Conferences

A Middle East conference scheduled to be held next week at a prominent Pasadena church has sparked tensions between local Christians and Jews. But those involved say they hope to use the episode as a chance for increased dialogue and, perhaps, a deeper understanding of the sensitive issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Several Los Angeles rabbis and others in the Jewish community have criticized a decision by All Saints Episcopal Church to allow its facilities to be used Feb.

Several promising, large-scale trials trying to prevent the spread of HIV have produced sobering results, as researchers discussed at a meeting last week, but longer-term data on new treatments are proving encouraging. Much of the buzz at the 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the largest yearly scientific meeting on HIV and AIDS, centered on further analyses of a Merck & Co. vaccine trial known as STEP.

THE "post-classic" era of winemaking is dawning, according to experts at the second Climate Change & Wine conference in Barcelona, Spain, at the end of last week. And it's going to be full of nasty surprises. What might "post-classic" wine be like? Scientists told winemakers and other industry professionals at the gathering to expect natural acidity to drop, colors to fade and alcohol levels to rise. Aromas could vanish. In short, wine may gradually lose the complexity wine lovers appreciate.

Public Utilities Commissioner Timothy A. Simon solicited donations from companies he regulates to help pay for a nonprofit conference on green energy hosted last month by one of his political patrons, documents and interviews show. Two weeks after the conference, the three most generous corporate donors to the Willie L. Brown Jr.

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, canceled plans to receive an award at a summit on black churches. Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth announced on its website that Wright would not be attending the State of the Black Church Summit and awards banquet in Dallas. The school was to present him with an award Saturday.

While much of the world argues over whether biofuels made from corn are worsening world hunger, the debate in California is shifting to new state rules that could revolutionize the way fuels are judged. A gathering this week in Sacramento offered a glimpse of a complex "poly-fuel" future that promised substantial environmental benefits as well as wrenching change for California's transportation systems.

NEW YORK -- Tony Soprano, the TV mob boss who seemed to spend as much time with his psychotherapist as his consigliere, was no stranger to analysis. But not this kind: "Body of Evidence: Tony Soprano's Corporeal Battle." "Episode 5, or When Does a Narrative Become What It Is?" "Carmela Soprano as Emma Bovary: European Culture, Taste and Class in 'The Sopranos.'

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, accused by domestic critics of running down agriculture and causing food shortages, flew into Rome for a global food summit that will begin Tuesday. Mugabe, facing a June 27 presidential runoff against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, did not speak to reporters upon his arrival. About 60 heads of state and government are expected to discuss global problems of poverty and malnutrition caused by steep rises in food prices.

In a push to coalesce Democrats, Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday huddled in a hotel conference room with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other influential city leaders who earlier had supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president. The private meeting occurred shortly before he addressed an overflowing ballroom at the U.S.

After a rough year marked by budget headaches and marital woes, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa strode back into the warm glow of the national spotlight this weekend and used it to urge the presidential candidates to reinvigorate federal anti-poverty programs. Villaraigosa, speaking to hundreds of city leaders at the U.S.