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Eric Garcetti has opened a commanding 10-point lead in the Los Angeles mayor's race over rival Wendy Greuel, whose dogged fight to win the backing of public employee unions appears to be undercutting her on her home turf in the San Fernando Valley, according to a new USC Price/Los Angeles Times poll. A month before the May 21 runoff, likely voters favored Garcetti over Greuel by 50% to 40%. The survey also found no sign of success for Greuel's effort to gain an edge among women by highlighting her potential to make history as the city's first female mayor.

The mayor of West, Texas, said between 35 and 40 people are believed to be dead in a massive fertilizer plant explosion “because they are unaccounted for and still missing.” “We are out there searching the rubble, looking in each and every house. We are trying to locate each and every citizen,” Mayor Tommy Muska said in a telephone interview with The Times. Muska said he had arrived at that count because all the other residents and first-responders in the area have been identified.

WEST, TEXAS --The mayor of this city said 35 to 40 people are believed to be dead in a massive fertilizer plant explosion “because they are unaccounted for and still missing.” “We are out there searching the rubble, looking in each and every house. We are trying to locate each and every citizen,” Mayor Tommy Muska said in a telephone interview with The Times. Muska said he arrived at the count of 35 to 40 dead because all other residents and first-responders in the area have been identified.

ANTAKYA, Turkey - In newly printed textbooks at dozens of Syrian refugee schools, a small piece of Middle East geography has been amended. Seventy-five years ago, Turkey annexed the northern Syrian territory of Hatay against the will of Syria, but maps in Syrian schoolbooks during the lengthy reign of the Assad family have continued to include Hatay inside Syria's borders. The maps in the new schoolbooks show Hatay in Turkey, one of a number of political changes made by the Syrian opposition group that published the books.

The 2013 Shelby GT350 takes a standard Mustang GT and adds more than $40,000 in performance upgrades - bringing the whole package to about $74,000. That's a lot for a Mustang. But any doubts about spending Corvette money on the juiced-up Ford are erased after only moments in the GT350. This is a talented car. Key upgrades in the Shelby package include Wilwood brakes, a Ford Racing suspension, a short-throw shifter, Shelby 19-inch rims wrapped in ultra-sticky Goodyear tires and Borla exhaust, along with new front and rear bumpers and a new hood with a functional scoop.

MEMPHIS - Grant Hill can see the end of his career coming. "I'm 99% sure this it, that this will be my last season," Hill said. But then Hill was asked to step into a void for the Clippers when Caron Butler was unable to play in the second half of the Clippers' 91-87 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday because of a sore right knee. Hill scored five points on two-for-three shooting, had one rebound and two blocked shots in 11 minutes 28 seconds. So, Hill was asked after the game in which he played a pivotal role, is he still thinking about retiring?

Gwyneth Paltrow at 40 is very different than Gwyneth Paltrow at, say, 25 or 30. The award-winning actress who's made a name for herself beyond Hollywood because of her fit lifestyle and cookbooks is opening up about what keeps her going. "I'm at quite a pivotal point, she says in Harper's Bazaar's May issue. "Do I want to go back more into films? Do I want another child? Do I want to move back to the States? You can call me a lot of things, but you can't call me complacent!" Harper's writer Sarah Bailey credits Paltrow's landmark birthday to her "searing stock-taking," later adding that "there's something refreshingly frank and fearless about this new fifth-decade Gwyneth.

The names have changed, but the steady production from the Ducks' fourth line hasn't. The Ducks' fourth line has 16 goals through 40 games, an undeniable difference-maker, along with home-ice sharpness, strong goaltending and contributions such as veteran free-agent pickup Radek Dvorak's two goals Monday. After missing the playoffs last season, the Ducks can clinch their sixth trip to the postseason in the last eight years with one point against visiting Colorado on Wednesday night.

After winning eight games in 10 days and capturing tournament championships in North Carolina and Orange County, it can be concluded that the streaking Santa Ana Mater Dei High baseball team is the No. 1 team in Southern California, if not the nation. The Monarchs (14-1) won their latest championship on Friday night, winning the Boras Classic Southern California championship with a 6-0 victory over Westlake Village Oaks Christian at JSerra High. It earns the Monarchs a trip next Saturday to the University of Pacific to play Northern California champion Pleasant Grove in a noon championship game.

Casey Kasem, who gained a national radio audience after "American Top 40" launched in 1970, and his wife, Jean, are listing their Westside estate for sale at $42 million. With 12,000 square feet of living space, seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, the home has been the site of intimate interviews and sleepovers for as many as 20 youngsters a night. The yard has served as the site of elaborate celebrity-studded gatherings and paintball battles. The syndicated radio host bought the property for Jean Kasem in 1989 as a gift.