Today’s Headlines: California tribe calls for preservation of Tulare Lake

Hello, it’s Tuesday, June 27, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

A California tribe wants to keep water in Tulare Lake

The Tachi Yokut Tribe is celebrating the return of California’s Tulare Lake.

The water that has streamed in from the rain and snow this year has for the first time allowed many Tachi people to see the ancestral lake they consider sacred — the center of their creation story, a natural wonder that was obliterated long ago to become lucrative farmland in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Sisco and other Indigenous leaders say they believe Tulare Lake should be allowed to remain rather than being drained once again to reestablish agriculture.

Why the great Sriracha shortage is a sign of a harsh climate reality

Drought in Mexico is to blame for the Sriracha shortages that have persisted for the last year, a phenomenon that experts warn will become much more common on a warming planet.

Although Huy Fong Foods said it is working to avoid a repeat, future shortages in food supplies are all but assured with the current amount of water used in the United States, said Gary Nabhan, an agricultural ecologist and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.

Large swaths of Mexico receive water from the Colorado River, but U.S. farms have first right to that water.

Goats are eco-friendly devourers of L.A.’s wildfire fuel

When it comes to wildfire control, you’ve gotta love goats.

Machines may be cheaper at clearing open spaces by tilling flammable weeds — and all their seeds — into the ground, but they’re also noisy and polluting, damaging soil structure and the beneficial bugs and organisms that dwell underground.

Goats, on the other hand, are relatively quiet — save the occasional bleating and bell tinkling — and can easily access steep hills and canyons that machines would not be able to manage, said Cris Sarabia, conservation director of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy.

After Titan, adventurers weigh the risks of extreme travel

Where is your line? On your mental chart of risk and reward, where does yes become nope?

The Titan implosion on the sea floor off Newfoundland last week has many of us considering that question.

For the disaster’s five victims, it seems the prospect of exploring the Titanic wreckage was too tempting to pass up. Yet many otherwise bold travelers wouldn’t have dared climb into the vessel, even if the ride were free.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

At the funeral of Yuriy Sikyrynsky, his 78-year-old mother, Uliana, is supported by a service member in Lviv, Ukraine.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

A $60-million state grant to aid L.A. County in expanding homeless services in Skid Row. The state grant will help L.A. County place more than half of Skid Row’s homeless population into interim housing.

California Congress members call for the expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The proposal would increase the monument by roughly a third and extend its boundaries to the back doorsteps of Sylmar, Santa Clarita and Pacoima.

The judge in the Ridley-Thomas case weighs ordering a new trial or tossing out the jury verdict. Ridley-Thomas’ attorneys argued that prosecutorial misconduct, insufficient evidence and “improper testimony� by an FBI agent warranted vacating the jury’s verdict.

NATION-WORLD

No sign of air or water threat from train plunge into Yellowstone River, officials say. “Water-quality testing will continue until the cleanup is complete, and at this time there are no known risks to the public drinking water,� said Kevin Stone, a spokesperson for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

In Ukraine, a harvest of death as bodies of the fallen are returned to their hometowns. The remains of soldiers killed in distant battles may take days, weeks or even months to be returned home. Some maimed corpses must be identified through DNA testing. Fighting in remote or fiercely contested areas results in transportation delays.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Fox News revamps prime-time lineup after Tucker Carlson ouster and ratings drop. Scheduling moves are rare on the top-rated cable news channel and were prompted by the sudden dismissal of Carlson, which came just days after Fox News reached a $787.5-million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s false statements about voter fraud in the 2020 election.

What it’s like to lead a national Broadway tour with your spouse. “I’m gonna make a statement: This is our last Broadway tour together. We are pooped,� Stephanie J. Block said about working with her husband for the last six months on “Into the Woods.�

Commentary: Why did Center Theatre Group really halt programming at the Mark Taper Forum? Shows at the Mark Taper Forum, L.A.’s flagship theater, are on hold indefinitely. Center Theatre Group CEO Meghan Pressman and incoming artistic director Snehal Desai explain their rationale behind the controversial decision.

BUSINESS

Solar sprawl is tearing up the Mojave Desert. Is there a better way? Corporations are making plans to carpet the desert surrounding Las Vegas with dozens of giant solar fields — some of them designed to supply power to California. This could imperil rare plants and tortoises already threatened by rising temperatures.

Baby Shark bath toys are recalled after children suffer cuts. About 7.5 million singing and swimming Baby Shark bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them.

SPORTS

Transformative Coliseum: Multitude of sports, war shows, concerts, racing ... all fit in. In the 100 years since it opened, the Coliseum has needed to learn a few tricks when it comes to morphing from standard turf to such unexpected surfaces as dirt, asphalt, ice and even snow.

LeBron James’ company to host a film festival in L.A. focused on empowering athletes. The event aims to spotlight how the recent player empowerment movement has led many athletes to tell their own stories, and to create companies looking to tell others’ as well.

Sparks back at .500: Five things to know about the team after their win on Sunday. Finally, the home crowd at Crypto.com Arena had something to cheer about.

OPINION

Column: Kevin McCarthy’s clowns wasted your tax dollars and Congress’ time this week. “Sure, the battling satisfies former President Trump and serves up red meat for a party base that likes vengeance as much as he does. But the Republican carnivores are doing nothing to advance a positive agenda for the country and expand their party’s appeal beyond the bloodthirsty true believers,� Jackie Calmes writes.

Editorial: Turning office buildings into apartments is how California eases the housing crisis. It’s a hopeful sign that local and state lawmakers have been willing to ease zoning laws to encourage redevelopment and adaptive reuse. California can’t afford to let offices and strip malls sit empty when the need for housing is so great.

ONLY IN L.A.

(Los Angeles Times illustration; photos via Getty Images)

Though there are certainly some local beaches you might not want to swim in, 19 L.A. County beaches received a sparkling A+ grade during the summer of 2022.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

On this day 23 years ago, two teams of scientists produced a draft version of the human genetic code — also known as the human genome. The achievement was compared to Lewis and Clark’s mapping of the continent.

The code is a detailed instruction manual for the inner machinery of every member of our species. Scientists believe that having the complete genetic manual will give them a vital tool for fighting disease, maintaining health and perhaps extending human life.

In 2000, The Times wrote about the milestone.

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