Today: Campaign’s Canary in a Coal Mine. High Times in the Low Desert.

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

The Campaign’s Canary in a Coal Mine

Deep in the heart of coal country, the least popular candidate is clear. Donald Trump has vowed to “get those miners back to work” and called climate change a hoax; Bernie Sanders is expected to do well; and Hillary Clinton famously said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” (She says she misspoke.) As West Virginians go to the polls today, here’s why political pundits will be watching how the politics of coal could play out in the battleground states of Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Don’t Hose Off Your Sidewalk

The drought in California isn’t over, but thanks to some El Niño rain, officials are looking to add flexibility to the state’s rules on using water. For some Northern California communities with nearly full reservoirs, that could mean the end of water rationing. Restrictions in Southern California could ease up too. At the same time, Gov. Jerry Brown made some rules permanent, including hosing off sidewalks

High Times in the Low Desert

Desert Hot Springs has long struggled to draw tourists the way Palm Springs, its neighbor south of Interstate 10, does. Its crime and precarious finances have led some to dub it “Desperate Hot Springs.” Lately, property values have tripled. The reason: It became the first city in Southern California to legalize the large-scale cultivation of medical marijuana. But amid the high hopes for tax revenue, there are some issues – like supplying enough electricity, for starters.

North Korea’s Nuclear Puzzle

Kim Jong Un said over the weekend that North Korea wouldn’t use its nuclear weapons unless “encroached upon” by another nuclear power. Of course, that’s not doing much to ease concerns in the U.S., Japan and South Korea, as Pyongyang has stepped up tests of its missiles and nukes. So just how far has North Korea come in developing its weaponry? Read on to see how U.S. experts are trying to piece it together.

Loans Drawing Interest … From Authorities

Here’s the concept: An online marketplace where investors who want to lend money are matched with people looking to borrow – say, to consolidate debt or fund a small business. They’ve become wildly popular, but how solid are those loans? Ratings agencies are raising concerns, and tighter government regulation could be coming. Read on to see why the CEO of the biggest “marketplace lender” just stepped down.

CALIFORNIA

-- Two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies were sentenced to federal prison in a jail beating case.

-- In a show of support for transgender people, the Assembly acts to make single-user restrooms gender-neutral.

-- A union-commissioned report says charter schools are bleeding money from traditional schools.

-- Guns, beer and vomit: After a rampage in Death Valley, an endangered fish is dead.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Obama administration clashes with North Carolina over the state’s “bathroom law.”

-- A candidate said to be the Philippines’ version of Donald Trump appears to win the presidential race as his rival concedes.

-- Where Beyonce, Black Lives Matter and global history collide: the “Black Power” salute at West Point.

-- The resignation of Austria’s chancellor reflects the rise of a right-wing party and the migrant crisis.

-- A synthetic “second skin” uses science to make you look younger.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- A judge dismissed the mental competency case against Sumner Redstone, but the legal wrangling continues.

-- Good thing for Michael Fassbender that playing the video game “Assassin’s Creed” wasn’t a requirement for making the film adaptation.

-- Avant-garde pop and performance happenings mark the Broad’s first summer music series.

-- TV review: The (not so) “Good Wife” finale.

-- Why the daring and difficult opera “Theatre of the World” will stand the test of time.

BUSINESS

-- Are lead-based squib explosives -- used to simulate the impact of bullets -- a health hazard for film crews?

-- Why Uber and Lyft aren’t looking to tech to solve their fingerprint problem.

SPORTS

-- The Angels are in desperate times but determined to resist desperate measures, like trading Mike Trout.

-- Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is chasing a lot of goals with Mexico’s national soccer team.

OPINION

-- North Carolina’s transgender bathroom bill is on flimsy legal ground. Scrap it now.

-- L.A.’s middle class is gone. How do we rebuild it?

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Why white people are more apt to use the “Simpsons yellow” emoji than the “white” emoji. (The Atlantic)

-- How to pronounce “Los Angeles”? Charles Lummis wrote a poem about it. (KCET)

-- Tiger Woods, the Navy SEALs and the twilight of his career. (ESPN)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Marie Ostwald’s Facebook post began with the words “A Mother’s Day Plea.” Her request: to save a pepper tree that she planted in 1957 from being cut down as long as she lives. “I just need a couple more years,” the 91-year-old San Diegan wrote, after city officials determined the tree to be unstable. Her post was shared more than 2,500 times. And for now, the family tree has a temporary reprieve.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.