In South Africa, Obama continues his focus on youth

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — President Obama's first audience of South Africans assembled Saturday in Soweto, and he recalled the protests that tore through the neighborhoods here in 1976, galvanizing the anti-apartheid movement. The 51-year-old president...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Prop. 8 sponsors ask U.S. Supreme Court to stop same-sex weddings

SAN FRANCISCO — As same-sex couples raced to marry in California, the sponsors of Proposition 8 filed an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to stop weddings on the grounds that its decision was not yet legally final. "If courts were...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gov. Jerry Brown signs budget with few changes — or complaints

SACRAMENTO — Flanked by fellow Democrats and other political allies, Gov. Jerry Brown approved California's new budget Thursday, changing very little of the $96.3-billion spending plan before signing it into law. Brown said California's finances are...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Antonio Villaraigosa leaves his mark on L.A. schools

In the middle of Watts, at one of the worst-performing high schools in Los Angeles Unified, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in his element. As he sat with Jordan High students late last year, he shared snippets of his life story, as he's done during...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Heat wave aggravates fire risk as Fourth of July nears

The first heat wave of the summer hit California on Thursday, producing some triple-digit temperatures that forecasters say are only a preview for a blistering weekend ahead. The National Weather Service issued heat warnings for large swaths of the...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Africans hold their breath as Nelson Mandela's health worsens

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The health of former President Nelson Mandela, already critical, has deteriorated further in the past two days, according to a government official Thursday, as the nation prepared for his death. As Mandela spent his 20th...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Not going to be scrambling jets' to get Snowden, Obama says

DAKAR, Senegal -- "I'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker," President Obama said Thursday as he sought to downplay the nearly weeklong hunt for Edward Snowden, the fugitive leaker of national security secrets. "I get you that...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

For Michael Jackson fan, covering trial is her duty

She takes two buses to get to the courthouse each day and depends on donations from fans to run her website. She has no formal training as a journalist but for tens of thousands — maybe multitudes more — she is the oracle for all things Michael. Inside...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Supreme Court rulings mark bold advance for gay marriage

WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court took a major step toward legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide Wednesday as it struck down a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and cleared the way for same-sex marriages in California. In this country, there...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Same-sex weddings to resume in California soon, officials say

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Proposition 8 will lead to same-sex weddings resuming in California in less than a month, officials said Wednesday, as disappointed backers of the marriage ban questioned whether to pursue a long-shot...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Snowden stopping in Moscow en route to Cuba, Russian says

MOSCOW -- NSA leaker Edward Snowden is flying from Hong Kong to Havana via Moscow, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Sunday. The former National Security Agency contractor is expected to land in Moscow at 5 p.m. Sunday, a Foreign Ministry official...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

DWP to build groundwater treatment plants on Superfund site

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plans to build the world's largest groundwater treatment center over one of the largest Superfund pollution sites in the United States: the San Fernando Basin. Two plants costing a combined $600 million...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

CicLAvia fills Wilshire Boulevard with bicycles

Quincy and Monica Jeffries had never seen Wilshire Boulevard so quiet. They smiled up at the blue-green facade of the Wiltern theater. "You just drive by, and you don't recognize all the beautiful buildings," Monica Jeffries, 40, said. The couple had...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Teen who murdered baby in dad's arms gets 90 years to life

Sixteen-year-old Donald Ray Dokins' short stature and baby face belie the crime he committed: the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old boy in the arms of his proud and doting father. As he prepared to sentence the teenager, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

LAPD's firing of Christopher Dorner was justified, report says

Christopher Dorner, the ex-Los Angeles police officer who went on a killing rampage to avenge his firing from the LAPD, lied repeatedly to further a "personal agenda" during his short time on the force and deserved to be thrown out of the department,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

California's job picture gets brighter

Just a few years ago, California was hemorrhaging tens of thousands of jobs and had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. But on Friday the Golden State reached a turning point: Helped by a recovering housing market, its jobless rate...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Gay cure' ministry Exodus International to close

Exodus International started in Anaheim 37 years ago as a small ministry to help those struggling to reconcile their homosexuality with the Bible's teachings. It grew into the leading practitioner of the controversial "gay cure" movement, with 260 ministries...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

House farm bill is defeated

WASHINGTON — A revolt among rank-and-file Republicans helped kill the farm bill in the House on Thursday, the latest vote to reflect the influence of conservative groups that have often been at odds with the chamber's GOP leadership. More than a quarter...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Legislators, Brown backpedal on public records bill

SACRAMENTO — Facing a growing outcry, Gov. Jerry Brown abandoned a plan Thursday that threatened to reduce public access to government records. Brown had been poised to sign a measure, passed by the Legislature as part of the budget last week, that...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

James Gandolfini dies at 51; actor starred in 'The Sopranos'

James Gandolfini, the Emmy-winning actor who swaggered his way to fame as the murderous, clinically depressed mob boss on HBO's groundbreaking drama "The Sopranos," died Wednesday on vacation in Rome. He was 51. The cause was a heart attack or stroke,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Silver found to increase effectiveness of antibiotics

Thousands of years before the discovery of microbes or the invention of antibiotics, silver was used to protect wounds from infection and to preserve food and water. The alluring metal — which was fashioned into a multitude of curative coins, sutures,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More