Los Angeles Times stories
8 movies we’ll be talking about at next year’s Oscars
If Democratic presidential candidates are criss-crossing New Hampshire and buying vintage sequined jackets in South Carolina to boost their bona fides for the 2020 election, then it can’t be too early to talk about next year’s Oscars, right? That’s a rhetorical question. Of course, it’s too soon. But that’s not...
Judge tightens gag order on Roger Stone after controversial Instagram postVideo
WASHINGTON — A federal judge issued a tighter gag order on Roger Stone, the former political adviser to President Trump, after he posted an image on social media showing what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gunsight next to her head. “I want to be clear today. I gave...
Trump administration to cancel $929 million in California high-speed rail funding
The fate of California’s high-speed rail project was cast into further doubt Tuesday when the Department of Transportation announced plans to cancel $929 million in grant funds, a move that some viewed as political payback. The action marks an escalation in the battle between President Trump and the state of...
Scientists reveal climate forecast for 2080 — and it’s a whole lot warmer
Scientists have just revealed the climate forecast for the year 2080 in hundreds of cities across North America, and — surprise! — it looks like it’s going to get a whole lot warmer in all of them. If humanity continues to emit greenhouse gases at the same rate it does...
Trump and Beto O’Rourke hold dueling rallies on immigration in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas — Undaunted by his past failures, President Trump on Monday again headed south to the border with Mexico to make his case to spend billions of federal dollars for a wall there, hoping to put Democrats in Washington on the defensive as another partial government shutdown looms....
Here’s reportedly why Trump stopped bashing the NFL and players who protested
WASHINGTON — During his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sidestepped a question about President Donald Trump’s complaints that the game had gone soft, insisting, “We have a lot of fans, the president among them.” Trump may sometimes sound like Joey from Tarzana or some...
Justice Department charges Chinese telecom giant Huawei with fraud
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department fired a legal broadside Monday at Chinese telecom giant Huawei, alleging the company operated a long-running scheme to deceive financial institutions about its activities in Iran and tried to steal sensitive information from T-Mobile. The charges follow others in recent months lodged by the Trump...
Uninsured rate under Trump surges to highest level since ‘Obamacare’ began
WASHINGTON — The percentage of American adults without health insurance surged upward in 2018, reaching levels not recorded since before President Trump took office, according to a new national survey that revealed widespread coverage losses over the past two years. At the end of 2018, 13.7 percent of U.S. adults...
Calif. payday lender refunds $800K to settle predatory lending allegations
WASHINGTON — A California payday lender is refunding about $800,000 to consumers to settle allegations that it steered borrowers into high-interest loans and engaged in other illegal practices, state officials said Monday. California Check Cashing Stores also agreed to pay $105,000 in penalties and other costs in a consent order...
L.A. school district, teachers meet all weekend to resolve strike
LOS ANGELES—Teams from the Los Angeles Unified School District and the teachers union worked long hours this weekend to settle a teachers’ strike that has so far cost students five days of normal instruction. The office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, which is mediating the talks, has been sending out the...
Canadian sentenced to death in China, escalating a bitter diplomatic row
BEIJING — A diplomatic dispute between China and Canada is likely to take on new urgency after a provincial court in northeastern China on Monday sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug trafficking — a case for which he previously had been sentenced to life in prison. China has...
Democrats say they will step up investigations after new reports on Trump and Russia
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats Sunday pledged heightened scrutiny of President Trump’s dealings with Russia, spurred by news reports of extraordinary secrecy surrounding his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the opening in 2017 of an FBI counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump worked on behalf of the Kremlin. Trump’s Republican...
Rookie cop in Northern California ‘ambushed’ at crash scene
DAVIS, Calif. — Natalie Corona was a rising star in her police department with a sparkling smile and a huge heart who had followed in her father’s footsteps and became an officer, fulfilling a lifelong dream just a few months ago when her dad pinned the badge on her uniform....
US Postal Service fined $150,000 after heat-related death of LA mail carrier
LOS ANGELES — The United States Postal Service is facing nearly $150,000 in fines after the heat-related death of a Los Angeles mail carrier last summer. Peggy Frank, 63, was found dead in her non-air-conditioned mail truck on July 6, the same day temperatures in the Los Angeles neighborhood of...
Paul Manafort shared polling data with Russian during presidential campaign, filing asserts
WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, apparently shared polling data during the 2016 presidential campaign with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business partner in Ukraine who allegedly has ties to Russian intelligence, according to a court filing released Tuesday. It’s unclear whether the information involved internal campaign data or...
Trump will address nation, visit border to press for a wall
WASHINGTON — President Trump will address the nation on Tuesday night and travel on Thursday to the U.S.-Mexico border to press his case for a wall there, amid a partisan funding impasse over the issue that has kept the government partially shut down into a third week. The president tweeted...
Smoking at record low in U.S., but benefits aren’t shared equally
Cigarette smoking is at an all-time low in the United States, but the benefits of this public health achievement are not being shared equally by all Americans. A new analysis of health data from the nation’s 500 largest cities shows that the people who live in neighborhoods with the highest...
Kevin Hart ‘evaluating’ returning to host the Oscars
Will Kevin Hart return as Oscars host? The comedian said Thursday he is “evaluating” whether to return to the job he stepped down from last month over the backlash he faced concerning his past homophobic remarks. The comments came during a taping of Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show on Thursday —...
