Hello, it's Wednesday, March 22, and here are the stories you shouldn't miss today.
TOP STORIES
Strike shuts down LAUSD, leaving 420,000 students out of school
A three-day strike calling for better wages and working conditions for some of Los Angeles public schools' lowest-paid employees — bus drivers, custodians, special-education assistants and others — kicked off with picketers marching through the dark, rainy morning.
Those employees, joined in solidarity by the teachers union, shuttered the nation's second-largest school system after last-minute efforts to avert the strike failed, disrupting classes, vital meal services and the daily lives of 420,000 children and their families.
More about the LAUSD strike:
Deadly 'bomb cyclone' storm slams California
At least one person was killed as a wet and windy storm arrived in California on Tuesday, the second day of spring.
The storm came in "significantly stronger than initially anticipated," particularly in the southern half of the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a briefing. He said the system had reached the benchmark for a phenomenon known as bombogenesis, or a "bomb cyclone," which indicates a rapid drop in pressure.
More about the storm:
Los Angeles police accidentally release photos of undercover officers
The LAPD released the names and photos of numerous undercover officers to a watchdog group that posted them on its website.
The controversy began late last week, when the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition launched a searchable online database — Watch the Watchers — of more than 9,300 officers' photos, complete with name, ethnicity, rank, date of hire, division/bureau and badge number. The group called the site the first of its kind in the country.
Department leaders said the release of the pictures was inadvertent, and the inspector general will launch an investigation.
Longtime Israel supporters in the U.S. turn outraged critics
With massive street protests, a mutiny by elite military reserve officers and outrage from diplomats, academics and former officials, Israel seems steeped in crisis.
Shock waves over radical plans by the new right-wing government are cascading thunderously in the U.S., alienating Jewish Americans while raising questions about the Biden administration's ability — or willingness — to confront the troubles.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Rain falls in Los Angeles' Chinatown on Tuesday. Another storm system is hitting California this week. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
CALIFORNIA
A potentially deadly fungus is spreading rapidly across California, CDC says. Candida auris, which is resistant to drug therapy, is an "urgent threat."
L.A.'s only Indigenous school helps return the land to California's Native population. By naming it the Chief Ya'anna Learning Village, the school pays tribute to a leader who offered refuge to Indigenous immigrants.
Poll: Is L.A. ready for the 2028 Olympics? Some residents express concern. Fifty-seven percent of L.A. residents believe the Games will be good for the city, according to a Suffolk University/Los Angeles Times poll. Younger Angelenos are more skeptical.
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NATION-WORLD
A 'marriage of convenience' for Russia and China amid the Ukraine war, or more? Vladimir Putin is relishing Xi Jinping's visit and their shared hostility toward the U.S., but not all of Russia's and China's interests align.
U.S. to speed up delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending an older model. The Pentagon is opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone in eight to 10 months, U.S. officials said.
A gun used in the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico came from the U.S. A man who admitted to purchasing firearms that he knew would be going from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel has been arrested in Texas after the discovery that one of the weapons was linked to the deadly kidnapping, according to federal court records.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. will intervene if needed to protect smaller banks. Yellen said the U.S. government could repeat the drastic actions it took recently to protect bank depositors if smaller lenders are threatened.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
Trial begins in a ski-crash lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow. The actor was in Park City, Utah, for the start of a trial over a retired optometrist's allegation that Paltrow crashed into him on the slopes in 2016 and left him with serious injuries.
Sarah Snook reveals baby bump at 'Succession' Season 4 premiere. The Australian actor is expecting a successor of her own, she revealed in New York at the Season 4 premiere of the hit HBO series. Snook, who plays the ambitious Siobhan "Shiv" Roy , is expecting her first child with her husband, comedian Dave Lawson.
Keanu Reeves, 'John Wick 4' cast wore ribbons to honor Lance Reddick at the L.A. premiere. The spirit of the late actor was very much alive on the red carpet. Reddick, who died unexpectedly Friday at age 60, was honored by his co-stars and other attendees who commemorated him with blue ribbons.
BUSINESS
Marvel producer Victoria Alonso leaves Disney superhero studio. The longtime executive has left the Walt Disney Co.-owned superhero film juggernaut, a rare example of high-level turnover at one of Hollywood's most successful operations.
Amazon delivery firms say racial bias skews customer reviews. When an Amazon.com delivery driver drops a package at someone's home, the customer can give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down — feedback the company uses to help determine how much to pay the driver's employer and whether they keep their job.
SPORTS
'He has changed my life completely.' What it's like covering Shohei Ohtani. The life of a Japanese journalist, one assigned to cover the country's biggest star playing in Major League Baseball, is all-consuming and relentless.
Charisma Osborne's career-high 36 points lead UCLA past Oklahoma and into Sweet 16. Charisma Osborne starred in what likely was her home finale to power UCLA past Oklahoma 82-73 and into the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA tournament.
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OPINION
L.A. County's mishandling of Care First model is a cautionary tale for Gov. Gavin Newsom. If Los Angeles County's juvenile justice program fails, it could take other promising therapeutic and rehabilitative response to behavioral problems with it, including the governor's plans for San Quentin.
Trump's Stormy Daniels payoff could finally get him indicted. But should it? The former president's personal behavior is shocking, but the New York case against him seems politically motivated rather than legally sound.
ONLY IN L.A.
A Versace shoot in Image magazine. (Maya Fuhr)
Versace's new collection is ready to be seen. While the fall-winter 2023 ready-to-wear Versace collection was inspired by Hollywood red carpets, the pieces possess the kind of mutability it takes to travel all over L.A. A structured baby doll dress, a cropped denim jacket over a glistening body-con dress, a crocodile leather miniskirt, even a Canadian tuxedo, have what it takes to travel from downtown to West Hollywood to Venice and back.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
The Los Angeles Times covers Tara Lipinski becoming the world's youngest figure skating champion in 1997. (Los Angeles Times)
On March 22, 1997, Tara Lipinski won the World Figure Skating Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the age of 14 years and 10 months.
She was the youngest, tiniest skating champion of them all, even though she failed to outskate fellow American Michelle Kwan in the long program — holding on to edge Kwan for the gold medal on the strength of points accrued with her short program.
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