By Elvia Limón, Laura Blasey and Amy Hubbard
Hello, it’s Wednesday, May 25, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:
19 children and two adults die in Texas school shooting
A gunman walked into a school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed at least 21 people, including 19 children, in another mass shooting in an America that daily buries victims of gun violence amid divisive political debates over 2nd Amendment rights.
The killings in this predominantly Latino city were, as happens so often, the work of a lone man who took unsuspecting lives in a barrage of gunfire. “He shot and killed — horrifically, incomprehensibly,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.
School shootings have been on the rise recently, but the scale of carnage in Uvalde is by far the worst since the 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. In an evening address to the nation from the White House, President Biden declared it was “time to act.”
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” he asked. “Where in God’s name is our backbone?”
In a series of tweets hours after the shooting, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Republicans for inaction on the issue of gun control, saying the party “won’t do a damn thing.”
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UC pays a record $700 million to women who accused a UCLA gynecologist of sexual abuse
The University of California system agreed to settle lawsuits brought by hundreds of women who accused a former UCLA gynecologist of sexual abuse, bringing total litigation payouts to nearly $700 million, the largest ever related to allegations of sexual abuse involving a public university.
The latest $374.4 million in settlements covers 312 former patients who sued alleging they were abused by Dr. James Heaps under the guise of medical examinations between 1983 and 2018.
The latest settlement comes on top of a $243.6-million settlement of more than 200 women’s lawsuits and a $73-million class-action settlement involving more than 5,000 patients of Heaps dating to 1983. In 2019, the UC system also paid $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit by a patient who alleged she was sexually assaulted in 2018.
California areas hardest hit by the new coronavirus wave
California coronavirus case rates have worsened dramatically in certain parts of the state in the past week, according to a Times analysis, with some areas particularly hard hit.
In Southern California, weekly coronavirus cases roughly doubled in Riverside and Santa Barbara counties and across the Central Valley and Silicon Valley. Thus far, hospitals have not reported strain in two of California’s largest population centers, Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area.
In a statement to The Times, the California Department of Public Health said the recent growth in coronavirus-positive hospitalizations has been slower than in past surges. Nonetheless, “a continued increase in cases and hospitalizations may impact the hospital system,” the agency warned.
Stay up to date on variant developments, case counts and vaccine news with Coronavirus Today.
The algorithm knows you are pregnant. What it shows you is terrifying.
When Stockton resident Adriana Lopez found out she was pregnant, one of the first places she turned was TikTok. But the app soon began pushing her in a direction that made her uncomfortable, with videos about miscarriages, genetic disorders and stillbirths.
Across the country and around the world, pregnant women are finding themselves pummeled on social media with video after video about the most terrifying aspects of pregnancy.
The Times interviewed 13 women, received statements from nine more and reviewed social media posts written by an additional 62 who’ve all struggled with some version of this problem. Many had to choose between abstaining from social media or seeing these videos up until they had their babies.
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A Disney power broker is part of a ‘cabal’ pulling the strings in Anaheim, FBI records show. The employee of the firm, called “Company A” in the affidavit that’s part of a federal public corruption probe, helped script a statement read by an elected official before the City Council voted to issue bonds and provided input on whom to invite to a covert retreat for community powerbrokers.
LAPD orders a 10-year review of SWAT, citing ‘happy hunting’ comment and ‘SWAT mafia’ claim. It comes nearly two years after a former member of the SWAT team alleged in a lawsuit that a group of influential team members known as the “SWAT mafia” glorify violence and the use of deadly force and exert outsize control over hiring like-minded individuals into the squad.
California bans watering ‘nonfunctional’ grass in some areas, strengthening its drought rules. The ban doesn’t apply to yards at individual homes. There are also exemptions for sports fields, grassy areas where people gather and for watering to keep trees healthy.
California will test digital driver’s licenses. Should you worry about your personal info? The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles is planning to test an identity-verifying credential stored on your smartphone. And unlike Real ID, a mobile license could give you more control over your personal information, although critics say a poorly designed system would threaten your privacy.
California’s first suspected monkeypox case is reported in Sacramento County. A person with a suspected case of monkeypox is in isolation in Sacramento County, health officials said. The individual recently traveled to areas of Europe where other cases had been confirmed.
Anaheim City Council votes unanimously to halt the sale of Angel Stadium. On the day after mayor Harry Sidhu resigned amid an FBI investigation into the so-called “cabal” that runs the city, Councilman Jose Moreno said the probe had raised the curtain on what he called “a pandemic of corruption” in Anaheim and called the stadium deal “the fruit of a poisoned tree.”
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U.S. births rose last year but still fell short of pre-pandemic levels. The 1% increase was a bit of a rebound from 2020, the first year of the pandemic, which witnessed the largest one-year drop in U.S. births in nearly 50 years. But the number of babies born was still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FBI says it foiled a plot to assassinate George W. Bush. The agency said in a recently unsealed search warrant that an Iraqi asylum seeker described a plan to kill the former president as revenge for the Iraq war to a paid FBI informant. The informant also drove the suspect around Dallas to conduct surveillance. The warrant has since been resealed.
Courts thwart abortion bans in Iowa and other Republican-led states. Supreme courts in a handful of states have recognized the right to abortion. But in no state is the issue more immediate than Iowa, where Republicans are calling for a state high court with new, conservative justices to reverse a decision made just four years ago.
Takeaways from the primary night in Texas and Georgia, part of Trump’s revenge tour. The primary elections featured the inaugural stop in former President Trump’s 2020 revenge tour — the first opportunities he’s had to unseat Republicans whom he considers disloyal for refusing to acquiesce in his baseless fraud claims.
President Biden plans to sign an executive order on policing on Wednesday, the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death. The order would require federal law enforcement agencies to review and revise policies on use of force, and it would restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police. In addition, it would encourage limitations on chokeholds and no-knock warrants.
With Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s ambassadorial nomination stalled in the U.S. Senate, his parents have taken a step more typical of industries or governments. They hired a national lobbying firm to help clear the path to a vote. Gil and Sukey Garcetti retained McGuireWoods Consulting in April to help their 51-year-old son, according to lobbying registration forms.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claims Biden rarely takes his calls. If, as is widely expected, Republicans win control of the House in this fall’s midterm election, the lack of a personal relationship between the two leaders could have significant, wide-ranging consequences for governing.
Dulce Vasquez launched her campaign for the Los Angeles City Council with a vow to bring bold new leadership to South L.A. Yet five weeks later, Vasquez registered to vote a mile outside the 9th District, listing a condominium in downtown’s Fashion District as her home. Her opponent in the race, Councilman Curren Price, is making an issue of her time in the district, portraying her as an inexperienced newcomer.
Free and faster buses. Monorails. Streetcars in places like Hollywood and Koreatown. Staggered work schedules. The next mayor could radically change how Angelenos move through traffic-choked streets and highways.
Column: Political pollsters have gotten a black eye. Here’s how they hope to do better.
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An embattled Netflix has released Ricky Gervais’ transphobic, defiantly anti-‘woke’ special. “SuperNature” is not Netflix’s first stand-up special by a high-profile comedian featuring transphobic material — the streamer faced backlash in October after its release of Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer.” The hourlong special also arrives amid Netflix’s attempts to navigate slowing revenue growth.
The ‘This Is Us’ cast knows how you’ll react to the series ending. They did it too. The NBC series concluded its sixth and final season on May 24. We spoke with the cast about the end of the family drama that’s kept viewers guessing — and you might be reaching for more than a tissue box.
You’re gonna need a bigger net, and other casting lessons from the surge in streaming. It’s never been a better — or more cutthroat — time to be an actor or casting director, with the vast surge in content created for streaming services. COVID-19 safety measures, such as self-tape and remote auditions, have enabled casting directors to consider more performers than ever before.
Why romance is such serious business for ‘Bridgerton’ star Jonathan Bailey. When he joined “Bridgerton” as the brooding Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, Jonathan Bailey had an instinct that the show was going to be something special. But he couldn’t have predicted quite how big the Regency period drama would become.
Quality assurance workers at an Activision Blizzard subsidiary have unionized. The workers at Raven Software, which is a Wisconsin subsidiary of Activision, voted to form the union Game Workers Alliance, marking the arrival of the first labor union at a major U.S. gaming company.
After layoffs at Netflix, questions mount over diversity efforts. In a statement, Netflix disputed that it was retreating from its diversity and inclusion efforts. The company said that it was ending a contract with an outside vendor in order to bring social media work in-house, and that audience-focused channels such as “Strong Black Lead” remain a priority.
Trea Turner embraces Dodgers culture — a year after a trade he didn’t expect. In his first full season in L.A., he’s focused on accomplishing something his new team couldn’t do last year — even after a transformational trade that the once-apprehensive shortstop has come to appreciate.
All NFL teams are footing the bill for St. Louis’ controversial lawsuit against the Rams. The Rams and NFL paid $790 million last year to settle a lawsuit with St. Louis over the team’s relocation to Los Angeles. Now, the league is sorting how to cover that bill and already has spread some of that staggering expense among all 32 teams.
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National suicide plays out one murderous mass shooting at a time. Perhaps it’s the fate of the U.S. to watch its soul die along with those shot to death at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Here are 20 California native plants that will look gorgeous in your yard this summer. Many plants native to Southern California evolved to grow and thrive in the cooler wet months, bloom their hearts out in the spring and then withdraw and wither in the heat. Many, but not all.
There are yard-worthy native plants that bloom in the summer or just look super no matter the season, writes The Times’ Jeanette Marantos. So when you’re planning your new low-water garden, here are a few quick-growing natives to consider, like Desert Willow — a smallish tree with showy deep-throated blooms — and California buckwheat, with salmon-pink-tinged clouds of blooms.
Fifty-two years ago today, on May 25, 1970, The Times reported on antiwar actions that had turned student life at UC Berkeley on its head. The “reconstitution” was among campus antiwar strikes that swept the nation, involving more than 883 campuses and a million students, according to a University of Washington mapping project. Students outraged over the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the May 4 killing of students at Kent State by National Guardsmen were boycotting classes, taking over buildings and clashing with police. Berkeley’s action was comparatively peaceful as strikers shut down campus operations and devoted themselves to organizing against the war.
The paper said Wurster Hall (pictured above) “was alive with antiwar activity.” Students were creating posters and leaflets that they then shipped around the country. Others had organized into teams to carry the antiwar message to the streets. Faced with a “tidal wave of student and faculty emotion,” The Times reported, administrators “decided to go along with the relaxed academic requirements that were inevitably a part of ‘reconstitution.’ ‘A substantial faction of our students felt they just couldn’t go on with business as usual,’ said Vice Chancellor Robert E. Connick.”
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Must-read stories from the L.A. Times
Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning.
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Laura Blasey is a multiplatform editor for newsletters. She joined the Los Angeles Times in 2019 and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked at Newsday on Long Island, where she covered trending stories and produced audio for smart home devices.
Elvia Limón is a multiplatform editor for newsletters at the Los Angeles Times. Limón previously worked as an engagement producer for the Texas Tribune and an engagement reporter for the Dallas Morning News. She is from Dallas and is a University of North Texas alumna.
Amy Hubbard is the assistant newsletters editor. She’s worked in a range of departments at the Los Angeles Times since 1993, including as copy chief for daily Calendar, Travel, Books and the AM Copy Desk; SEO chief; and morning editor on the Metro desk. In 2015, she began a four-year stint at personal finance website NerdWallet, where she was the Banking editor. Hubbard is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Journalism.