Discussed

Penn Jillette isn't one to shy from controversy. In his new book, "Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday," the highly opinionated, talkative half of the long-running magic duo Penn & Teller takes on atheism, racism and the plight of the underclass. But perhaps his most shocking personal view is about Donald Trump. Jillette likes him, mostly for the real estate mogul's determination to be himself. "It's an important part of our culture," Jillette said over a cup of hot tea in West Hollywood one recent afternoon.

BAGHDAD - Less than a year and a half after the last U.S. troops left, Iraq's political leaders are openly debating the prospect of two dangerous paths for their country: de facto division or civil war. Perhaps both. Tension between the Shiite majority, now in control of the levers of power, and the Sunni Arab minority, which dominated under Saddam Hussein, has been building for months. But politicians on all sides agree that the country has entered a perilous new phase, highlighted in late April by an attack on a Sunni protest camp by security forces that killed at least 45 people.

WASHINGTON - Illegal immigrants may have to wait about a decade before receiving a green card under an immigration bill being crafted by a group of senators from both parties. The details are still being negotiated, but “the process is likely to be in the range of 10 years,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) during a meeting on Capitol Hill with Spanish-language reporters and others. Under the plan - the outlines of which were unveiled last week - illegal immigrants could be given probationary legal status but would have to wait until border security milestones and other requirements were met before they would be granted legal permanent residency - a green card.

Fifteen years before the clergy sex abuse scandal came to light, Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and a top advisor plotted to conceal child molestation by priests from law enforcement, including keeping them out of California to avoid prosecution, according to internal Catholic church records released Monday. The archdiocese's failure to purge pedophile clergy and reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement has previously been known. But the memos written in 1986 and 1987 by Mahony and Msgr.

In more ways than one, Robert Clary is a survivor. In real life, the diminutive Parisian-born actor and singer survived three years in concentration camps as a Jewish teenager during World War II. In show business, the 87-year-old has had a long and successful career that has included TV, Broadway, nightclubs and records. Clary remains best known for his role as master chef and French patriot Cpl. LeBeau in the 1965-71 CBS comedy series "Hogan's Heroes," which was set in a German stalag , or POW camp, during WWII.

It was supposed to be a brief stop at the Primadonna casino, 43 miles south of Las Vegas, but one poker game led to another. By 3 a.m. May 25, 1997, Jeremy Strohmeyer and David Cash were tired of hanging around the arcade, waiting for David's dad. Bored, the two 18-year-olds decided to urinate on two coin-operated games. David chose Big Bertha, whose polka-dot dress flared when players hurled balls into her gaping red mouth. Jeremy selected a helicopter game. Then a wall socket.

With the launch of the first prescription osteoporosis medication 15 years ago, millions of Americans with the bone-thinning disease began taking the drugs and never looked back. But now many bone-health doctors are looking back and becoming increasingly uneasy. In the last few years, evidence has emerged that long-term use of osteoporosis drugs ? particularly the oldest class of drugs, the bisphosphonates ? may do more harm than good. Some doctors are starting to tell at least some of their patients to stop taking the drugs for a time ?

From hair-color treatments to Botox to surgical "mommy makeovers," it seems there is no limit to the ways women can try to hold on to their fading youth. But are these healthy self-improvements or simply vain attempts to look younger? It depends on whether women can accept that aging is a natural part of life, says Vivian Diller, a New York City psychologist and coauthor of the 2010 book "Face It: What Women Really Feel as Their Looks Change. " In a recent interview, the 58-year-old former model and ballet dancer discussed ways that women can achieve a healthy self-image as they get older.

In the parlance of their trade, the Beverly Hills robbers were "professionals." They had staked out the 21-room mansion for weeks, even conducting dress rehearsals during which they crept along the service alley and climbed the 7-foot-high wrought-iron fence--masks, gloves and radios at the ready. They knew there was a staff of two--the butler and his wife--and that, each night, the butler headed toward North Elm Drive to walk the dog, a Belgian Schipperke. This night, Jan.

Rick Warren said it's been difficult to deal with some of the hate mail and online comments he's read since announcing Saturday that his son had committed suicide. "Grieving is hard. Grieving as public figures, harder. Grieving while haters celebrate your pain, hardest," Warren wrote on Facebook on Monday night. Warren has been deluged with words of support both at his Saddleback Church in Orange County and on the Web. “Kay and I are overwhelmed by your love, prayers, and kind words,” the pastor wrote.