Top Headlines

California's hidden hunger strike

California's hidden hunger strike

Conditions in California prisons are so bad that a panel of federal judges ruled that they violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on...

 

Fighting fire with money

If people whose homes border wilderness areas paid the real expenses for their way of life, the bill would be daunting. Maintaining a...

 

A carbon dioxide escape hatch

Among the more speculative of the proposed solutions to global warming is the notion of capturing the carbon dioxide emissions from coal-...

Shaky start for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's first chief of staff, famously opined that crises presented opportunities for government "to do big things"...

 

Carmageddon's lessons

Killer bees never did swarm the Southwest, the Y2K bug was squashed, the world didn't end on May 21 and "Carmageddon" wasn't. Now that we've...

 

It was a little slice of Carmaheaven

We didn't just survive "Carmageddon" last weekend, we basked in it. Neighbors had dinner together. Angelenos strolled to their local...

Light-bulb standards equal energy efficiency

Light-bulb standards equal energy efficiency

Refrigerators and cars have become more energy-efficient. Water heaters and windows have too. So it's strange that so many politicians cling...

Can Spotify blaze a music trail in America?

Can Spotify blaze a music trail in America?

The long-awaited arrival of Spotify, a popular European music service, in the U.S. last week marks an important milestone for the music...

History textbooks: No slant required

History textbooks: No slant required

We don't need any of that Texas-style, right-wing political slant in California textbooks, so it's good to see a bill, SB 302, progressing...

Gun control at the border

Gun control at the border

The Obama administration took a concrete step toward curbing the flow of semiautomatic weapons to Mexico last week when it adopted a new...

Take the no-pledge pledge

Take the no-pledge pledge

If a major deal on cutting the deficit emerges from debt-reductions talks — one that includes increases in revenue — large...

California should join the popular vote parade

California should join the popular vote parade

Though it is rare, the occasional American presidential election goes to the loser of the popular vote, an outcome that undermines basic...

A U.S. connection to Britain's tabloid scandal?

A U.S. connection to Britain's tabloid scandal?

Rupert Murdoch is an attractive target for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. Allegations that investigators for his flagship London...

Kitten season hits hard

Kitten season hits hard

In nature, animals often give birth during the safest and easiest time of the year — summer. The climate is temperate; food sources...

Debt-ceiling denial won't work

Debt-ceiling denial won't work

Even if the White House and congressional leaders reach a deal to raise the debt limit, they face at least two hurdles to persuading rank-...

The Leiby Kletzky killing: Every parent's fear

The Leiby Kletzky killing: Every parent's fear

Like little Leiby Kletzky, my youngest child pleaded for a little more freedom at the age of 8. She wanted to walk by herself the 500 feet...

The risks of the Keystone XL pipeline

The risks of the Keystone XL pipeline

The Yellowstone River, dubbed "America's last best river" by National Geographic, is, or was, a pristine 700-mile waterway through Montana...

Mitch McConnell's cop-out on the debt ceiling

Mitch McConnell's cop-out on the debt ceiling

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has proposed another Washington bailout — the parachute kind, that is. Concerned that...

Rein in Murdoch, not the press

Rein in Murdoch, not the press

It is beginning to look as if respectable British newspapers might be collateral damage in the backlash against Rupert Murdoch and his...

Medical marijuana: Research, not fear

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...

Proposed 'parent trigger' rules still need work

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...

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...

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 ...

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...