$3.66 DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2019 WST SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019 latimes.com ■■■ ELECTION 2020 ■■■ A TIMES INVESTIGATION Abortion debate jumps into spotlight voters and activists — were a Strict new laws have pivotal element of Demo- crats’ success in the 2018 energized women and midterm election. Their en- given them more sway ergy has been diffused in the enormous field of Demo- in Democratic race. cratic presidential candi- dates. But now many Demo- By Janet Hook cratic women are joining to- gether for the abortion fight WASHINGTON — After that has emerged in recent Alabama’s governor signed weeks. a near-total ban on abortion “We’re seeing another into law last week, a surge surge of an already pretty en- of women interested in gaged universe of women,” running for office contacted said Stephanie Schriock, Emily’s List, a women’s president of Emily’s List, political group. The Virginia which she noted was con- Democratic Party saw tacted by 76 women in a sin- a surge in contributions. gle day amid debate over the VoteRunLead, a group that Alabama law. “It’s changing trains female candidates, the positioning of the Demo- Gary Coronado Los Angeles Times saw enrollment for an up- cratic Party.” CASA LIBRE, or Freedom House, in Los Angeles has been cited by officials 143 times for failing to coming weekend course Her group joined a coali- meet standards for state-licensed group homes, a Times investigation has found. abruptly almost double. tion of activists to stage With abortion policy re- demonstrations across the turning to the center of na- country last week to protest tional attention, women are a spate of restrictive abor- back in the spotlight as a tion laws passed by Ala- central force in Democratic bama, Georgia, Missouri politics. The party’s 2020 and other states. SIGNS OF NEGLECT presidential candidates The intensifying abor- have responded quickly, tion debate also carries po- scrambling to promote litical risks for Democrats. At the Casa Libre youth shelter operated by a longtime abortion rights policies in Republicans have stepped campaigns that had mostly up their efforts to portray L.A. immigrant-rights champion, health and safety been giving priority to econ- abortion rights advocates omic issues. as extremists. Reacting to Women — as candidates, [See Abortion, A18] concerns have persisted despite repeated state citations By Cindy Carcamo and Paloma Esquivel Los Angeles lawyer Peter Schey has long been a sonal rights of residents,” a Times investigation trailblazing courtroom defender of immigrant youth. found. He helped argue the Supreme Court case that en- Interviews with more than two dozen former em- sured the right of children without legal status to at- ployees and residents and a review of hundreds of tend public schools. He also helped secure the Flores documents — including 15 years’ worth of state in- settlement — a landmark 1997 agreement to safe- spection reports — show a pattern of neglect that has guard migrant children held by the government, persisted despite efforts by workers and residents to which gave his legal foundation the right to inform Schey and the board of directors inspect those shelters. about problems at the home. That case also inspired him to run his Children have been locked out of the own shelter for homeless migrant youths. home for hours because there was no staff Schey opened Casa Libre, or Freedom on-site, forcing some to take shelter outside House, in late 2002 in a historic mansion in a broken-down van. And at times, there near MacArthur Park, saying it would care has not been enough food, former residents for “the most vulnerable” children. said. But Casa Libre has been cited by state There was violence among the residents officials 143 times for failing to meet stand- and break-ins, according to former resi- ards for state-licensed group homes, and dents and workers. The basement fre- Mary Altaffer Associated Press 89 of those were for issues that posed “an Los Angeles Times quently flooded. And the roof often leaked, ABORTION RIGHTS supporters across the country immediate risk to the health, safety or per- PETER SCHEY according to former [See Casa Libre, A8] have been protesting recent state-level restrictions. Admissions scammer may have faked his resume too which students should be of- dow into how Singer sold By Matthew Ormseth fered spots. himself as an authority, a and Joel Rubin He claimed to know what self-described “master colleges did and did not coach” who could steer his William “Rick” Singer want in an applicant. Par- clients’ children through the was well into orchestrating ents sought him out, Singer narrows of the application an elaborate bribery and said, because they “want to process. cheating scheme to slip his have an edge and have an ex- Sitting in a law office that clients’ children into elite pert that understands both October morning, Singer colleges when he sat down sides of the equation,” ac- was still two years from be- for a deposition in Washing- cording to a transcript of the ing nabbed as the master- ton, D.C., in 2016. proceeding obtained by The mind of what authorities Asked why he should be Times. have called the largest col- considered an expert in the But the claim appears to lege admissions scam ever field of college admissions, be dubious. All but one of the uncovered by U.S. law en- Singer outlined his creden- schools Singer named in the forcement. Nabih Bulos Los Angeles Times tials: He had worked on deposition denied that he Instead he was flying FIGHTERS LOYAL to Libya’s interim government load heavy guns in Tripo- admissions committees for ever played a role in advising high among the rich and in- li, where many weary residents have become inured to the sounds of combat. UCLA, UC Davis, the Uni- whom to admit and whom to fluential in Silicon Valley, versity of Miami and other turn away. Hollywood and other circles, colleges, helping to decide The episode offers a win- [See Singer, A12] Kebabs, gelato and bombs Losing a rat race In Tripoli, many ignore war and get on with life Rodents plague down- town, and blame is easily For years, the aspiring strongman (not By Nabih Bulos shared, Steve Lopez to mention naturalized U.S. citizen and writes. CALIFORNIA, B1 former CIA asset) has vowed to conquer TRIPOLI, Libya — It’s Ramadan in Tripoli, a city of more than 1 million people A dead end for Tripoli, and come midnight the streets and the seat of the United Nations-recog- around the Kabir public garden are a nized — though largely powerless — Gov- some Lyft drivers melee of bumper-to-bumper traffic. In the ernment of National Accord, or GNA. The costs and terms of park, families hold post-fasting picnics, as A deal reached in February with the the firm’s car rentals teenagers roam in energetic clumps amid GNA’s head, Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, are leaving workers in a panoply of kebab stands, gelato trucks would have installed Haftar as chief of dire straits. BUSINESS, C1 and inflatable bounce houses. staff of a reconstituted Libyan army after Occasionally, a loud thud overpowers the selection of a new government later Weather B10 ...................... the dance-beat thumping from speakers this year. (“That’s a Grad rocket,” says one passer- Instead, with Libya’s east and south al- Printed with soy inks on partially recycled paper. by, cocking a discerning ear to the sky); it’s ready in his hands, Haftar, who once Valery Hache AFP/Getty Images one of the few signs in downtown Tripoli worked for longtime dictator Col. Moam- that the enemy is at the gates. mar Kadafi and currently is allied to a rival South Korean film wins Cannes That enemy, in the eyes of many here, is government in eastern Libya, sought “Parasite,” by director Bong Joon-ho, right, wins top renegade Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who seeks to claim the capital and consolidate prize, and Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” is runner-up. A6 to rule Libya via his self-declared Libyan power over the oil-rich North African National Army. country. [See Libya, A4] ARTS&BOOKSF S UNDAY, MAY 26, 2019 :: L ATIMES.COM/CALENDAR A Walk of Fame star still in limbo The late lyricist behind Bob Hope’s theme song was a victim of bad timing, but ‘Memory’ still irks kin. By Ashley Lee Scott Ora was 8 years old when he first visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1965. After watching a matinee with his grandfather at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, he and his brother ran outside onto the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk and began to read off each name. “Do you know who this is?” he repeatedly asked his grandfather, who couldn’t be stumped. It helped that he was asking the legendary Broadway and Hollywood lyricist Leo Robin, known for the 1938 song “Thanks for the Memory.” At every coral terrazzo star they found, Robin shared an anecdote about the person, punctuating each story with the same compliment: “She is great.” ... “He is great.” Ora grew up knowing that his grandfather was also one of the greats. What he didn’t know is that years later he’d be tangled in a still-unresolved back-and-forth with the Walk of Fame to get it set in stone. The song “Thanks for the Mem- ory,” written for “The Big Broad- cast of 1938,” the last in a series of Paramount Pictures variety-show movies, is a nuanced number, en- compassing an estranged couple’s enduring love. Six writers had tried and failed at the assignment before director Mitchell Leisen gave it to in-house lyricist Robin and com- poser Ralph Rainger.