Good morning. It is Saturday, Feb. 4. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

Fake news brings fear: Law enforcement officials are warning about social media hoaxes falsely claiming that police are setting up checkpoints aimed at deporting people here illegally. Police called it “fake news” designed to incite panic. Immigration activists say hoaxes are scaring some people. Los Angeles Times

Sacramento as refugee central: With the Trump administration easing up on travel into the U.S. of some people from Iraq and Afghanistan, Sacramento could end up being one of the nation’s top refugee hubs. Sacramento Bee


Forever young? Snap Inc.’s ability to court a young demographic with its ephemeral photo and video messaging app Snapchat has been one of its defining characteristics and the pillar of its success. But as the company prepares for its stock market debut, its reliance on users under the age of 25 could also be one of its biggest liabilities. Los Angeles Times

Plus: “Smart cameras” offer big promises but also big challenges to privacy. San Diego Union-Tribune

Protective walls: UC Merced is striving to create a safe space for undocumented students. Said one student: “You don’t have to hide the person you are. Coming here, I realize I’m not the only person who has these fears.” New York Times

Silicon Valley scandal: In the wealthy Silicon Valley suburb of Los Altos, a series of high school parties got out of control, sparking allegations of rape and abuse and even a federal probe. Did the school district drop the ball? San Francisco Chronicle


Clearing the air: Southern California air quality regulators delayed action on a major smog-reduction plan Friday after hours of public testimony and debate about what steps should be taken to curb the nation’s worst air pollution over the next 15 years. Los Angeles Times

Grim stats: Homeless deaths in Orange County hit an all-time high. Orange County Register

Long shadow of hate: A Latino gang member wanted for more than 15 years in connection with the racially motivated killing of a black man in Highland Park has been captured in Mexico and turned over to the FBI, officials said Friday. Los Angeles Times

Cheesecake Factory explosive: Authorities are searching for a man they say detonated a homemade explosive device inside a crowded restaurant Thursday night in Old Town Pasadena and then ran away. Los Angeles Times


Weathering the storm: Another powerful atmospheric river is headed to rain-soaked Northern California, and it could be big. Or not. Mercury News

High-end brothel: A couple living in a wealthy suburb of south Orange County has been charged with operating a brothel in several high-end apartments, according to prosecutors. Los Angeles Times

THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. UC Berkeley, home of the free speech movement, finds itself under fire from left, right and Trump. Los Angeles Times


2. A California state senator wants the White House to release documents related to Melania Trump’s immigration. Politico

3. What every member of Congress from California said, or hasn’t said, about Trump’s immigration order. Los Angeles Times

4. A rape victim did her own detective work to find the “pickup artists” who assaulted her. San Diego Union-Tribune

5. A video tour of the new pedestrian tunnel at the 7th Street/Metro Center Station. Curbed Los Angeles


ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK’S GREAT READS

Diverse L.A.: Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration and travel policies feel disorienting to many in and around Los Angeles — in part, they say, because their lives intersect with so many people of so many cultures. Whereas a woman in a hijab might mystify or alarm passersby where such clothing is rare, she might not catch the notice of people in Los Angeles. To multicultural L.A., Trump’s policies seem an affront to the way they live. Los Angeles Times

This land is...: “On a blazingly hot morning in July 2000, I became an American. The ceremony took place thirty miles east of Los Angeles, in Pomona, at a venue ordinarily used for hosting the local county fair. It was a Wednesday, I remember, and I’d worn a pair of new shoes that blistered my feet. My husband was in the only suit he owned, the one he’d put on for our wedding.” – Author Laila Lalami on becoming an American and seeing America change so much. The New Yorker

Getting by: The nation’s first municipal director of financial justice is, not surprisingly, in San Francisco. And she’s busy in this place of such economic inequity, dealing with soaring rents and figuring out how the working poor can afford bus fare and parking tickets. The California Sunday Magazine


Lullaby of Broadway: How one of downtown L.A.’s most important buildings, neglected for decades, is ready for a big comeback. Curbed Los Angeles

LOOKING AHEAD

Tuesday: Opening of the pedestrian passageway connecting the 7th Street/Metro Center Station with the Bloc shopping center.

Wednesday: The biggest Ikea in the nation opens in Burbank.


Saturday: The NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena.

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Shelby Grad.