an engrossing fight for survival.

-- Producer David Foster is a 45-time Grammy nominee known for pop hits like Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” Now, he’s back in the music game.

-- Two books about Vice President Mike Pence’s bunny Marlon Bundo, one of them a parody by John Oliver, are topping the bestseller lists.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland’s lawsuit over “Feud: Bette and Joan” has gone with the wind. The 101-year-old actress was not happy about her portrayal in the 2017 docudrama, but a California court of appeals has reversed a trial court’s decision green-lighting her lawsuit against FX and showrunner Ryan Murphy on 1st Amendment grounds.

NATION-WORLD

-- A U.S. Army veteran with a green card and a felony drug conviction has been deported from Illinois to Mexico, where he has not lived since childhood. He says customs agents took selfies with him “like fishermen with a prize fish.”

-- Officials say there are nearly 750 hours of video and 2,000 calls to 911 from the Las Vegas shooting. Almost all of it remains unseen and unheard by the public.

-- Linda Brown, who as a girl was at the center of Brown vs. Board of Education decision that struck down racial segregation in American schools, has died at age 76.

-- An armored mystery train. A flurry of activity at a Beijing guesthouse. Tourists barred from Tiananmen Square. Is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in China? Speculation is running wild.

-- A study suggests that by going vegan, America could feed an additional 390 million people.

BUSINESS

-- Arizona’s governor has suspended Uber’s self-driving car tests after the death of a pedestrian in Tempe, and Volvo says Uber had disabled the standard collision-avoidance technology in the vehicle.

-- The Federal Trade Commission confirmed that it opened an investigation of Facebook, and the Senate Judiciary Committee called on Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to testify, over its handling of user data.

SPORTS

-- With the acquisition of free-agent defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, the Rams’ defense looks like the “Legion of Goon,” columnist Bill Plaschke writes.

-- The L.A. Kings picked up ground in their tight race to make the NHL playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Calgary Flames.

OPINION

-- Fixing the LAPD’s broken police discipline system is as important as finding a new chief.

-- Some Asian Americans think an elite college degree will shelter them from discrimination. It won’t.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Did IBM flout U.S. laws and regulations to prevent age discrimination? An investigation says it did. (ProPublica)

-- A train ride, rarely taken by outsiders, from Pyongyang to Vladivostok. (The Calvert Journal)

-- After 50 years, Don Imus is finally signing off the air. (CBS News)

ONLY IN L.A.

Pyramids have been built by many civilizations around the world. In Malibu, not so much. But this three-bedroom house, designed for two astronomy photographers and positioned to face the magnetic north like the needle of a compass, is a point of convergence. Its asking price is $3.1 million. Pyramid power at work.

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