Headlines From The Times

When a warehouse filled with ammonium nitrate and fireworks exploded at the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, it pushed out a fireball into the air, followed by a shock wave that raced inland at supersonic speed. A trail of devastation followed: 200 people dead, thousands wounded and 300,000 homeless.The Lebanese capital’s more than 2 million residents have spent the last year trying to rebuild not just their lives and buildings but also the pride and confidence of a city and country left in tatters. Their government hasn’t helped.Today we talk with L.A. Times Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos, who was injured in the explosion. And we hear from relatives of those affected.More reading:Once, they were symbols of promise. The Beirut blast turned them to monuments of despairLebanon’s people line up in ‘queues of humiliation’ as their country unravelsA roar, an explosion, then a blank: An L.A. Times reporter’s ordeal in the Beirut blast

Graceful, playful and tough, the gray whale is a beloved icon of the Pacific coast. The whales’ annual migration from the waters off Alaska to Baja California is one of the longest undertaken by any mammal, a journey that has happened for thousands of years.But in the last couple of years, fewer gray whales have made the trip. These magnificent giants are dying in numbers unseen in decades. Nobody knows exactly why, but there are some clues.Today, we speak with Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Susanne Rust about what’s happening.More reading:Something is killing gray whales. Is it a sign of oceans in peril?Gray whales: What to know about our West Coast leviathans and their uncertain futureAs cargo shipments boom, ship strikes imperil whales in California and worldwideHow we delved into the odyssey of whale deaths even as a pandemic raged

He was a legendary lawyer. She’s a Real Housewife. Together, Tom and Erika Girardi made a striking couple. He funded their lavish lifestyle with multimillion-dollar settlements. She used that money to create a career as a pop singer named Erika Jayne. But did they break the law to build their dream life?In this crossover episode with our sister podcast “The Envelope,” we get into a story straight out of a reality TV plotline. (The couple’s unraveling and legal travails are, in fact, included in this season of Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”)It’s way more than fluff: Tom Girardi was a big-deal attorney — one of his cases served as the basis for the Julia Roberts film “Erin Brockovich” — and he wielded substantial political clout. But a troubling side recently emerged: Clients, including widows and orphans, say they never received tens of millions of dollars his firm was supposed to pass along to them.We speak to the Los Angeles Times investigative reporters who are covering the Girardis’ downfall. And we talk to the Los Angeles Times television reporter about why the public just can’t turn away from this story.More reading:Vegas parties, celebrities and boozy lunches: How legal titan Tom Girardi seduced the State BarThe legal titan and the ‘Real Housewife’: The rise and fall of Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne‘Real Housewives’ attorney Tom Girardi used cash and clout to forge powerful political connections

It takes skills to get a tiny golf ball into a faraway hole. It also takes money, connections, power, time and privilege — things historically denied to people of color. Data compiled by the PGA of America show that people of color make up about 18% of golfers in the United States. Black people: only 3%.Pro basketball superstar Steph Curry has stepped up to change that, in partnership with Howard University, a historically Black institution. The school recently restarted a men’s and women’s golf team thanks to a donation from Curry that’ll fund it for six years. A few weeks ago, Howard’s golf program got a new pile of money at a fundraiser in California.Today we hear from Farrell Evans, a reporter and golfer who writes about the intersection of race and golf. And we check in with Howard’s golf team.More reading:Steph Curry brings golf back to Howard UniversityLee Elder, who broke the color barrier, honored during Masters ceremonial tee shotHoward’s Gregory Odom Jr. plays through grief to win PGA Works Collegiate golf title

Thanks to the Delta variant, the coronavirus is stronger than ever. Medical and government officials blame the rise largely on one group: the unvaccinated. So a debate that has persisted for months is now raging hotter: Does shaming persuade folks to finally get the shots?Today, we talk about what’s being done to increase vaccinations among Black people and Latinos. The two groups have suffered inordinately from COVID-19 — yet they don’t have nearly the same shot rates as whites and other groups.We talk to L.A. Times reporter Brittny Mejia, who recently attended a vaccination event in a working-class Latino neighborhood and talked to people about what finally convinced them to get the Fauci ouchie. And columnist Erika D. Smith talks with host Gustavo Arellano about whether shame can convince the vaccine-hesitant to get a shot. She says no. He really wants the answer to be yes.More reading:Why haven’t you been vaccinated? With COVID-19 raging, people explain what took so longColumn: I wish I could be angry with the unvaccinated. Being Black makes that complicatedColumn: Don’t be a ‘pandejo.’ Take the pandemic seriously

We conclude Drought Week with a panel of L.A. Times foreign correspondents who are reporting on droughts in their areas of coverage.In Mexico, a drought in the northern state of Sonora imperils the cattle industry. In Taiwan, water shortages threaten to disrupt the semiconductor industry. And in China, alternating years of drought and floods threaten the nation’s infrastructure.After that, stick around to hear from skateboarder Cory Juneau about his path to the Tokyo Olympics and why he never wants a coach.More reading:The current drought is worldwide. Here’s how different places are fighting itThe most important company you’ve never heard of: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.Amid crushing floods in China, officials focus not on climate change but on control

In Episode 4 of Drought Week, we focus on Lake Mead, created by the Hoover Dam and fed by the Colorado River. It’s the nation’s biggest reservoir, providing water to 25 million people in California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.Lake Mead is projected to shrink this year to levels that would trigger the first-ever official shortage declaration in the region. That means Nevada, Arizona and Mexico would have to make do with less water. If the trend continues another year, California gets partially cut off too.L.A. Times national correspondent Jaweed Kaleem visited Lake Mead and talked to cattle ranchers, fishermen and other stakeholders. What they had to say ain’t reassuring.After that, track and field athlete Christina Clemons talks about her road to the Olympics and what it’s like to be a Black woman representing the United States.More reading:‘Unrecognizable.’ Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisisLake Mead drops to a record low amid droughtApocalypse, cow — our growing drought and the great L.A. cattle escape

In Episode 3 of Drought Week, we take a journey through the American Southwest to Las Vegas, down to Arizona’s Sonoran Desert and through California’s Mojave Desert. We speak to a social scientist, a folklorist and a politician about their efforts to understand the plants and animals affected by this historic drought. We’ll focus on three iconic plants: Joshua trees. Saguaro cactuses. And, well, lawn grass.After that, pistol shooter Alexis Lagan describes the discipline of her sport and how she came to represent the United States at the Tokyo Olympics.More reading:Imagine no Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National ParkIs California ready for brown lawns and shorter showers?From the archives: With giant cactuses and sleek jaguars, Arizona’s Sonoran Desert has an edgy beauty

Today, in Episode 2 of our Drought Week series, we go to Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon. As water shortages become a permanent part of life in the American West, battles are brewing everywhere for what little remains. Even in long-verdant areas like the Beaver State.We’ll talk to L.A. Times reporter Anita Chabria and Don Gentry, the chairman of the Klamath Tribes. The tribes get first rights to the water of Upper Klamath Lake, which they use to help sustain a fish important to their culture. But farmers are angry because they’re not getting any water this year. Now, members of the far right are coming in to try to exploit the tension.After that story, stick around to hear Nick Itkin talk about how he got into fencing and came to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics. More reading:Racism, drought and history: Young Native Americans fight back as water disappearsWater crisis reaches boiling point on Oregon-California lineAs drought slams California and Oregon, Klamath farmers grow fish to quell a water war

Today we launch Drought Week, a five-part series looking at how water shortages across the West are profoundly changing life. We’ll swoop around, from Oregon to the Sonoran Desert, from cities to national parks, from Joshua trees to lawns. To start Drought Week, it’s only natural — pardon the pun — that we take the bigger view first with our Masters of Disasters, the L.A. Times reporters who focus on natural calamities. So get your five-gallon buckets and put them next to you when you shower, ’cause things are serious right now.Then stick around to hear from super-heavyweight boxer Richard Torrez Jr., a Californian representing the United States in the Tokyo Olympics, and his father and coach, Richard Torrez Sr. More reading:Drone photos reveal the shocking truth of California’s parched landscapeHe had 10 minutes to flee the Salt fire. Now his home is goneReady to scratch the grass? Here are 28 inspiring lawn-free yards