L.A. Times - National News

Milwaukee loses a piece of its bowling heritage

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Despite efforts to keep the U.S. Bowling Congress in town, it's moving to Texas.

The brick factories sit silent and empty. The beer barons died long ago. Even Laverne and Shirley are a distant memory.

22 dead in Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia after new round of storms

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:47:06 -0700

Crews and search dogs hunted today for survivors or bodies in piles of debris after tornados and storms rumbled across the region a day earlier and killed at least 22 people in three states.

President Bush calls Jenna's wedding 'spectacular'

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:40:00 -0700

President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime beau.

Barack Obama faces an untested set of hurdles

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

If he's chosen as the Democratic nominee, his race might be an issue, but experience and social issues loom much larger.

For the first time, a major political party is on the brink of choosing an African American as its candidate for president, but when Democratic strategists and other analysts look ahead, they don't see race as Barack Obama's biggest challenge.

It's not just Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton; it's husband vs. wife

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Forget the Democratic Party -- what's the campaign doing to households split between the two candidates?

Bob Marshalla made a $100 contribution to his choice for president last summer. As the Democratic primary season rolled out, he upped that with $200, $300 and $500 donations.

In mortgage market, walkaway homeowners may be urban myth

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:42:00 -0700

Bankers and housing analysts say many homeowners, owing more than their homes are worth, are defaulting on their loans even when they can afford payments. But no hard numbers back up their claims.

Bankers and housing market analysts are warning of a chilling new trend in the mortgage world: Homeowners voluntarily defaulting on their loans even though they can actually afford to make the payments.

A quick Clinton exit wouldn't help Obama

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

She'd still be on the ballot in several states and Puerto Rico. How would it look for him if she won some of them?

"The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia," Jay Leno noted the other night. "Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale."

Barack Obama doesn't object to ally's gibe on John McCain, Keating Five

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Obama says McCain's record is germane. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton loses the superdelegate lead.

As he closes in on the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, who has staked much of his campaign on changing the tenor of American politics, signaled that he had no objection to having voters reminded that the presumptive Republican nominee had admitted to a serious ethical breach.

Murdoch's News Corp. ends Newsday bid

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Two contenders -- Cablevision Systems and media owner Mortimer Zuckerman -- remain for Tribune Co.'s Long Island newspaper after News Corp. withdraws its $580-million offer.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., once the front-runner in bidding for Tribune Co.'s Newsday, has withdrawn its $580-million offer for the Long Island, N.Y., daily newspaper, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

Oklahoma, Missouri storms kill at least 18

Sat, 10 May 2008 23:46:00 -0700

A tornado strikes the border, and emergency officials say the death toll could rise.

. -- Severe weather including a tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed at least 18 people Saturday, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region.