Newsletter: In the Carolinas, a hurricane rages on

Hurricane Dorian continues to pound the Southeastern U.S. coastline, as the death toll in the Bahamas rises.

TOP STORIES

In the Carolinas, a Hurricane Rages On

Hurricane Dorian has been lashing the coast of South and North Carolina, spawning tornadoes and threatening hundreds of thousands of coastal residents with intense flooding, while the death toll in the Bahamas continues to rise. Even though Dorian is not as powerful as it was when it made landfall in the Bahamas, it has grown in size, with hurricane-force winds stretching as far as 60 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching as far as 220 miles. Meanwhile, President Trump has continued to insist on his false claim that the life-threatening storm could have hit Alabama.

Questions of Safety

A preliminary investigation into the Conception dive boat fire has suggested serious safety deficiencies aboard the vessel, including the lack of a “roaming night watchman” who is required to be awake and alert passengers in the event of a fire or other dangers, according to several law enforcement sources familiar with the inquiry. The sources stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages and could take months to complete.

An Acquittal and a Mistrial

A verdict Thursday brought scant closure for the families of the 36 people killed three years ago when fire consumed the Oakland warehouse-turned-arts collective known as the Ghost Ship. The two men charged with manslaughter avoided criminal punishment, in a painful defeat for prosecutors and families. A jury acquitted Max Harris, the warehouse’s self-described creative director, but couldn’t reach agreement on Derick Almena, its property manager; `10 jurors voted to convict him, two to acquit.

Inflaming the Vaccine Debate

So much for the “technical” tweaks his advisors promised. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sudden push for changes to legislation that would limit exemptions from school vaccine requirements is sowing confusion in the Capitol around an already contentious issue, and could prompt a rush for new exemptions. Coming just days before the legislative session ends, his demands — which could reduce or eliminate the number of exemptions subject to state scrutiny — have left vaccine supporters and critics on edge.

USC’s $400-Million Man

Once a scholarship student at USC, he formed deep bonds with Trojan football legends O.J. Simpson, Lynn Swann and A.C. Cowlings. In recent years, he has donated staggering sums to the university, nearly all of it anonymously. This is the story of billionaire B. Wayne Hughes Sr.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Many of Newport Beach’s original homes sat right on the beach, propped up on stilts. But storms and high tides in 1933-34 began to change that — and wash away the foot of 26th Street. On this day in 1934, truckloads of rocks were dumped there to try to combat the erosion, as depicted in the below photograph, published in the Sept. 7, 1934, edition. See more photos of the old beach homes here.

Sep. 6, 1934: In Newport Beach, where the foot of 26th Street was washed away, truckloads of rock were dumped in an attempt to prevent further destruction by pounding waves.

(Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

— A bill headed to Gov. Newsom’s desk would bar companies from forcing their employees into arbitration. The popularity of such forced arbitration agreements has made it hard for workers to sue their bosses for sexual harassment in the era of #MeToo.

— As Plácido Domingo faces a second round of sexual harassment allegations, pressure is growing on Los Angeles Opera to take action against its general manager.

— The fast-moving Tenaja fire that erupted in the hillsides near Murrieta has prompted new evacuation orders for more neighborhoods in the city of about 113,000.

— Remember “the blob” of 2014-15? Scientists say a large and unusually warm mass of water is threatening to disturb the marine ecosystem along the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Alaska.

YOUR WEEKEND

— The lowdown on hu tieu, the Chinese-Vietnamese-Cambodian noodles that come in so many variations.

— Is it hot enough for ya? Cooking columnist Ben Mims offers some recipes for when it’s too hot to cook.

— At Dance Church in Silver Lake, you can dance like no one’s watching, because no one is.

— Have Lake Powell all to yourself on an off-season weekend trip.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— The horror sequel “It Chapter Two” has hit theaters, and reviewer Jen Yamato says the film confronts scarier evils than Pennywise the clown.

— The Netflix debate: Should you see the movies “Marriage Story,” “Laundromat” and “The King” at home or in a theater?

— Linda Ronstadt on the sound of her life: “I was just a geek standing around in Levi shorts trying to get as close to the music as I could.”

— Lana Del Rey hated NPR’s review of her latest album, but writer Ann Powers (a former pop music critic here at The Times) is standing her ground.

NATION-WORLD

— The Supreme Court is weighing a fast-track appeal from the Trump administration that seeks to close the door to nearly all migrants who seek asylum at the southern border.

— Jason Greenblatt, the architect of the Trump administration’s delayed Mideast peace plan, is leaving the White House in the face of widespread skepticism about the viability of the as-yet-unseen proposal.

— The Trump administration once again has waded into the Brexit quagmire, giving U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s opponents a chance to cast the U.S. as a villain.

— Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s first post-independence leader who ruinously took the country down a path of economic and democratic destruction before being driven from power, has died.

— Australia has failed to heed the lessons of the United States and is now facing skyrocketing rates of opioid prescriptions and related deaths.

— Meanwhile, polio is making a troubling comeback in Pakistan, and it is being driven by some of the same forces spreading measles in the U.S.

BUSINESS

— If you tried but failed to get your student debt wiped out under a Bush-era forgiveness program, you’re in good company. Even after Congress ordered the feds to expand it, the Education Department again rejected 99% of applicants, a watchdog report found.

— The Trump administration is rolling back Obama-era rules that expanded energy-use requirements to some of the most commonly used lightbulbs. It’s not immediately clear how broadly the move will affect California, which has been setting its own requirements for energy-efficient bulbs.

— Now you can use Facebook to find a date, provided you can get over its whole privacy debacle.

SPORTS

— The NFL will celebrate a century of its existence this year. This timeline looks at a moment in each season.

— Cody Bellinger has been stuck in a rut at bat. Here are some possible reasons why.

— UCLA is having trouble drawing crowds, and its string of losing seasons isn’t the only culprit.

OPINION

— Beijing and the government of Hong Kong must come to terms with the fact that “autocracy and repression have radicalized a single-issue movement into a people’s uprising for freedom and democracy,” UCLA professor Ching Kwan Lee writes.

— Why Trump’s hurricane map overshadowed CNN’s town hall on climate change.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— Over 25 years, PG&E misled regulators, withheld data and hindered investigations, at a cost of $2.6 billion. (Wall Street Journal)

— Amazon’s promise of fast delivery has come at a hidden price: scores of accidents involving its delivery contractors that led to serious injuries and deaths. It has avoided legal responsibility but keeps a tight grip on how drivers do their jobs. (ProPublica)

ONLY IN L.A.

The NFL isn’t the only institution celebrating its 100th birthday. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens has begun its yearlong centennial festivities, and with a new name to boot: It’s now the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Swapping out “Collections” for “Museum” is meant to be more welcoming as well as internet-search-friendly. Still, one wonders: Why not just rename it “the Huntington,” which is what just about everyone really calls it?

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