1990s

LAS VEGAS - On this day, there was no Johnnie Cochran. There was no brash fist-pumping former Heisman Trophy winner in a tailored suit hugging his lead defense attorney after beating murder charges in a California courtroom. After a nearly five-year absence, in which he was locked away in a northern Nevada prison cell, O.J. Simpson returned to the public spotlight Wednesday. The 65-year-old fallen football star, once known for his manic bursts of speed on the field, has been in scores of end zones, TV commercials, movie trailers and two well-publicized Los Angeles court trials.

- The cherimoya is a peculiar-looking, almost intimidating fruit - "like a pre-Columbian jade pine cone or the finial for a giant Inca four-poster bed," in Elizabeth Schneider's memorable words. But at its best it tastes sublime, with sweet, juicy, flan-like flesh and rich flavor blending papaya, banana and pineapple. Mark Twain famously called it "the most delicious fruit known to men," and if taste were all that counted, cherimoyas might outsell apples. Alas, cherimoyas are exceptionally tricky to grow, select and ripen, and thus not well adapted to American industrial fruticulture and marketing.

Reporting from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey-- Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., has a long and winding roller coaster history that's filled with as many twists and turns as the amusement park's many record-breaking rides. Photos : Top 10 Six Flags Great Adventure roller coasters Great Adventure was a must-see on my road trip across America's coaster belt, in large part because of the park's three world-class rides: El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro.

Struggling with the black dog of depression? The supplement aisle abounds with options for people seeking a non-medicinal remedy - but figuring out what works and what doesn't can be a challenge for consumers and experts alike. That's because the data are generally poor, says Dr. Charles Raison, associate professor of psychiatry in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. There are some exceptions. Hundreds of studies have investigated the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and St. John's wort.

Whatever else they've thought about their much smaller neighbor to the north, Americans have almost never looked to Canada as a role model. Indeed, during the long, bitter push to revamp the U.S. healthcare system, opponents repeatedly warned that, if we weren't careful, we could end up with a medical system like Canada's. But on healthcare, as well as on such critical issues as the deficit, unemployment, immigration and prospering in the global economy, Canada seems to be outperforming the United States.

The PSA test should be abandoned as a prostate cancer screening tool, a government advisory panel has concluded after determining that the side effects from needless biopsies and treatments hurt many more men than are potentially helped by early detection of cancers. At best, one life will be saved for every 1,000 men screened over a 10-year period, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. But 100 to 120 men will have suspicious results when there is no cancer, triggering biopsies that can carry complications such as pain, fever, bleeding, infection and hospitalization.

The sentencing of six Florencia 13 gang members to life in prison appears to bring to a close a prolonged and terrifying spate of violence in the Florence-Firestone district allegedly brought on by orders from a prison gang member in solitary confinement 700 miles away. Beginning in 2004, the unincorporated Los Angeles County area north of Watts was the site of one of the region's worst gang sieges since the early 1990s, evolving into what some residents felt was a race war. The violence left dozens of people dead, including many with no gang affiliation, and required enormous county resources to combat.

During a recent interview with England's Daily Mail newspaper, Steven Spielberg revealed his one-time desire to direct a James Bond movie. "I went to [Bond producer] Cubby Broccoli and asked if I could do one and he said: 'No,'" Spielberg told the paper . "I've never asked again. " It worked out OK for Spielberg; he went on to direct the first film in his own globe-trotting franchise, "Raiders of the Lost Ark. " But what if Spielberg had directed a Bond film? What would that have looked like?

Home Depot Inc. announced Monday that it was closing its 34 upscale Expo and other home specialty centers and laying off 7,000 people as a result of the crumbling U.S. housing market and worldwide economic downturn. The company said it would close its 34 sprawling Expo Design Center stores by April, including eight in Southern California, and 14 smaller stores. Some employees were stunned. "Shock. It was shock.

Jerry Lockenour couldn't predict what lay ahead for him 25 years ago when he stashed the Los Angeles Times' Magazine on a cabinet shelf. The April 3, 1988, magazine's cover illustration showed bubble-shaped cars traveling in "electro lanes" on a double-decked, high-rise-lined 1st Street in downtown's Civic Center area. The cover's headline was "L.A. 2013: Techno-Comforts and Urban Stresses - Fast Forward to One Day in the Life of a Future Family. " Inside was a lengthy essay that described a day in the life of a fictional Granada Hills family in April 2013.