News - latimes.com

Led by Republicans, House passes measure to limit abortions

By Michael A. Memoli — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:37:00 PDT

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives passed legislation to enact stringent restrictions on abortion Tuesday, acting on an issue championed by social conservatives in the Republican majority and inviting a possible new challenge to constitutional abortion rights.

Spurs have best Manu for job, beat Heat for 3-2 lead in NBA Finals

By Mike Bresnahan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:05:00 PDT

Manu Ginobili, previously averaging 7.5 points in series, scores 24 to fuel 114-104 San Antonio victory that pushes LeBron James and Miami to brink of elimination.

S.F. tenants win a battle over rental conversions

By Lee Romney, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:20:00 PDT

New rules will put limits on condo changeovers and the also-dreaded tenancies-in-common.

— They are two of the faces of this city's housing crisis.

Some L.A. County bus drivers say pesticides are making them ill

By Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:06:00 PDT

14 Metropolitan Transportation Authority drivers are pursuing workers' comp claims, and 110 have signed a petition to halt the agency's spraying of the vehicles.

Los Angeles County bus drivers say they are regularly becoming ill — sometimes while behind the wheel — from pesticides sprayed inside their vehicles by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Funding to improve drinking water has come at a slow drip

By Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:56:00 PDT

Officials have been slow to spend state and federal funds to address tainted water, snarling small communities in red tape that has delayed fixes for years, advocates say.

LANARE, Calif. — A bright metal drinking fountain is mounted on the wall in the community center of this tiny town west of Fresno. No one pays it any mind: The water is drawn from a well that has been contaminated with arsenic for years.

Legislators' 'hot dog' definition would aid street vendors

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Hawkers of such cured, cooked sausages would face less-stringent sanitation standards than sellers who cook raw foods.

SACRAMENTO — Americans have been eating hot dogs since at least 1870, when a Coney Island restaurateur started selling sausages on long buns.

North Korea calls for high-level talks with U.S.

By Jung-yoon Choi — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 04:44:00 PDT

SEOUL — The North Korean regime Sunday suggested a high-level meeting with the United States "to ease the tension on the Korean peninsula," less than a week after its scheduled working-level talks with Seoul were called off.

Strong quake sways buildings in Mexico City

By Tracy Wilkinson — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:26:00 PDT

MEXICO CITY — A powerful two-punch earthquake shook western Mexico early Sunday, knocking out electricity and cellular phone service in parts of this sprawling capital. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or fatalities.

L.A.'s biggest nightclub owner bets big on Vegas casino

By Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:09:00 PDT

Sam Nazarian, the man behind celebrity hot spot Hyde Lounge, is placing $800 million on the SLS Las Vegas, a 1,600-room hotel, casino and night-life venue.

LAS VEGAS — He's the biggest nightclub owner in Los Angeles, the man whose Hyde Lounge and Shelter became prime hunting grounds for the paparazzi. He's been photographed cozying up with Paris Hilton, Kristin Cavallari and Sofia Vergara. When HBO's "Entourage" needed a club owner, he got the part — playing himself.

Gov. Brown targets enterprise-zone tax credits

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:52:00 PDT

The program rewards companies for hiring in certain places, but recipients are secret, and Brown says some just move jobs from one part of California to another. He wants a new system.

SACRAMENTO — A battle is raging over a California program that grants businesses tax breaks for creating jobs but prevents the public from knowing who got them and why.