Today’s Headlines: Another COVID booster shot may be coming

Hello, it’s Friday, March 7, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Will there be a spring COVID-19 booster shot? What we know

As government officials close the book on the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities are turning their attention to the next chapter of the vaccination campaign.

Though nothing is etched in stone, federal officials are considering the authorization of another booster shot this spring.

Supreme Court says transgender girl may compete against girls in West Virginia

In its first decision involving transgender students and sports, the Supreme Court refused West Virginia’s bid to bar a 12-year-old transgender girl from competing on the girls’ track team at her middle school.

With two conservatives in dissent, the court turned down an emergency appeal from the state’s lawyers, who were defending a 2021 law that would classify students based on how their sex was labeled at birth, rather than how they identify.

More politics

• Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House expelled two of three Democratic members for their roles in a demonstration in favor of gun control after the Nashville school shooting.
• President Biden’s administration on Thursday laid the blame on former President Trump for the deadly and chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
• Vice President Kamala Harris is more comfortable than ever exploring her family history. But there’s a reason she’d rather talk about California than India, Jamaica or Zambia.
• Now an established force in the Legislature, the Democratic Latinos are facing pressure to refocus their priorities.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting and the latest action in Sacramento.

After an L.A. Times story on Thomas’ gifts, he stopped disclosing

It was 2004 when the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted expensive gifts and private plane trips paid for by Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate investor and a prominent Republican donor.

Thomas refused to comment on the article, but it had an impact: Thomas appears to have continued accepting free trips from his wealthy friend. But he stopped disclosing them.

On Thursday, ProPublica reported that Thomas and his wife, Ginni, enjoyed lavish trips across the globe in recent years at Crow’s expense.

L.A. sues journalist, activist group over photos of undercover cops

In a move immediately denounced as legally meritless by 1st Amendment and media rights experts, the city of Los Angeles has sued a local journalist and an activist group over the online publication of undercover LAPD officers’ pictures — images the city had itself provided.

Attorneys for the city claim the release of the images in response to a public records request and related litigation by Knock LA journalist Ben Camacho was “inadvertent” and posed a safety risk to the officers. Camacho subsequently provided the images to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which published them online.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A pipe yard on 10th Avenue in Corcoran is submerged as the resurgent Tulare Lake continued to expand last week. Read more: “Watch the rebirth of California’s ‘phantom’ Tulare Lake in striking before-and-after images”

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

Who’s sending mystery Uber Eats orders to L.A. neighborhoods? The plot thickens. A spate of unwanted food deliveries in Westwood Hills and Highland Park has vexed residents. With few answers to questions about the source of the orders, one intriguing theory has emerged.

A man pleads guilty in rapper Pop Smoke’s death and is sentenced to four years. The suspect, now 20, pleaded guilty in an Inglewood courtroom to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery, the first to admit guilt of four defendants charged in the death of Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson.

One person was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting in a Roseville park. A gunman killed one hostage and wounded a California Highway Patrol officer and another bystander during a shooting in a Roseville park, police say.

Someone is torching trees in Northeast Los Angeles, prompting fear and an investigation. The Los Angeles Fire Department is investigating the torching of 26 trees throughout Northeast Los Angeles that began on March 1.

NATION-WORLD

Macron appeals to China’s Xi to ‘bring Russia to its senses’ and end war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who received an effusive welcome from Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, to “bring Russia to its senses” and help make “lasting peace” in Ukraine.

More pension protests hit France, but strikes lose some of their steam. Protesters disrupted vehicle traffic at Paris’ main airport and police fired clouds of tear gas in other French cities as people marched in a new round of strikes and demonstrations seeking to get President Emmanuel Macron to scrap pension reforms that have ignited a months-long firestorm of public anger.

In a nationwide first, Idaho governor signs an ‘abortion trafficking’ bill into law. Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed a bill into law that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.

These friends don’t know one another’s real name. Why? Protesters against the Chinese government wore all black, with hats and masks obscuring their faces because they feared that even in Boston, China might be watching. They use fake names, masks and encrypted apps, because even a friend may be a spy.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Why Emily Ratajkowski is ‘scared’ to talk publicly about her divorce. Ratajkowski is hesitant to discuss her divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard because “outspoken women don’t often get their children.”

The best theater in L.A. right now? It’s in Pasadena. Pasadena Playhouse’s producing artistic director, Danny Feldman, has proved that growth is still possible in a time of spiraling crisis for American theater.

‘Paint’ already made Bob Ross fans mad. For his brand, it’s a happy little accident. When the trailer dropped, worried fans started calling Bob Ross Inc. But the film’s star, Owen Wilson, and filmmaker Brit McAdams say it’s made with “love.”

In a new gallery show, artist Gajin Fujita turns inward to create love letters to L.A. Fujita often imbues his art with a sense of humor and punk sensibilities. His new show at L.A. Louver sees him also pursuing a more intimate form of artmaking.

BUSINESS

UC Riverside ends controversial research center relationship with Beacon Economics. UC Riverside has shut down its economics research center after some University of California faculty urged an investigation into an arrangement with private consulting firm Beacon Economics to run the center, using what the faculty members described as corporate funding for reports “attacking proposals to improve the lives of working Californians.”

SPORTS

Shohei Ohtani reveals a new custom glove design based on the WBC prototype. Angels star Ohtani formally reveals the custom glove created by Wilson and New Balance that he has used in two starts this season.

Despite a loss to the Clippers, the Lakers continue to build chemistry. While the road-weary Lakers lost to the Clippers, they are again healthy and were back to building chemistry for an end-of-season run. The game against the Clippers also held significance for the Lakers because they had a chance to move up to fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

OPINION

Undocumented workers should be able to get unemployment benefits when they’re laid off. Undocumented workers should not be excluded from receiving benefits when they lose their jobs considering that employers already pay $485 million into the unemployment insurance fund for them each year.

Now that Finland is part of NATO, can it help Ukraine? American and European leaders are celebrating Finland’s membership into NATO. But that change won’t make a difference in the fight against Russia.

YOUR WEEKEND

You can finally visit Anacapa Island — and see how it’s changed in a year without tourists. The closest island of Channel Islands National Park enjoyed a respite from visitors, but boat service has resumed. Here’s what to know about the rugged SoCal escape.

Is it OK to plant in mud? The best tips for gardening in super-soaked L.A. Savvy L.A. gardeners usually start planting before April, but after weeks of rain, is it OK to plant in the mud? Expert Yvonne Savio offers tips, plus April garden events.

Where to eat and drink in L.A. right now, according to our food writers. Here are the best new restaurants and bars you need to visit in Los Angeles right now, including new wine bars, a revived red-sauce Italian hot spot in Beverly Hills, a French cafe in Venice and more.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

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Stormy Daniels on the Trump indictment and what really happened in that Nevada hotel room. The adult film star at the center of Trump’s hush-money probe sat down with Vogue for a tell-all interview, which was published just hours before his Tuesday arraignment in Manhattan. VOGUE

We’ve now discovered the four oldest galaxies ever observed. An international team of 80 astronomers from 10 countries has discovered the four oldest galaxies ever observed, including one that dates to just 320 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 2% of its current age. TIME

Kanye West’s Donda Academy: Constant bullying, no chairs and pay discrepancies, lawsuit claims. According to a new lawsuit filed by two former teachers, Kanye West’s Donda Academy allegedly fostered a chaotic environment of bullying, health and safety violations, and endless sushi lunches. Rolling Stone

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Jackie Chan is known for being many things: martial artist, director and producer, philanthropist, goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, paid endorser for scores of products, and even a Guinness World Record holder for “Most Stunts by a Living Actor.” He also has his own autobiography, “Jackie Chan: Never Grow Up, Only Get Older,” which was published in Chinese.

In his book, the Hong Kong actor discussed his vulnerabilities, struggles and dreams. Today, Chan turns 69.

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