Slim majority supports L.A. sales tax increase

A Los Angeles sales tax hike being promoted as vital to preserving public safety and helping end years of budget deficits is...

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Comings and goings at 'Downton Abbey' next season

NEW YORK (AP) — Shirley MacLaine will be returning to "Downton Abbey" next season, and opera star Kiri Te Kanawa is joining the cast.MacLaine will reprise her role as Martha Levinson, Lord Robert Crawley's freewheeling American mother-in-law, Carnival Films and "Masterpiece" on PBS said Saturday. MacLaine appeared in episodes early last season.New Zealand-born soprano Te Kanawa will play a house guest....

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Texas Monthly: Sign Language Interpreters Bring Live Music to the Deaf

On the last night of the 2012 Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, the sun set over a crowd of thousands who had stood for hours waiting to see Jack White, the headliner. A figure strode onto the stage, setting off a cascade of cheers. But it was not Jack White, the singer-guitarist, it was Barbie Parker, the festival’s lead sign language interpreter. Ms. Parker, a Texas native,...

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U.S. factory work is returning, but the industry has changed

GRIFFIN, Ga. — Giant machines are tearing down the old bleachery, another reminder to Chuck Smith that this old mill town doesn't...

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Bell jurors ordered to begin anew after panelist is dismissed

After nearly five days of deliberations, jurors in the Bell corruption trial were ordered Thursday to begin anew after a member...

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Suit over hiring of Jackson doctor to go to trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has dismissed all but one count in a civil lawsuit by Michael Jackson's mother against concert giant AEG Live, which hired a doctor who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death.Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos' ruling Thursday means that Katherine Jackson will have a trial on her claim that AEG negligently hired and supervised former cardiologist...

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U.S. Judges Offer Addicts a Way to Avoid Prison

Todd Heisler/The New York TimesEmily Leitch of Brooklyn, with her son, Nazir, 4, was arrested for importing cocaine but went to “drug court” to avoid prison. Federal judges around the country are teaming up with prosecutors to create special treatment programs for drug-addicted defendants who would otherwise face significant prison time, an effort intended to sidestep drug laws widely seen as inflexible...

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Pro sports leagues aim to put workers' comp out of play

One would think that we've learned from bitter experience not to trust a word uttered by our major professional sports leagues.Yet here they are trying to put another howler over on us. This is their assertion that retired pro athletes — many of them from outside the state — are ripping off California's workers' compensation system for hundreds of...

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Jury in Bell corruption trial may be deadlocked

A court spokeswoman said Thursday the jury in the Bell corruption case appears to be deadlocked.“The jurors may be at an impasse,”...

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George Lopez to host Playboy Jazz Festival

LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Lopez is taking over as master of ceremonies of the annual Playboy Jazz Festival.The comedian was announced as the festival's new host Thursday at an event at the Playboy Mansion."This is iconic," said the former star of the ABC sitcom "George Lopez" and the TBS talk show "Lopez Tonight." ''I've never been here before. I was married for 17 years. I couldn't even have a Playboy...

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