Sorry, but as an owner that's been following this closely and knows the hardware, the LA Times is full of crap. The 2016s already have a urea scrubbing system (just like every non-VW diesel that's meeting US emissions specs without problems), and fixing them is going to involve a software flash to make them use exhaust fluid more liberally. Same for the 2015s, which they're going to have to fix anyway. The 2009-2014s are trickier because they almost certainly need a hardware change or a massive detune.
It wasn't the LA times that withdrew VW's 2016 2.0 TDI, it was VW...
Update: The EPA issued a statement saying, "Today Volkswagen withdrew their certification application for 2016 vehicle models that use the 2.0L diesel engine including the AUDI: A3 VOLKSWAGEN: BEETLE, BEETLE CONVERTIBLE, GOLF, GOLF SPORTWAGEN, JETTA, PASSAT models."