Top Headlines

Punishing Pakistan may punish the U.S. too

Punishing Pakistan may punish the U.S. too

A decision by the United States to suspend $800 million in military aid to Pakistan is both understandable and regrettable. Understandable...

 

Proposed 'parent trigger' rules still need work

After several months of intense lobbying, new rules have been proposed governing the so-called parent trigger process that allows parents to...

 

Medical marijuana: Research, not fear

What is it that makes marijuana more frightening to the federal government than cocaine or morphine? The Drug Enforcement Administration has...

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

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

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 ...

Stealth attack on California's schools

Stealth attack on California's schools

Ham-fisted yet pandering, and fiscally irresponsible too, AB 114 perpetrates an abuse of state power that...

Putting online piracy in dry dock

Putting online piracy in dry dock

After months of negotiations, movie studios, record labels and five top U.S. Internet service providers

California agency: Little cells, big salary

California agency: Little cells, big salary

The new head of California's stem cell research agency, which has a staff of 50, not only makes more money than the governor, he makes twice...

Whose UC is it?

Whose UC is it?

The University of California cannot afford to be quite the institution it has been for decades: the provider of an easily affordable yet...

Raiding the music and movie pirates

Raiding the music and movie pirates

As if they didn't have enough problems with online piracy, the major record labels say they've seen a surge in high-quality counterfeit...

Ride a scooter, save the world

Ride a scooter, save the world

Not to Al Gore anybody's ox, but a lot of you Whole Foods hipsters think you're...

A juvenile justice system that's adrift

A juvenile justice system that's adrift

These are interesting times for those who work in the field of juvenile justice. In many states, lawmakers and voters are turning away...

CIA has a lot to answer for

CIA has a lot to answer for

A prosecutor assigned to investigate the CIA's use of torture has decided not to recommend further investigation of as many as 100 CIA...

Avastin debate: Science vs. emotion

Avastin debate: Science vs. emotion

The debate over whether federal regulators should allow Avastin to be marketed as a breast cancer treatment has been characterized as a...

Homelessness in L.A.: Cleaning up skid row the right way

Homelessness in L.A.: Cleaning up skid row the right way

For much of the last decade, Los Angeles city officials and advocates for the homeless have clashed in and out of state and federal court...

Health insurance: Halting arbitrary premium hikes

Health insurance: Halting arbitrary premium hikes

A bill to let state regulators block unreasonable health insurance premium hikes is running into a potential roadblock in the Senate...

Fourth of July: Words of wisdom from the Founding Fathers

Fourth of July: Words of wisdom from the Founding Fathers

Independence Day 2011 dawns amid a resurgence of interest in our nation's Founding Fathers. "Tea party" conservatives in particular like...

Stop playing chicken with the debt ceiling

Stop playing chicken with the debt ceiling

President Obama chastised lawmakers last week for not reaching a deal to raise the debt ceiling. The onus is on the president and GOP...

True to the Dodgers

True to the Dodgers

When Branch Rickey put Jackie Robinson on the field on April 15, 1947, the moment transcended Brooklyn or the Dodgers or even baseball. That...

The law, even on Texas' death row

The law, even on Texas' death row

Humberto Leal Garcia Jr. is scheduled to be executed Thursday in Texas.

Private money, public service

Private money, public service

Last Sunday, The Times reported that Gov. Jerry Brown has been taking thousands of dollars each month from donors to pay the rent on his...

L.A. Unified's faulty approach to homework

L.A. Unified's faulty approach to homework

Scenes from a public school childhood:

Obama's still on the fence on same-sex marriage

Obama's still on the fence on same-sex marriage

Last month President Obama, addressing a fundraising dinner in New York, said: "I believe that gay couples deserve the same human rights...

Now it's Republicans stalling free-trade pacts

Now it's Republicans stalling free-trade pacts

During the Bush administration, congressional Democrats never tired of finding reasons to oppose important free-trade pacts with South...

Another blow to campaign financing reform

Another blow to campaign financing reform

In striking down part of an Arizona public financing law, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court has once again shown its...

How to depose Kadafi

How to depose Kadafi

Moammar Kadafi is a fitting target for the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court. Whatever one's opinion...

California's grand budget bargain that wasn't

California's grand budget bargain that wasn't

The state budget crafted by Gov. Jerry Brown and top Democratic lawmakers is the first in the wake of Proposition 25, and it fulfills both...