Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou catch you up after the long weekend, beginning with a L.A. story with a personal connection to “Deprogram.”

• Is Los Angeles for Sale?: Austin Beutner, scandal-plagued billionaire and widely reviled ex-LA schools superintendent, plans to run against Mayor Karen Bass, criticizing her over homelessness and living costs. As ex-publisher of the LA Times, Beutner secretly conspired with corrupt ex-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to fire and smear Ted because his cartoons criticized the police, and got fired due to the subscriber backlash and his boardroom plots. As Ted later learned, Beutner was a dollar-for-dollar match donor to the LAPD pension fund. Will Angelenos get conned by a grifter who makes Eric Adams look honest?