Newsletter: Essential California Week in Review: What to know about Trump’s indictment

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, April 1. (Keep an eye out for pranks today.)

Here’s a look at the top stories of the last week

Dozens of House Republicans rallied behind Donald Trump. They emerged swiftly as a key line of political defense for Trump, collectively blasting Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg as a far-left Democrat who’s soft on crime in his state yet is willing to pursue an unprecedented prosecution of a former president in a politicized effort to stop Trump from ousting President Biden in 2024.

More on Trump’s indictment

• The GOP made a devil’s bargain with Trump, David Lauter writes. The bill is coming due.
• It’s hard to keep all the accusations and investigations Trump faces straight. Here’s a guide to the latest developments.
• Trump is the first former president in history to face a criminal indictment. Here are the four most important takeaways.
• It’s foolish to predict the impact if Trump is indicted. But there’s reason to believe things have changed and his scot-free days may be over, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak.

Mark Ridley-Thomas was found guilty in a corruption case. The veteran L.A. County politician was found guilty of extracting special benefits for his son from USC while voting in support of motions and a contract sought by the university.

• Column: Why a guilty verdict for Ridley-Thomas doesn’t feel like justice to Black L.A.

Overhyped and underrated? Inside Bronny James’ senior season, where his famous father LeBron helped and hindered his son.

The week in photos

Sunshine reigns as last week’s storm clouds moved east, giving a welcome respite from soggy weather through the weekend.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

See the photos behind this week’s biggest stories. Trump is indicted; fentanyl and homelessness grip a town; California’s “phantom lake” returns after a very wet winter.

At least 38 migrants were killed in a fire at a detention center in Mexico. It was the deadliest incident in recent memory at Mexico’s notoriously crowded immigration holding centers and another reminder of the many perils faced by migrants trying to reach the United States.

More:

• Activists call for justice in condemning the deaths of 39 immigrants in Ciudad Juarez.
• Mexico opens homicide probe, names 8 guards as suspects in a fire that killed 39 migrants.
• It’s only a matter of time before another tragedy like the Ciudad Juarez fire happens.

Inside the collapse of the Skid Row Housing Trust. It was a model for nonprofits housing homeless people in Los Angeles. Behind the scenes, it was imploding — leaving tenants in squalor.

It’s 2023 and you just tested positive for COVID-19. Now what? Get the latest CDC protocols, isolation recommendations, ways to treat it and ways to prevent long COVID.

Column: How Disney’s lawyers brutally mauled DeSantis over control of Disney World. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to hurt Disney for criticizing his “Don’t Say Gay” law, but he just demonstrated his stupidity, writes business columnist Michael Hiltzik.

Plunging enrollment, financial woes, trustee exodus. Whittier College confronts its crisis. One of California’s oldest liberal arts colleges faces turmoil as some critics question its viability.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s rocky relationship: A timeline of love and war. They were friends, then lovers, then Fleetwood Mac bandmates. With the spotlight on Buckingham this week, let’s revisit their drama.

Can this town save itself from fentanyl addiction? The town of Española, N.M., has struggled with drug addiction for generations. But fentanyl has contributed to rising homelessness and overdose rates.

Californians can look forward to sunny skies and warmer weather this weekend. But another storm system could make its way down to the center of California on Monday.

More on our wet winter:

• Striking satellite photos from space show California’s transformation from dry to lush
• Worry and suspicion reign as once-dry Tulare Lake drowns California farmland
• ‘Nature gave us a lifeline’: Southern California refills largest reservoir in dramatic fashion
• California’s ‘phantom lake’ returns with a vengeance, unearthing an ugly history of water
• ‘We’ve lost the aqueduct’: How severe flooding threatens a Los Angeles water lifeline
• It’s official. Mammoth Mountain’s had its snowiest season ever — and by a lot

ICYMI, here are this week’s great reads

Big is beautiful at one of L.A.’s hottest strip shows. For these aspiring exotic dancers, tears are expected. Tiger stripes, a must.

There’s a new breed of luxury party houses. Newport Beach isn’t happy about it. A host of destination cities in California want to regulate fractional home ownership.

An LAPD SWAT raid wrecked this man’s print shop. He can’t get compensation. What was once the showroom is now stripped down to nails, plywood and beams. Industrial-sized air conditioner units and fans sat where display cases and T-shirt racks once were, a reminder of the day last summer when Pena’s life changed forever.

Today’s week-in-review newsletter was curated by Laura Blasey. Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to [email protected].