Top Headlines

Punishing Pakistan may punish the U.S. too

Punishing Pakistan may punish the U.S. too

The decision to suspend $800 million in military aid is understandable, but the move could end up increasing anti-Americanism in Pakistan and complicating joint efforts to fight terrorism.

 

Immigration policy: U.S. should abolish its 'diversity visa' program

We should handpick our immigrants with a view to our national interests and the individual attributes that they bring to the table.

Medical marijuana: Research, not fear

The DEA is right in saying there's not enough scientific evidence about the medical uses of cannabis. But that's because the government's paranoia about the plant makes legitimate research on possible benefits all but impossible.

 
L.A. County Probation Dept. should handle new parolees

L.A. County Probation Dept. should handle new parolees

Thousands of new parolees are coming to Los Angeles County as part of the state's effort to ease prison overcrowding. To deal with them, the...

The debt ceiling and wrong-way Republicans

The debt ceiling and wrong-way Republicans

Following the dubious lead of their counterparts in Sacramento, congressional Republicans appear poised to reject a broad victory for the...

Hope for humane conditions for egg-laying hens

Hope for humane conditions for egg-laying hens

For years, the Humane Society of the United States and United Egg Producers have been adversaries over the treatment of the 280 million egg-...

Putting 'labor' back in NLRB

Putting 'labor' back in NLRB

One of Congress' responses to the Depression was the National Labor Relations Act, which officially encourages collective bargaining between...

In Colombia, a move toward restitution

In Colombia, a move toward restitution

Colombia's decades-long armed conflict has left tens of thousands dead and forced more than 3.6 million people off their land. Last month,...

Section 8 housing crackdown roils Antelope Valley

Section 8 housing crackdown roils Antelope Valley

The name Antelope Valley evokes a picturesque desert-scape where pronghorns once roamed and people now live quietly in rambling homes on...

William Mulholland's gift: Modern L.A.

William Mulholland's gift: Modern L.A.

The Times' editorial board meets around a long table in a room hung with images of the interlocking histories of this newspaper and its city...

Affirmative action: The Michigan ruling

Affirmative action: The Michigan ruling

A federal appeals court panel has ruled that Michigan's ban on affirmative action in higher education — similar to California's...

Obama administration shows how to treat a terrorist suspect

Obama administration shows how to treat a terrorist suspect

Republicans are livid about the way the Obama administration handled the apprehension and arrest of an accused Somali terrorist. But —...

Military suicides: Obama seeks to ease the pain

Military suicides: Obama seeks to ease the pain

When a member of the U.S. military is killed in the line of duty in a combat zone, the president sends a condolence letter to his or her...

Managing L.A. County's Probation Department

Managing L.A. County's Probation Department

The Board of Supervisors just can't seem to decide how to run its overburdened county. Several years ago the members ...

Haiti: Why an accurate count of civilian deaths matters

Haiti: Why an accurate count of civilian deaths matters

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, there have been at least 60,000 civilian deaths that wouldn't otherwise have occurred. Or maybe...

Immigration detainees: Lost in America

Immigration detainees: Lost in America

Trinity Park, south of downtown Los Angeles, is bustling on a late Friday afternoon. I scan the crowd: teenagers on skateboards, a heated...

Goldberg: The presidency matters, but how much does Obama?

Goldberg: The presidency matters, but how much does Obama?

In 1994, the Republicans took back the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. The significance of that victory is hard for...

Newton: Mean streets — for police

Newton: Mean streets — for police

By almost every measure, Los Angeles police are succeeding: Crime is down, public confidence up, and police who were once reviled in many...

How President Obama can reclaim his green cred

How President Obama can reclaim his green cred

Environmentalists worked hard to help Barack Obama win the presidency. Three years later, many of us are disappointed with the...

McManus: A measured U.S. response in Syria

McManus: A measured U.S. response in Syria

When pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in Syria this spring, President Obama offered Syrian President Bashar Assad one more chance to...

405 Freeway shutdown: Two words of advice — surface streets

405 Freeway shutdown: Two words of advice — surface streets

About the first thing I heard 20 years ago, when I moved to Los Angeles, was this: "Take surface streets."

Assessing the space shuttle program

Assessing the space shuttle program

I began covering the space shuttle project in 1972, soon after President Nixon authorized it. I had recently joined this newspaper as a...

L.A. teachers union needs to get on board

L.A. teachers union needs to get on board

In Pittsburgh, according to an Aspen Institute report, the local teachers union and the school district have gone from "sitting across the...

Human behavior: To resist temptation, forget guilt or shame and think positive

Human behavior: To resist temptation, forget guilt or shame and think positive

Anytime a VIP gets caught with his (or her) pants down — Arnold Schwarzenegger or Anthony Weiner, for example — you can almost...

In Casey Anthony's case, the law worked

In Casey Anthony's case, the law worked

After Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murdering her daughter Caylee this week, a disturbing spectacle unfolded outside the Florida...

Rodriguez: L.A.'s way is the freeway

Rodriguez: L.A.'s way is the freeway

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's office released a mildly amusing list of 53 suggestions for surviving "Carmageddon," one for...