Couples

Bradford Wells, a retired computer programmer in San Francisco, has chronic health problems that threaten his life and an immigration problem that threatens to split up his marriage and take away his caregiver. He was married seven years ago in Massachusetts to Anthony Makk, a citizen of Australia. But in June, Makk's visa expired. The couple applied for a spousal green card, but they expect to be denied because the Defense of Marriage Act forbids federal authorities from recognizing a same-sex marriage.

Here are some ideas for a more sustainable workout - for you and, perhaps, the planet. Walk. No equipment, no driving, no gym. If you're more ambitious, run. No more disposable water bottles. Or paper towels. Go old-school, with push-ups, jumping jacks and other exercises or yoga routines you can do at home. Try grown-up playgrounds. Some city parks have "fitness zones," with outdoor gym equipment. There's one set in La Cienega Park, at the corner of La Cienega and Olympic boulevards, with kids' equipment nearby.

I am totally bored reading about couples like Charles Shyer and Nancy Myers who opt not to marry because, as Myers said, "being a wife is not something I perceive as enviable" ("Reconcilable Differences," by Paul Rosenfield, July 12). They've been together a dozen years and await the birth of their second child. Gee, they have all the responsibilities and legal risks of marriage, but how about their concern of giving their children the security of their relationship instead of thinking about whether their friends Ryan and Farrah understand where they're coming from?

A Sylmar couple has pleaded not guilty to accusations that they paid to have a 9-year-old girl smuggled to the U.S. from Central America and forced her to work at their restaurant. Dora Alicia Valle, 50, and her live-in boyfriend, Estrada Melvin Sandoval, 40, were charged with one count each of human trafficking and slavery. The girl, now 11, was brought to the Los Angeles area from El Salvador in 2012, according to the L.A. County district attorney's office.  The pair allegedly forced the girl to work four days a week at Costa Del Sol, a Pacoima restaurant that Valle owned.

What will the Supreme Court decide first: whether states can deny same-sex couples the right to marry or whether the federal government can refuse to recognize same-sex couples' valid marriages under state law? Now that the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to rehear Perry vs. Brown, the challenge to California's Proposition 8, and the 1st Circuit has ruled Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, unconstitutional, that question has taken on an increased sense of urgency.

By Chinese standards, Chu Yang and Geng Chen should have had a child years ago. The married couple in their early 30s are always reminded of that by family when they return home for the spring festival holidays. "They say we're too different and that we're weird and pathetic," said Chu, who runs a trendy boutique with his wife in an aging section of Beijing filled with classical courtyard homes. But Yang and Chen have their reasons. They point to uncertainties that have accompanied China's breakneck development, including a string of food safety scandals and a deadly crash on one of the nation's showcase high-speed rail lines.

Couples who rank money and things as important might be worse off in their relationships than those who aren't as materialistic, a study finds. Researchers discovered that it may be true what they say: Money can't buy happiness. They surveyed 1,734 married couples across the U.S. about their attitudes toward relationship values and issues such as materialism, compassion, communication and the importance of marriage. Among the participants, 58.7% had either high or low levels of materialism.

Studies show that married people share a lot of similar personality traits. But is that because their personalities blend over time or did they have similar personality traits at the start? A new study shows, convincingly, that people tend to choose their future spouse based on similar personalities. Indeed, marriage does not mean people become more like their spouses. Researchers at Michigan State University analyzed data from 1,296 married couples, one of the largest studies of its kind.

Fred Couples wasn't trying to be cocky Wednesday when he said it: “There are some tournaments where I feel like people deserve to play and I feel like I deserve to be in this field. " Couples has won the Northern Trust twice in his career, in 1990 and 1992, and is an all-time fan favorite at Riviera Country Club. Couples, 53, is making his 31 st tournament appearance, more than any other player. He is not here this time on his golfing merits, however, playing on a sponsor's exemption.

WASHINGTON - Same-sex military couples will qualify for full benefits, including government-provided healthcare and housing allowances, as long as they are legally married, under new rules announced by the Pentagon. The requirement for same-sex couples to be married is a shift for the Pentagon, which in February announced that full benefits would be provided to members of the military and same-sex spouses if they attested they were in a “committed relationship.” But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that finding a way for unmarried, long-term couples to qualify for benefits “is no longer necessary,” since a Supreme Court ruling in June struck down a federal law that barred married same-sex couples from obtaining federal benefits.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reunited Tuesday night in New York, walking a red carpet in what was their first official public appearance as a couple since their split announcement last August.  Though the couple had reportedly been spotted together repeatedly in recent months, they took the occasion of the off-Broadway premiere of "The Library" at the Public Theater -- directed by Steven Soderbergh in his stage debut and starring Chloe...

A federal judge in Cincinnati could decide as soon as Tuesday whether to grant a stay on his ruling in a same-sex marriage case involving Ohio recognition of such unions performed in other states. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black on Monday ruled that Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states but indicated in his decision that he is inclined to issue a stay of that decision while the case is appealed. He gave the parties until Tuesday afternoon to file their motions for a stay and said he would act on the issue quickly.

Blue and white balloons carried messages scrawled in marker. “Rest in peace,” one read. A glass candle with a picture of Jesus on it flickered nearby, and someone set a bouquet of flowers on the porch. About 200 people gathered at Debra "Granny" Loyd's home in Manchester Square late Tuesday afternoon for a vigil to honor her grandson, Michael Myvett, and the other victims of the fiery collision between a FedEx truck and a tour bus that killed 10 people in Northern California last week.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Like John Travolta's character in “Saturday Night Fever,” Jordan Spieth strutted down the Augusta National practice range, one confident stride after the next. While onlookers applauded, Spieth high-fived Sean Foley, the swing coach for Justin Rose. After reaching the practice green, Spieth bantered with playing partner Bubba Watson. He appeared completely in his element, a 20-year-old ready to prove that experience matters as much as the color of your shirt.

Brie Fainblit wasn't voted prom queen at the Highland High prom. But the Palmdale senior who made her own dress out of soda can tabs felt like the belle of the ball Friday night. Fainblit lives with her mother, who is disabled, and her aunt, who works two part-time jobs to support them. She began her soda tab project in September, knowing that money was way too tight for a prom dress. After my story about Brie appeared in last Sunday's paper, offers of help poured in. Many readers wanted to do what they could to make prom special for Brie and her boyfriend, James Lawrence, who tutored a student to earn money for prom tickets.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The old guy walks through the hallowed grounds, his hair gray, his golf shoes looking like white sneakers, his stare distant, and the gallery laughs. They're not laughing at Fred Couples, they're laughing with him. "Ah, Freddie, woo-hoo!" He leans against his club between shots as if supporting his bad back. He swings quickly as if it hurts to stand over the ball. Earlier this week he took to the course without shaving, so by the end of his round, his tanned face was filled with gray whiskers and age. "You get 'em, Freddie, hee-haw.

Some had waited decades for this. So early Sunday, the first day they could legally wed, same-sex couples in Washington state held marriage ceremonies immediately after midnight and made plans to get hitched en masse. At the King County Courthouse, Sarah and Emily Cofer got married in casual clothes at 12:01 a.m., with their 9-month-old daughter in attendance.  At the same time, the Seattle Times reported, another ceremony  took place between Mary Davidson and Monica Rozgay at the Seattle Yacht Club.

Exasperated. That's how many marriage partners feel when they can't agree on a home purchase. Spend a little time with couples involved in house-hunting and you'll often hear the clinking of swords as husband and wife fence over the issue, realty specialists say. "We're not marriage counselors, but it sometimes feels like we are," said Dorcas Helfant, past president of the National Assn. of Realtors.

Lucia Eames was a designer in her own right, but for the last 25 years she worked to preserve the legacy of one of the most celebrated design teams of the modern era: her father, Charles Eames, and stepmother, Ray Eames. In particular, Lucia Eames ensured that their famed Pacific Palisades house - considered one of the pinnacles of modern residential design - remained as a monument not only to the couple's sense of architecture and design, but also to the way they approached their work.

Ohio's refusal to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples wed in other states is unconstitutional, a federal judge said Friday, though he won't issue a ruling to that effect until April 14. The decision comes in a case brought by four lesbian couples who sued the state after they were prevented from having both women's names on the birth certificates of their children born in Ohio. The couples had legally married in other states. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black told lawyers at a hearing that he would strike down the same-sex marriage-recognition ban in a ruling to be issued April 14. Alerting the states' lawyers gives them time to prepare an appeal, which would probably prevent the ban from falling immediately.  INTERACTIVE TIMELINE: Track rights for same-sex couples A lawyer for the plaintiffs nevertheless celebrated the impending ruling, which is the latest in a string of federal rulings in favor of same-sex couples.