Los Angeles Times - Top News

Property values fall in L.A. County for first time in 13 years

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Assessor For the first time in 13 years, the overall value of property in Los Angeles County has declined, according a report released this morning by the county's assessor's office.

Obama vows U.S. will lead the way on climate change

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:58:00 -0700

The president, speaking from a forum in Italy, commended efforts by assembled leaders to set guidelines, including an 80% reduction in emissions by industrialized nations by 2050.

President Obama praised efforts by industrialized and developing nations to set guidelines in the battle to control climate change and said today that the United States will increase its role in that fight.

Protesters, officers clash violently in Iran's streets

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:05:00 -0700

Over 1,000 demonstrators gather in Tehran, continuing to protest the June 12 presidential election. Security forces fire tear gas and beat protesters. Many people wear masks to hide their identities.

Violent clashes erupted today in downtown Tehran between more than a thousand determined young men and women chanting, "Death to the dictator" and "God is great" and security forces wielding truncheons.

LAPD's public database omits nearly 40% of this year's crimes

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The map, touted as a way for residents to monitor the safety of their neighborhoods, doesn't include about 19,000 serious crimes reported in other LAPD data. Officials say they're looking into it.

The Los Angeles Police Department's online crime map intended for public use has failed to include nearly 40% of serious crimes reported in the city, a Times analysis has found.

Truck bomb in Afghanistan kills 25, many of them children

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Officials think the truck may have been headed to the capital when it ran off a highway just south of Kabul. Three U.S. soldiers die in separate attacks as violence grows in scattered areas.

A powerful truck bomb Thursday killed at least 25 people, more than half of them schoolchildren, in an eastern province near Kabul. Authorities speculated that the explosives-laden vehicle was intended for an attack in the capital.

Protest leader, relative shot to death in Mexico

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The attack on Benjamin LeBaron, a U.S. citizen, and his brother-in-law bore the signs of an organized-crime hit. LeBaron had led a demonstration in May against kidnapping.

Anti-crime activists on Wednesday decried the slaying of a protest leader in northern Mexico who went public after his brother was kidnapped in May.

Brush fire in the Sepulveda Pass forces evacuations

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Visitors to the Getty Center and Mount St. Mary's College are ushered from the facilities. The apparent accidental blaze shuts down part of Sepulveda Boulevard and two 405 offramps.

Hundreds of visitors at the Getty Center and dozens more at Mount St. Mary's College were forced to evacuate Wednesday afternoon when a brush fire swept through the hillsides and canyon walls in the Sepulveda Pass, fire officials said.

Consumers could pay for Google's power

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Internet giant offers an abundance of popular free services and now plans to create its own computer operating system. What the company is capable of raises concern.

At first glance, Google's latest plan for global domination sounds very cool.

Leaders of developing nations shun plan to cut greenhouse gases in half

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:53:00 -0700

The Group of 8, meeting in Italy, backs a reduction in overall emissions by half by 2050 and 80% for industrialized nations. But leaders of developing nations balk at the plan.

The world's biggest polluters failed to reach an agreement today on a plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2050, after developing nations decided not to sign on to the idea during an international summit here.

Carly Fiorina seems to be prepping for a bout with Barbara Boxer

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief and economic advisor to John McCain, may be getting ready to seek the Republican nomination for the California senator's job in 2010.

Carly Fiorina, whose rocky tenure as chief executive of Hewlett Packard ended with her firing, is making serious preparations to run next year for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).