OPINION
January 22, 2012
The Obama administration's willingness to defend insurance coverage for family planning services against attacks from conservatives and religious groups is good news for women and for the health of the nation. Last year, the administration first proposed that, like other preventive medical goods and services, contraception and general family planning coverage should be available under the healthcare reform law without a co-payment or deductible. Not just churches but many of their affiliated organizations protested — with the backing of conservative Republicans — that they should not have to pay to provide insurance coverage for medical services that run counter to their beliefs.
WORLD
October 31, 2011 | By Kenneth R. Weiss, Los Angeles Times
It took only a dozen years for humanity to add another billion people to the planet, reaching the milestone of 7 billion Monday — give or take a few months. Demographers at the United Nations Population Division set Oct. 31, 2011, as the "symbolic" date for hitting 7 billion, while acknowledging that it's impossible to know for sure the specific time or day. Using slightly different calculations, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 7-billion threshold will not be reached until March.
OPINION
July 21, 2011 | By Mary Ellen Harte and Anne Ehrlich
Think back on what you talked about with friends and family at your last gathering. The latest game of your favorite team? "American Idol"? An addictive hobby? The new movie blockbuster? In a serious moment, maybe job prospects, Afghanistan, the economic mess? We live in an information-drenched environment, one in which sports and favorite programs are just a click away. And the ease with which we can do this allows us to focus on mostly comforting subjects that divert our attention from increasingly real, long-term problems.
NATIONAL
June 22, 2011 | By Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times
A jury in Arizona convicted a bestselling author and self-help guru Wednesday in the deaths of three clients during a sweat lodge ceremony in 2009 that was intended to help participants overcome adversity to reach their full potential. After hearing four months of testimony, the eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated for fewer than 12 hours before finding James Arthur Ray guilty of three counts of negligent homicide. The panel acquitted Ray of the more serious charges of manslaughter.
OPINION
May 15, 2011
It's getting crowded out there. According to an updated report from the United Nations, the planet's population is not following the expected curve: topping out at about 9 billion mid-century and then leveling off. Instead, the demographic trends point to continued growth, bringing the worldwide population to 10.1 billion by the end of the century - nearly a 50% increase for a planet now inhabited by just under 7 billion. The highest rates of growth will be concentrated in poverty-stricken countries with low education levels, especially those in Africa, where the population is expected to more than triple to 3.5 billion.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
March 4, 2011 | By Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times
Standing in front of TV cameras at a Hesperia gas station Monday, the distraught mother of a missing teenager made an urgent plea. "If you are holding my daughter, please let her go," Melissa Bender said. "Please, I beg you to let my daughter go. She's just 13 years old. " Jessie Marie Bender had been missing a week. Her mother told authorities she feared the girl had run away with a Chicago man she met on Facebook. Following the family's initial report, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department launched a massive search in the High Desert town for the girl, bringing in agents from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Chicago police.