Crashing the parties

If all the efforts to create a “third” major political party in the U.S. had come to fruition, we might have a dozen by now, but no one has been able to crack the dominance of the Republicans and Democrats.

Now comes a new attempt, called Unity08, which aims to hold an online primary to nominate a centrist third-party ticket for the 2008 presidential race.

Backers say Internet technology and intense dissatisfaction with the established parties will enable them to succeed where Teddy Roosevelt, Ross Perot and others failed, but many observers give their endeavor a snowball’s chance. Page A4

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Governor’s race: Sock! Pow! Smack!

Before we get to 2008, though, there’s still the little matter of Tuesday’s California primary. The contest between Phil Angelides and Steve Westly poses a question Democrats nationwide are asking: Would a liberal or a moderate stand the best chance in the fall? Page A1

In San Francisco, Sen. Dianne Feinstein excoriates Westly for an ad that she says falsely implies that Angelides participated in the dumping of sludge into Lake Tahoe. Feinstein, campaigning with Angelides, calls the ad “dastardly” and asks, “How could I ever trust someone who said that about this man?”

Westly says he stands by the ad, while one of his aides, in an e-mail to The Times, suggests that Feinstein doesn’t know the facts. “Take what she says with a grain of salt -- or a pound of sludge!” he writes. Page B6

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Palestinians differ on referendum

Palestinian factions are having their own political debate, and they again appear to be on a collision course, as Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declares that President Mahmoud Abbas doesn’t have the authority to call a referendum on recognizing Israel.

Abbas, who belongs to the Fatah faction, has given Haniyeh’s Hamas group a deadline of Tuesday to either agree on a common platform, including recognition of the Jewish state, or put the question to Palestinian voters.

In Egypt, meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that he plans to meet with Abbas. Page A14

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More guidance, no consensus

When doctors declare a patient beyond help and suggest removing life-support treatment, who makes the ultimate decision?

In Texas, lawmakers trying to aid in the process passed a law in 1999 that in certain cases allows doctors to make the call. One of those cases is being played out now in courtrooms and in a hospital, where 10-month-old Daniel Cullen II is being kept alive by a ventilator and a feeding tube.

Complicating the case are allegations of child neglect, which have led authorities to remove Daniel’s 8-year-old brother from their mother’s home. Page A4

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He’s turning pro -- and con too

Before you can argue about whether soccer will hit it big in the U.S., you have to find someone to argue with. And sportswriter Mike Penner finds a worthy adversary: himself.

Penner supplies dueling columns. Pro Mike says the sport already is a success here, as evidenced by increasing TV exposure and rising attendance. Con Mike says Americans won’t embrace a sport unless it provides a flurry of scoring.

Whether Penner gets paid twice is not addressed. Page D1

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River of tears

Merle Haggard once wrote a song about the dangerous, fast-flowing Kern River: I’ll never swim Kern River again. It was there that I met her. It was there that I lost my best friend. This year especially, authorities hope people heed its warning. Page B1

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HEALTH

Sailing along on new joints

Exercise is noble, exercise is cool. It is not cool, however, to limp. Through anatomical predisposition, athletic injury and overuse, many middle-agers are candidates for joint replacement. The good news: The procedure is not as difficult as it used to be, and recovery can be swift. The bad news: You’re likely to outlive the parts and need more surgery. Page F1

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Learning to live, love with AIDS

The free love era came to a noticeable close 25 years ago. In the generation since AIDS was identified, certain truths endure: The disease can strike anyone, and trepidation, if not plain fear, remains part of the calculus of sexual relations.

Education has raised the level of consciousness among the young and lusty, with demonstrably beneficial results -- students are taught about AIDS in school, and peer programs bring it home. But teenagers are teenagers, and raging hormones will drive behavior in sometimes unhealthful ways. Page F1

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Painful conclusion to spinal study

After drugs and physical therapy lose their effectiveness, spinal cord stimulators are one of the few options for people in pain from spinal cord injuries. The implanted devices deliver electrical impulses to specific nerves to impede the transmission of pain signals to the brain.

Now, after the first long-term study of the stimulators’ performance, a report in the New England Journal of Medicine says the efficacy of the device diminishes over time and disappears after three years. Page F3

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BUSINESS

‘Break-Up’ scores at the box office

“The Break-Up,” a romantic comedy that billed itself as not exactly romantic and that many critics called not exactly good, captured the wallets of moviegoers over the weekend, if not necessarily their hearts.

The film debuted at No. 1 on the weekend’s box office charts, pulling in a better-than-expected $38.1 million. But here’s a relationship warning sign: An unusually low 49% of online ticket buyers rated the movie very good or excellent. Page C1

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Passions rage over ‘net neutrality’

“Sellout.” “Stooge.” “Industry sock puppet.”

Mike McCurry has been called a few names in his time -- he was Bill Clinton’s press secretary during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- but this is different. McCurry is now working for companies such as AT&T; to oppose “net neutrality” rules -- federal regulations that would prevent phone and cable companies from charging extra to transmit some high-bandwidth services faster than others. And much of the anger is coming from the political left.

Why such anger over something McCurry calls “a bunch of wires and switches”? Page C1

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CALENDAR

Cube’s reminder: he’s a cold dude

Rapper-actor Ice Cube is trying to firm up his tough-guy image with “Laugh Now, Cry Later,” his first album in six years, and critic Ann Powers says perhaps he’s trying too hard.

Cube has long combined gangsta boasting and social protest -- a “key element of the righteous-outlaw paradox he inhabits,” Powers writes -- but here “his blustering detracts from his good humor and his insight.” Yet even though his lyrics can be creepy, they’re also undeniably effective, she says. Page E1

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What Getty needs is an art lover

As the Getty Trust casts about for a new chief executive, it would do well to avoid the likes of its two recent CEOs -- men with long corporate backgrounds but no professional art experience, critic Christopher Knight says.

What the Getty needs, for a change, is someone with a lifelong fervor for art, he writes. Then it can set about remaking its board of directors, which Knight says is packed with narrow corporate Babbitts. Page E1

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ON LATIMES.COM

Who, what, when, where and wow!

Hollywood highlights: Get the lowdown on Tinseltown’s biggest events, fashion trends, wardrobe malfunctions and faux pas from Hollywood Bytes blogger Elizabeth Snead, on the scene with reports and commentary from the red carpets and VIP rooms of the entertainment world. Follow her daily dispatches.theenvelope.com

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Monumental air crash: Fifty years ago this month, two passenger planes collided over the Grand Canyon, killing 128 people in what was at the time the worst air disaster in U.S. history. As a result, lawmakers created the modern Federal Aviation Administration. See a photo gallery of the crash aftermath, pictures of passengers and their descendants, plus detailed maps and graphics.

latimes.com/aircrash

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THE WEEK AHEAD

TUESDAY

Voters make their decisions

California voters go to the polls in the primary election. They’ll choose party nominees in the races for governor and the other statewide offices, plus each district’s congressional representatives and for a slew of seats for the state Legislature. Two statewide propositions -- a bond measure to fund libraries and a tax on the rich to fund preschool -- are also on the ballot. In many areas, voters will make additional choices. Long Beach, for example, will choose a mayor.

TUESDAY

Bush stumps on immigration

President Bush leaves Washington for two days, stopping at three immigration hotspots: Artesia, N.M.; Laredo, Texas; and Omaha. Nebraska? Yes. The president wants to pressure the House and Senate to reconcile vastly different legislative approaches to overhauling the nation’s immigration laws. Given the role of illegal immigrants in industries throughout the country, and their presence far from the borders, Omaha offers an inviting target.

FRIDAY

Soccer takes the world stage

No sporting event attracts the amount of international attention that soccer’s World Cup does, and the monthlong tournament begins with two matches. Germany, which is hosting the event, takes on Costa Rica in the opener, with Ecuador and Poland playing a later game. Brazil, the reigning champion, remains the favorite to win the tournament for a sixth time. The U.S. squad begins play next Monday against the Czech Republic.

SUNDAY

Curtain calls for Broadway’s best

Sure, the Tony Awards salute the best of Broadway, which is on the other side of the country, but the show should be very accessible to Southland viewers this year. Two of the best musical nominees had earlier incarnations as movies (“The Color Purple” and “The Wedding Singer”), one features the songs of the Four Seasons (“Jersey Boys”) and one had a successful run here at the Ahmanson Theatre (“The Drowsy Chaperone”). Who’ll win?