Dec
29

Buddhist temple doesn't always inspire peaceful reactions

The sound of chanting echoed through the makeshift temple, to the slow steady pulse of a drum.Forty-nine days had passed since...
Read More..

FBI removes many redactions in Marilyn Monroe file

LOS ANGELES (AP) — FBI files on Marilyn Monroe that could not be located earlier this year have been found and re-issued, revealing the names of some of the movie star's communist-leaning friends who drew concern from government officials and her own entourage.But the records, which previously had been heavily redacted, do not contain any new information about Monroe's death 50 years ago. Letters...
Read More..

Creating the illusion of snow becomes big business for MagicSnow

On a recent Sunday morning in Los Angeles, Adam Williams and his crew set up their blowers outside a house in Hancock Park and...
Read More..
Dec
28

Anxious New Yorkers grapple with second subway death in a month

NEW YORK — As police continued searching Friday for a woman who witnesses say sent a man to his death by pushing him into an...
Read More..

Makers of $99 Android-Powered Game Console Ship First 1,200 ‘Ouyas’

Like Nintendo’s Wii U game console, the Ouya (that’s “OOH-yuh”) has an unusual name and even more unusual hardware. The console is roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube, and is powered by Android, Google‘s open-source operating system that’s normally found on smartphones and tablets.Ouya’s makers, who are preparing the console for its commercial launch, encourage interested gamers to pop the case open...
Read More..

FBI removes many redactions in Marilyn Monroe file

LOS ANGELES (AP) — FBI files on Marilyn Monroe that could not be located earlier this year have been found and re-issued, revealing the names of some of the movie star's communist-leaning friends who drew concern from government officials and her own entourage.But the records, which previously had been heavily redacted, do not contain any new information about Monroe's death 50 years ago. Letters...
Read More..

Individual mandate in healthcare was year's top consumer story

This was the year of the healthcare mandate. No other consumer story of 2012 comes close.In a split decision, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. casting the deciding vote, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the cornerstone of President Obama's healthcare reform law, the most sweeping overhaul of our dysfunctional medical system in decades.The so-called...
Read More..
Dec
27

L.A. gun buyback program breaks a record

A one-day gun buyback event in Los Angeles on Wednesday gathered 2,037 firearms, including 75 assault weapons and two rocket...
Read More..

Police offer ‘virtual ridealongs’ via Twitter

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Riding side by side as a police officer answers a call for help or investigates a brutal crime during a ridealong gives citizens an up close look at the gritty and sometimes dangerous situations officers can experience on the job.But a new social media approach to informing the public about what officers do is taking hold at police departments across the United States and...
Read More..

It's husband No. 3 for actress Kate Winslet

NEW YORK (AP) — Kate Winslet has tied the knot again.The Oscar-winning actress wed Ned Rocknroll in New York earlier this month. The private ceremony was attended by Winslet's two children as well as a few friends and family members, her representative said Thursday.It is the third marriage for the 37-year-old Winslet. She was previously married to film directors Jim Threapleton and Sam Mendes.The...
Read More..

7-Eleven Stores Focus on Healthier Food Options

The chain that is home of the Slurpee, Big Gulp and self-serve nachos with chili and cheese is betting that consumers will stop in for yogurt parfaits, crudité and lean turkey on whole wheat bread. 7-Eleven, the convenience store chain, is restocking its shelves with an eye toward health. Over the last year, the retailer has introduced a line of fresh foods for the calorie conscious and trimmed...
Read More..

Starz will face new, challenging world as public company

Pay-TV channel Starz is trying to chart a new orbit.Early next year, its parent company, Liberty Media, plans to spin off the...
Read More..
Dec
26

Toyota to pay big to settle suits

Toyota Motor Corp., moving to put years of legal problems behind it, has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle dozens...
Read More..

Patrick Dempsey brews up coffee shop purchase

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patrick Dempsey says he wants to rescue a coffee house chain and more than 500 jobs.The "Grey's Anatomy" star said Wednesday he's leading a group attempting to buy Tully's Coffee. The Seattle-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.Dempsey said he's excited about the chance to help hundreds of workers and give back to Seattle.The actor has a strong TV...
Read More..

Elwood V. Jensen, Pioneer in Breast Cancer Treatment, Dies at 92

Elwood V. Jensen, a medical researcher whose studies of steroid hormones led to new treatments for breast cancer that have been credited with saving or extending hundreds of thousands of lives, died on Dec. 16 in Cincinnati. He was 92. The cause was complications of pneumonia, his son, Thomas Jensen, said. In 2004 Dr. Jensen received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award,...
Read More..

Toyota to pay big to settle suits

Toyota Motor Corp., moving to put years of legal problems behind it, has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle dozens...
Read More..
Dec
25

Lakers snap Christmas Day streak with win over Knicks

Lakers 100, Knicks 94 (final)The Lakers closed out the New York Knicks on Christmas Day to win their fifth in a row, avenging...
Read More..

Jessica Simpson’s Christmas tweet seems to confirm pregnancy rumor

(Reuters) – U.S. actress, singer and fashion designer Jessica Simpson sent a Christmas Twitter message that apparently confirms media rumors that she is pregnant – showing a photo of her daughter Maxwell with the words “Big Sis” spelled out in sand.The picture’s caption reads “Merry Christmas from my family to yours.”Simpson had her first child, Maxwell Drew Johnson, in May. She has since become a...
Read More..

Jessica Simpson's Christmas gift: She's pregnant

NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Simpson's daughter has the news all spelled out: "Big Sis."Simpson on Tuesday tweeted a photo of her baby daughter Maxwell playing in the sand, the words "Big Sis" spelled out.The 32-year-old old singer and personality has been rumored to be expecting again. The tweet appears to confirm the rumors."Merry Christmas from my family to yours" is the picture's caption. Simpson used...
Read More..

Op-Ed Contributor: Our Failed Approach to Schizophrenia

TOO many pendulums have swung in the wrong directions in the United States. I am not referring only to the bizarre all-or-nothing rhetoric around gun control, but to the swing in mental health care over the past 50 years: too little institutionalizing of teenagers and young adults (particularly men, generally more prone to violence) who have had a recent onset of schizophrenia; too little education...
Read More..

How will going off the 'fiscal cliff' affect the U.S.?

You've heard the predictions for what happens if the country goes over the "fiscal cliff": The economy will shrink, nervous...
Read More..