Hopefuls

Scientists have found "significant" amounts of water in a crater at the moon's south pole, a major discovery that will dramatically revise the characterization of the moon as a dead world and likely make it a more attractive destination for future human space missions. "The moon is alive," declared Anthony Colaprete, the chief scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite mission. That mission used a rocket Oct. 9 to punch a hole about 100 feet across in the moon's surface, then measured about 25 gallons of water in the form of vapor and ice. While that's not even enough to swim in, it could indicate sufficient water in permanently shaded craters at the poles for future astronauts to live off the land.

Even in choppy waters, recruiters are still angling for the perfect job candidate. But employers don't have the time or resources to sift through all the applications churned up by the recession. California's unemployment rate hit 10.5% in February -- the highest in nearly 26 years -- while the national rate stands at 8.1%. To boost your chances of getting plucked, you'll need a top-notch resume.

In 1968, a fledgling band called Iron Butterfly released an album featuring a decidedly unorthodox acid-rock song that rambled on for 17 minutes and included a 2 1/2-minute drum solo. Executives at the band's label, Atlantic Records, cringed at the prospect of marketing an album whose title track took up the entire side of a vinyl LP and came with the tongue-twisting title "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Efforts to persuade the San Diego-based group to edit its opus proved futile.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Wearing a 2010 vintage Marco Rubio campaign T-shirt and matching button, Cheryl Griffin spewed frustration that the man she helped win a long-shot conservative bid for Senate is now leading an immigration overhaul. An evening downpour was falling on this coastal town, less a city than a hodgepodge of new and old subdivisions. But the weather did not deter Griffin, a small, skeptical woman, or her husband, Mark, a friendly man twice her size with rain dripping from his straw cowboy hat. The Griffins, who came down from neighboring Fort Pierce, were protesting Rubio's appearance at the annual Republican Party dinner.

Walt Disney Co. believes that World of Cars, its new subscription-based online community aimed at boys and based on the Pixar movie "Cars," won't get lost in the traffic of virtual worlds. Things are already a bit congested. Some 200 virtual worlds target children under 12. Each competes for a slice of the 10 hours and 45 minutes a day the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that kids spend viewing media, simultaneously vying for screen time against a growing number of portable media players and smart phones that offer their own diversions.

A jury Wednesday spared the lives of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who shotgunned their millionaire parents to death in Beverly Hills in 1989 and now will spend the rest of their days in state prison with no hope of parole. As the verdicts were read in the tension-filled Van Nuys courtroom, a wave of relief seemed to sweep over the brothers and their defense attorneys when they realized that the jury had rejected the death penalty. The defense lawyers reacted with grins, tears and hugs.

I've gotten so used to seeing Alan Cumming as high-end attorney Eli Gold, fighting cerebral battles for a compromised politician on CBS' "The Good Wife," that he's almost unrecognizable as the vamping drag queen in "Any Day Now. " Cumming's chameleon quality serves him well in this intimate family drama. It centers on rough-around-the-edges Rudy, who barely covers the rent performing in a 1970s-era gay bar and finds himself unexpectedly in love and in a custody battle over a special-needs child.

Behind the wheel of his tour bus, Don Baisa prays. Please. Give me George Clooney today, he thinks as tourists scramble aboard the 12-seat, open-top van marked "City Tours!" Or Charlize Theron. Or Jennifer Aniston. Will Ferrell. He'd take Will Ferrell. Baisa, a 61-year-old veteran of the tour bus scene with a neatly groomed, salt-and-pepper mustache, knows what his passengers want during their two-hour journey through Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Spotting stars means big tips.

Many automobile owners are spending more than they need on motor oil, believing that it should be changed every 3,000 miles even though almost no manufacturer requires such an aggressive oil-change schedule. The long-held notion that the oil should be changed every 3,000 miles is so prevalent that California officials have launched a campaign to stop drivers from wasting millions of gallons of oil annually because they have their vehicles serviced too often. "Our survey data found that nearly half of California drivers are still changing their oil at 3,000 miles or even sooner," said Mark Oldfield, a spokesman for the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery, which has launched the Check Your Number campaign to encourage drivers to go with the manufacturer's recommendations.

When America got Powerball fever last November, Californians felt left out. Many asked friends in other states to buy tickets, and some even drove to the Arizona border when the jackpot for the multistate game reached $587.5 million. On Monday, Californians no longer had to worry about crossing state lines, because Powerball finally came to the state. Lottery die-hards lined up all across California for their 1-in-175-million chance to win. John Apodaca, 62, of Hawthorne, was part of one line.