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Steve Lopez: Labor unions the big loser in mayor's race

By Steve Lopez — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:00 PDT

Labor gambled and lost.

Oklahoma tornado leaves misery and relief in its twisted path

By Cindy Carcamo and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:31:00 PDT

After the Oklahoma tornado, some feel lucky to find their homes unscathed. Others have nothing left.

MOORE, Okla. — The tornado zigzagged down the two-lane road with heartbreaking imprecision.

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.

Amid Oklahoma tornado devastation, hunt for survivors persists

By David Zucchino, Matt Pearce and Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:36:00 PDT

The strength of the tornado is upgraded to an EF-5 as the official death toll is lowered to 24. The fate of two elementary schools raises questions about why neither had a tornado-safe room.

MOORE, Okla. — The grueling recovery from a killer tornado began Tuesday as search-and-rescue operations continued, but authorities acknowledged that the likelihood of finding anyone alive grew dimmer by the moment.

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.

Opinion: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his fangirls

By Charlotte Allen — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Though he stands accused of the Boston Marathon bombings, for some girls and women, he's the ultimate 'bad boy.'

OK, so Dzhokhar Tsarnaev stands accused of blowing up three people, injuring 282 more and shooting to death an MIT campus police officer. He's also got fans, or more accurately, he's got fangirls, thousands of them.

Conservatives, tea party leaders seek to block immigration bill

By Lisa Mascaro and Brian Bennett — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:00 PDT

WASHINGTON – Top conservative leaders, along with tea party activists from across the nation, have crafted a letter of opposition to the Senate’s bipartisan immigration overhaul.

Russian adoption ban leaves U.S. families in an agonizing limbo

By Sergei L. Loiko and Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT

More than 330 families had been preparing to bring Russian orphans home. Some special-needs children are almost certainly doomed to a life of solitude.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Andy and Bethany Nagel left photos of themselves at the orphanage for the little boy with Down syndrome who was going to be their son. We'll be back, they told 4-year-old Timofey, blowing kisses from the doorway and retreating anxiously into the chilly street.

Oklahoma tornado is a standout, storm scientist says

By Eryn Brown — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:23:00 PDT

A tornado researcher at the University of Alabama at Huntsville couldn't believe it when he heard Monday that a devastating twister was headed toward Moore, Okla.

Ray Manzarek remembered the Doors in his books

By Carolyn Kellogg — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:37:00 PDT

When Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek died Monday, he left behind a musical legacy that included 15 singles that made Billboard's hot 100 list, including the songs "Light My Fire," "Waiting for the Sun," "Touch Me," "Riders on the Storm," and "People Are Strange." Less well known is his literary legacy, which included a memoir and two novels.