L.A. Times - National News

Mexican American former anti-drug chief's reputation on trial

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Richard Padilla Cramer is accused of selling out to drug lords, helping them unmask informants and set up smuggling deals. Family and former colleagues say he's the last person they'd suspect.

Around here, the grim joke goes, most people work for the government or the mafias.

Senate healthcare vote clears the way for formal debate to begin

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Democrats overcome a GOP filibuster with a 60-39 vote in a key procedural move on the $848-billion healthcare legislation. Debate is likely to run through the end of the year.

Without a vote to spare, Democrats pushed their healthcare legislation over its first obstacle on the Senate floor Saturday, as the chamber voted to begin formal debate on a sweeping measure to guarantee medical coverage for nearly all Americans.

The Russian Tea Room caters to new clientele: kids

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The famous restaurant now offers PBJ and pigs in blankets alongside its usual caviar. Reaching out is helping it stay afloat in hard times.

There on the left is the plush booth where Dustin Hoffman's character shocked his -- or would that be her? -- agent into ordering a double shot of vodka in the film "Tootsie." Paul McCartney once strolled solo through the revolving door, sat at the shiny bar and ordered a margarita in a martini glass. Years ago, an unknown named Madonna might have checked your coat.

Fox News rolls wrong video of Palin crowds

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Executives are reportedly considering 'serious disciplinary action' against someone in the control room. Also: a sour note on Obama's tweets; Huckabee defends Obama.

A few weeks ago, Fox News had the White House on the defensive. Network anchors were scoring political points by ridiculing President Obama for ignoring the largest news cable audience in television. Glenn Beck pounded green-jobs czar Van Jones, who eventually resigned.

New York's Russian Tea Room caters to new clientele: kids

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The famous restaurant now offers PBJ and pigs in blankets alongside its usual caviar. It's one of the ways it hopes to stay afloat where others have failed in the recession.

There on the left is the plush booth where Dustin Hoffman's character shocked his -- or would that be her? -- agent into ordering a double shot of vodka in the film "Tootsie." Paul McCartney once strolled solo through the revolving door, sat at the shiny bar and ordered a margarita in a martini glass. Years ago, an unknown named Madonna might have checked your coat.

An anomaly in judging at Carson science fair

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Professors and researchers had to wow tough critics -- fourth-graders from Foster and Carver elementary schools in Compton.

The 200 judges at the biomedical science fair surveyed the exhibits, pursing their lips. They clutched their clipboards, rating the effectiveness of presentations on topics from DNA extraction to magnetic accelerators.

A climate change dust-up

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

One side sees hacked e-mail as a sign of a 'Warmist Conspiracy.' The other says it's being taken out of context. Analysts don't expect it to have much effect on the Senate greenhouse gas bill.

Is it a "Warmist Conspiracy," or a case of an e-mail being "taken completely out of context"?

North Carolina state trooper gets in hat trouble

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

He lost his hat one blustery night and applied for a new one. But then it turned up -- and he was fired for lying.

If you're a state trooper, losing your hat can get you in trouble. Lying about how you lost your hat, however, can get you fired.

Explaining cost savings in the Senate bill

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Readers ask about the details of Medicare savings, plus a cosmetic-surgery tax and limits on abortion coverage.

Some reader questions about the healthcare legislation in Congress:

Married in Texas? Check again, a political challenger says

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A candidate for state attorney general blames the incumbent for faulty wording in a 2005 amendment to ban gay marriage, saying it puts all Texas unions in doubt.

Texans, are you really married?