Progress on immigration

Despite a week of emotional, sometimes stinging debate on immigration reform legislation, it now appears all but certain that the Senate will pass a bill next week with the kind of broad changes sought by President Bush.

The progress came as the result of an alliance of bipartisan lawmakers that has fought off efforts to limit the legislation’s guest worker program. At the same time, a core of moderate Republicans has backed provisions to toughen the enforcement aspects of the Senate bill to make it more palatable to House conservatives.

And in a nod to cultural conservatives eager to promote assimilation, the Senate passed a measure declaring English the national language of the U.S. Page A5

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Close Gitmo, says U.N. committee

The U.N. Committee Against Torture condemns the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects and calls on the Bush administration to close it.

Recent indications are that some in the administration are pushing to phase out the operations in Cuba.

Approximately 460 prisoners remain at the secretive prison and some are being transferred to the custody of their home country for possible prosecution on terrorism charges. Page A21

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April job rate was gray as rain

The Golden State economy lost a bit of luster in April with the unemployment rate reaching 4.9% for the second consecutive month. Most analysts blame an anemic housing market and -- truly -- too much rain.

The seasonally adjusted loss of 8,300 construction jobs reflects slower real estate sales. And the weather might be responsible for the light retail traffic in home improvement and garden stores at a time they usually blossom with business.

Whether the grim job market is an aberrant or leads a broader trend, economists say, remains to be seen. Page C1

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Caught trying to smuggle $800,000

Forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas catch a senior official of the governing Hamas party smuggling more than $800,000 in cash into the Gaza Strip.

The official, Sami abu Zuhri, was returning via Egypt from Qatar where he said he collected the money in donations.

“What was wrong in bringing in money to help our people?” asks Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas government leader.

The episode highlights the strained relations between Hamas and the Fatah faction it defeated in January elections. Hamas has been unable to pay government salaries for two months. Page A18

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But can they keep a checkbook?

You know how you sometimes forget to take your sunglasses on a sunny day or an umbrella on a cloudy one?

Well, apes remember.

Scientists test orangutans and bonobos with tools used to fetch grapes.

Not only did the apes figure out which tool works best to retrieve the treats.

But when they are allowed to return hours later, the apes remember to bring along the right tool. Page A22

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COMING SUNDAY

The long arm of Hollywood

For nearly a century, fantasy has been one of the region’s leading exports. To mark its 125th anniversary, The Times publishes a special section Sunday focusing on the stars, studios and imaginations that have shaped the Hollywood dream machine.

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Welcome home

Hurricane Katrina turned Denise Thornton’s house into a water park. True grit powered her through the maze of contractors, paperwork and services required to rebuild, and she turned her experience into a nonprofit network for the benefit of her neighbors. Now, where is that cable guy? Page A6

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THE CRITIC: ‘You almost can hear frustrated assignment editors and producers muttering to themselves: What’s the matter with these guys? Don’t they care that this cockamamie movie says Jesus had sex with Mary Magdalene?’ Tim Rutten on media coverage of religion. Calendar, Page 1

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CALENDAR

Will jazz lovers lose their beat?

Late at night. A lonely road. Lost in wistful thought and seeking a suitable musical companion from the car radio. Miles Davis. Billie Holiday. John Coltrane. Classic jazz.

Good luck, Bunky. With an aging, diminishing fan base, classic jazz is disappearing from the radio dial, and the most vulnerable local player is KKJZ-FM, the venerable public station at Cal State Long Beach. As license-holder, the university’s foundation is seeking new management. The university says it supports the station’s musical format but needs to sustain a sound financial future, which to a lot of people sounds a grimly ominous note.

“It would be such a big loss if they stopped playing jazz,” says Frank Sinatra Jr. “That station is the last lighthouse in the fog.” Page E1

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Slaves to fashion, labors of love

From simple shoes to bridal Barbie, writer Booth Moore covers a wide swath of summer fashion.

If you’d like to associate couture with social conscience, walk a mile in Toms’ alpargatas, and make the world a better place. The canvas shoes are from Argentina, where entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie learned that foot infections from going barefoot are a problem in some developing nations. So for every pair purchased here, he’s donating a pair to an area of need.

In a change of pace, this season’s Lily Holt footwear, which also bears a South American influence, features semi-precious gems and an up-market price. So what does Bride Barbie ($140) wear down the aisle. Lily Holt or glass slippers? Page E1

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The conscience of Iran

After work one day, Shirin Ebadi went home, fixed dinner, put the kids to bed, then told her husband the government planned to kill her. In L.A. to promote her new memoir “Iran Awakening,” the human rights attorney and Nobel Peace Prize winner generated crowds of unusual passion as befits the subject of a real-life political thriller. Page E1

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SPORTS

Somebody should bet on the bay

The middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown is awarded today with the 131st running of the Preakness. But columnist Bill Dwyre says Pimlico, the host track, “passed old on its way to ancient decades ago. They could apply for national monument status, but they can’t afford the termite service.”

Like other tracks without slot machines, Pimlico is struggling with smaller fields, smaller purses and lousy attendance. Debate rages about juicing the action with slots, but Frank Stronach, a seminal figure in racing whose empire includes Santa Anita, sees a different problem. It is, he says, about poor track management and governmental interference. Page D1

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ON LATIMES.COM

Join the chat on immigration

Debate: As the debate over immigration continues, share your thoughts and perspectives on our discussion board and browse through the Times’ coverage.

latimes.com/immigration

Los Idoles? Can an L.A. girl be America’s superstar when previous winners have all come from the South? We’ll find out Wednesday when the “American Idol” winner is announced and Sherman Oaks native Katharine McPhee learns her fate. latimes.com/entertainment