News - latimes.com

Villaraigosa, Garcetti pledge smooth transition in mayor's office

By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:24:00 PDT

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti meet over breakfast and promise an orderly transition of power.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa began the formal transition of power to his successor on Thursday, hosting Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti for breakfast at Getty House where he told reporters that the city councilman had his "full support."

Fourth U.S. drone victim influenced by Sept. 11, war

By Shashank Bengali, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:02:00 PDT

Jude Kenan Mohammad's journey from suburban North Carolina to Pakistan is the tale of a young Muslim, disillusioned in America, who became radicalized.

WASHINGTON — In his early teens, Jude Kenan Mohammad was a familiar sight in his middle-class section of Raleigh, N.C., riding around on his bike to deliver groceries to elderly Muslim neighbors.

Conservative economists endorse immigration reform bill

By Lisa Mascaro — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT

WASHINGTON -- More than 100 conservative economists will call on Congress to approve an immigration overhaul, highlighting the potential economic benefits.

Oklahoma turns to mammoth task of cleanup after tornado

By David Zucchino, Hailey Branson-Potts and Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:51:00 PDT

As details of victims emerge, residents of Moore, Okla., begin hauling away animal carcasses, trashed cars and the debris from 13,000 homes battered by the tornado.

MOORE, Okla. — Under a sunny sky, residents of this Oklahoma City suburb began cleaning up debris from the monstrous tornado that inflicted death and destruction — bodies of animals, overturned cars, homes reduced to rubble — as more information emerged about the human victims.

Kerry downplays Syria government's gains

By Nabih Bulos and Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:42:00 PDT

In Jordan for talks with the pro-opposition Friends of Syria bloc, he calls Bashar Assad's military advances 'very temporary.'

AMMAN, Jordan — Recent battlefield advances by the Syrian military against U.S.-backed rebels are "very temporary" and do not signal that the government of President Bashar Assad is gaining the upper hand, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Wednesday.

Disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner running for New York mayor

From the Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:18:00 PDT

The former representative who resigned after his racy tweets surfaced may make it to a runoff for the office.

NEW YORK — Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose career imploded in a rash of raunchy tweets two years ago, announced in a YouTube video late Tuesday that he is running for mayor of New York.

Pentagon faces another sex scandal

By Shashank Bengali, Washington Bureau — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:32:00 PDT

Brig. Gen. Bryan T. Roberts, Army basic training camp commander, is suspended over allegations of 'adultery and a physical altercation,' military officials say.

WASHINGTON — The Army suspended the commander of its main basic training camp Tuesday for alleged adultery, the latest in a string of military officers accused of sexual misconduct.

IRS' last two commissioners deny lying; official to take the 5th

By Joseph Tanfani, Richard Simon and Melanie Mason, Washington Bureau — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:13:00 PDT

The Senate Finance Committee grills the IRS' Douglas Shulman and Steven Miller. Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations, will invoke the 5th Amendment.

WASHINGTON — As the Internal Revenue Service's last two directors struggled to provide answers Tuesday about the agency's improper scrutiny of conservative groups, a lawyer for another key IRS official said she would invoke the 5th Amendment rather than answer questions about the screening and why she didn't tell Congress about it.

Guatemala full of questions after genocide conviction annulled

By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:15:00 PDT

It's unclear what kind of retrial former dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face, or whether the nation's power brokers played any role in the high court ruling.

MEXICO CITY — The Guatemalan high court's decision to annul the genocide conviction of former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt on Tuesday revived questions about his responsibility for the slaughter of some 1,700 ethnic Maya people.

Rescue efforts ongoing as grim scene emerges after tornado

By Matt Pearce — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:53:00 PDT

MOORE, Okla. -- After darkness fell over this tornado-stricken city on Monday night and early Tuesday morning, rescuers confronted a strange and grim tableau.