THURSDAY BRIEFING

Tight security for Pope’s Turkey trip

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass in an ancient shrine and makes a pointed plea on behalf of Turkey’s beleaguered Christian community.

On the second day of his Middle East trip, the Pope joins the spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Eastern Orthodox Christians for prayers and blessings in Istanbul. Tight security reigns as Al Qaeda in Iraq denounces the papal visit as a “crusader campaign.” Page A6

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Redesign currency, U.S. judge orders

A federal judge orders the Treasury Department to make changes to paper currency so each bill’s denomination can be detected by blind people.

Of the more than 180 nations that print paper currency, Judge James Robertson says, only the U.S. produces all bills in identical size and color. Treasury officials, who say such a change would create exorbitant costs, have 10 days to appeal. Page A19

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New Brentwood radiation tests

Bowing to environmental and community concerns, federal officials announce they will test a Brentwood dog park and nearby areas for radiation from medical waste buried there during the Cold War.

Veterans Administration officials say the grounds were tested and found acceptable when the material was buried but will conduct new tests. “We want to put everyone’s fears to rest,” a spokesman says. Page B1

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$10.5-million grant to charter schools

Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad gives $10.5 million to a major city charter school organization to help reform the city’s troubled school system.

Believed to be the largest contribution ever to a California charter group, the cash is meant to enable Green Dot Public Schools to triple its campuses by 2010. The group gives principals and teachers control over budgets and curriculum and caps enrollment at 500. Page B1

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He prefers ‘doctor’ to ‘president’

In a move that alters the field of Republican presidential candidates for 2008, Tennessee’s Sen. Bill Frist says he’s decided not to seek his party’s nomination.

The withdrawal of Frist, a standard-bearer for the party’s conservative wing, opens critical political space for other potential candidates such as Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Frist is leaving office to honor his pledge to serve no more than two Senate terms and will return to the practice of medicine.

Page A20

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NATO looks to add nations

A two-day summit of NATO leaders ends with vows of renewed support for a stable Afghanistan and surprising initial steps to include up to eight former communist states in the 26-member military alliance.

The NATO leaders also move to boost their combat capabilities by numerous nations agreeing to reduce or eliminate certain restrictions on the operations of their troops in Afghanistan. Other countries agree to boost their troop deployments there.

The possible future new members include Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia. Invitations are renewed to Georgia and Ukraine. Page A8

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HOME

A hacienda’s new heights

It has Modernist features: lots of glass, steel and concrete. But it displays traits of the classic Mexican hacienda too. It’s a self-contained compound, and key elements include the courtyard, the bright colors and water features. The architect called it Casa Moderna. His friends, who asked him to design it, say they love it so much, they never feel the need to leave. Page F1

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They crawl into the woodwork

Refrigerators disappear behind cabinets. Microwaves slide into counter drawers. Kitty-litter boxes take harbor in the haunches of indoor planters. What is this -- living quarters on the International Space Station?

Not yet. Designers are tapping into the anti-clutter movement in a big way. Even toilets can be disguised as furniture. Just be sure to draw your houseguests a map. Page F1

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First word on December gardens

Gardening columnist Robert Smaus notes that now is a pretty good time for planting. Shorter days and cooler nights make conditions less stressful for many varieties, especially plants native to a Mediterranean climate. Smaus offers other timely tips, too, on caring for garden tools and starting a compost pile. Page F4

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Last word on Turkey Day

What was so great about Thanksgiving for Chris Erskine: the leaf-blowing? The lip-synced singing during the parade? Super-heated turkey juices?

Yes to all of it. “Thanksgiving was great,” he writes. “We had all the chaos of the holidays without the hassle and headaches of gift-giving.” Page F5

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CALENDAR WEEKEND

He speaks poetry; she sings it

Singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams calls it “sort of a built-in creative writing school when I was growing up.” She’d write songs and show them to her father, who could give more than just paternal advice. He’s Miller Williams, one of the leading poets in America.

They’re collaborating on stage now, in an occasional series of joint appearances. “I read a poem, she sings a song, we go back and forth, make remarks to one another in a fatherly-daughterly way and have a lot of fun with that,” Miller Williams says. Page E6

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Do casting calls break bias laws?

Some casting calls that specify gender and ethnicity could violate federal anti-discrimination laws, a report from UCLA says. The report, which studied national casting calls and subsequent hires made this summer, concludes that 69% of acting roles are designed for white males. Page E14

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Sundance names competition films

Check your calendars and dust off your snowsuits: The Sundance Film Festival opens in seven weeks, and we now know more about which films will be in competition.

Among the works to be shown in the dramatic competition are “Broken English,” written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes and starring her mother, Gena Rowlands; and a film described only as “The Untitled Dakota Fanning Project.” Page E13

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LATIMES.COM

The voice of the cinema people

Each week, the Entertainment News page asks an evangelist pastor, a rapper, two teens and a city girl for their thoughts on upcoming releases.

Read about why our pastor thinks “this week’s movies are like the greatest cookie of all time: the classic double-stuffed Oreo” and where our focus group stands on “The Nativity Story” and “Touristas.”latimes.com/entertainment

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Apathy at the voting audit

Right now, yet another election recount mess is underway in Florida. But Political Muscle blogger Robert Salladay reports that things might not be all that much better in the Golden State.

“In California, little-known to the general public, election officials have been auditing their electronic voting machines, as required by law, after the November election.

“With all the squawking about the dangers of voting machines, a remarkably small number of people have been attending these public audits and observing the process.”latimes.com/politicalmuscle

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SPORTS

Can we call it the Woes Bowl?

Supposedly there will be a football game played in Pasadena on Jan. 1, although it seems to have become an afterthought. Rest assured, the folks in the Wrigley Mansion are still paying attention, and so is college football columnist Chris Dufresne.

If USC earns its way into the national championship game in Arizona on Jan. 8, the game probably will get one of these matchups, Dufresne writes: Michigan vs. Louisiana State, Michigan vs. Notre Dame, Michigan vs. Louisville or Michigan vs. Rutgers. How will the game’s overseers make their choice? Dufresne looks at the possibilities. Page D1

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Mathews defends, and he’s good at it

When outfielder Gary Mathews Jr. signed with the Angels last week, he gained a few things: $50 million over five years; the soon-to-be-a-cliche moniker “Gary Mathews, who has a lifetime .249 average”; and the scorn of many observers, who call the signing the worst contract of the off-season, at least so far.

Mathews, known for his excellent defense, showed some more Wednesday at an Angels luncheon. “If you don’t know the game, some people might think that” about the contract, he says. “But you have to look at the various ways I can help the team win. That gives you a broader picture.” Page D5

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BUSINESS

GM gets back in the hybrid game

General Motors commits itself to building a production model of a new kind of gasoline-electric hybrid. But the automaker doesn’t specify when the vehicle will be ready for sale.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner says the automaker has started development of a plug-in hybrid power system. The plug-in hybrid’s more powerful battery would provide enough energy to run the vehicle in all-electric mode, even at highway speeds, for 30 to 60 miles before the charge is drained and the vehicle reverts to conventional hybrid mode.

Motorists can recharge the battery by plugging it into a conventional electric outlet. Page C1

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California’s HMO advantage shrinks

After years of consistently beating national rates, employer-sponsored HMO plans in California cost the same as the national average, about $340 a month for single coverage, according to the California Healthcare Foundation, an Oakland-based nonprofit.

Five years ago, California’s average monthly premium for single coverage was $196; in the rest of the U.S., it was $233.

Now, the rate is roughly the same here and elsewhere, the healthcare foundation’s study shows.

Managed care plans are also losing market share in employer-sponsored health insurance, the study says. Page C1