Newsletter: Today: Obama Decides and California Looms Large

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Plays Well With Others

Standing in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama introduced fellow Chicagoan Judge Merrick Garland as his choice for Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. He described Garland as having “one of America’s sharpest legal minds,” but will that be enough to fracture the united front of Senate Republicans who have vowed not to act until a new president is in office?

California Matters

As the dust settles from Tuesday’s primaries, California is looming as a make-or-break state for the three remaining GOP candidates. With 172 delegates — 14% of the number required to win the nomination — at stake, Ted Cruz launched his ground game here last summer and is the best organized. Donald Trump and John Kasich will have to play catch-up as the clock winds down.

Uncharted Territory

Donald Trump’s money has helped his campaign, but if elected president, that could be a liability. What if a future Trump administration declared a parcel next to a Trump golf course as public land and the value of the golf course tripled? How would he negotiate with a foreign leader in a country where his company owned a casino? The size of his holdings, his knack for self-promotion and the role he plays in his companies pose political, financial and ethical challenges.

Job Training and Tattoo Removal

In settling a class-action lawsuit that accused the Los Angeles Police Department of enforcing unconstitutional curfews against suspected gang members, the city of Los Angeles will pay as much as $30 million to assist the thousands of people who were subject to those injunctions. The settlement, said City Atty. Mike Feuer, creates opportunities for gang members to “turn their lives around” without making direct payments to the gangs.

Exodus From Afghanistan

Travel to Herat, Afghanistan, and you will discover a major hub for Afghans eager to leave their country for Europe. By voting with their feet, they have made clear the high cost of the unending violence and lack of economic opportunity. Never mind that the U.S. has spent $32 billion since 2001 on governance and development programs. “More and more,” said one man about to leave, “we feel like we are on our own.”

CALIFORNIA

— Steve Lopez: Is Mark Vargas good for the California Coastal Commission? First, the commissioner flew to Ireland for a U2 concert before approving its guitarist’s Malibu project. Then in a public meeting, he let fly a series of F-bombs directed at a petitioner.

— El Niño is raising havoc in Northern California. A rain-soaked hillside on the edge of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest collapsed, sending with it portions of a highway. For only three days this month has it not rained in Eureka.

— Former American Apparel CEO Dov Charney is suing his former lawyers for malpractice. Charney, who was fired in December, claimed that better representation might have negotiated “a better deal” for him.

— The murders were particularly gruesome, and the jury recommended the death penalty for Daniel Wozniak. Now the judge is giving his attorney until the end of April to file a brief that would recommend life in prison without parole.

— P22 might just get a reprieve for the suspected in the mauling of a koala. The Los Angeles Zoo made it clear that it does not want the mountain lion relocated or euthanized. To prevent possible attacks in the future, the zoo will relocate its most vulnerable residents indoors at night.

NATION-WORLD

— North Korea sentenced Otto Warmbier, 21, an economics student at the University of Virginia, to 15 years hard labor for allegedly trying to remove a banner. Warmbier visited the country as a tourist and was about to leave in January when he was arrested.

— Emmanuel Weyi was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but left the country when he was 18. Emigrating to the U.S., he became a businessman in Colorado, and now at 56, he wants to return as president of this beleaguered nation. Elections take place later this year.

— Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hold razor-thin leads in Missouri, and the secretary of state is saying that the outcome of the race may not be known until Friday once the absentee ballots have been received.

— In Hawaii, efforts to combat the outbreak of dengue — and prevent the related Zika virus from making inroads on the island — are making organic farmers nervous. Any use of pesticides would nullify their certification.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— Bruce Springsteen rolled into Los Angeles this week to play three shows at the Sports Arena. The tour is ripe for nostalgia: Not only is he playing his 1980 double album, “The River,” but the performances are the last for this honored venue.

— Ron Miscavige, the father of Scientology leader David Miscavige, has written a memoir about his son. “Ruthless” is billed as “a riveting insider’s look at life within the world of Scientology” and will go on sale May 3.

— Gwen Stefani has lost the simple kind of life that she once coveted. Her marriage fell apart. She started dating Blake Shelton. Now she has captured all of those complications in her first solo album in a decade.

— The battle between movie theater operators and filmmakers pushing for simultaneous releases — on screen and online — is heating up, which might mean trouble for tech entrepreneur and Napster co-founder Sean Parker.

BUSINESS

— Leaving open the possibility of interest rate hikes later in the year, Federal Reserve policymakers held a key interest rate steady. “Global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks,” Fed officials explained.

— Michael Hiltzik: Be careful not to draw too many conclusions about artificial intelligence in the triumph of the computer, AlphaGo, over the human, Lee Sedol, four games to one. Robots aren’t about to take over the world.

SPORTS

— Never mind the Supreme Court, President Obama has made his call on the winner of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. After being skunked since 2009 when he picked North Carolina, he filled out this year’s bracket with favorite Kansas on top.

— Major League Baseball won’t suspend Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers outfielder could have been disciplined under the sport’s new domestic violence policy, but there was no evidence to substantiate a claim that he hit his sister.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— Mexican actress Kate del Castillo received an offer she couldn’t refuse: make a movie about El Chapo, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel. (The New Yorker)

— In a world of brinkmanship, did Obama’s refusal to strike Syria encourage Putin to advance on Ukraine? (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Blake Wilkey has one tricked-out ride, a supercharged 800-horsepower Baja Bug, and the man has mad skills behind the wheel — but a certain lack of respect. After garnering close to 2 million YouTube views — plowing over curbs, laying rubber in parking lots and taking offramps like a driver at Le Mans — Wilkey has been sentenced to 45 days in jail. “I guess having to [sic] much fun on the streets of San Diego can cost you a lot more than you would think,” he Facebooked.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.