Kennedy

washington -- Mitt Romney twice emphasized his unique business background when he and eight other Republican presidential candidates faced off in a debate last week in Iowa. "I've spent the last, as I've told you, 25 years in the private sector," former Massachusetts Gov. Romney declared at one point. "I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I've done business in 20 countries."

For several moments, Pau Gasol began to tear up.He was talking about how winning the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award "means a lot" and is a "great honor" and it was obvious those were more than just words as he began thinking about all the sick children he's visited on various trips as a UNICEF ambassador.

 Neil Diamond and Katie McNeil were married Saturday, the "Sweet Caroline" singer announced Sunday on Twitter, the same place he told the world of their engagement back in September. "Katie and I got married last night, we wish you all could've been there," the singer-songwriter told his more than 300,000 followers. "It was magical! Love, Neil. " The couple - he's 71, she's 42 - tied the knot in L.A. in front of friends and family, his rep told People. It's McNeil's first wedding, and the third for Diamond, who was previously married to high school sweetheart Jayne Posner, then to Marcia Murphey.

The list of injured Dodgers keeps growing, with Matt Kemp and Juan Uribe going on the disabled list Monday to join Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Rivera, among others. But the Dodgers' pitching staff, including Clayton Kershaw, their ace left-hander, largely has steered clear of injury, a key reason why the Dodgers have kept playing well early this season. Kershaw was stellar again Monday night in a duel with Arizona's Ian Kennedy, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless in seven innings of work as the Dodgers won, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium.

If Chatsworth High Coach Tom Meusborn and Granada Hills Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado had each shown up to Wednesday's baseball game at USC wearing the Los Angeles City Section championship rings they'd won over the last 20 years, they would have needed a security guard to escort them home. Meusborn's teams have delivered eight City titles. Alvarado's teams have brought home five. So understand the tradition of excellence players are expected to live up to when they put on the brown Golden Cougars jersey or the orange Chatsworth jersey.

Re "Supreme Court Debates Traffic Violation Arrests," Dec. 5: Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's attitude toward the cop who handcuffed and jailed a woman because she and her kids weren't seat-belted was, "It is not a constitutional violation for a police officer to be a jerk." How would he have felt if it was his daughter or granddaughter who experienced this trauma? If a policeman can be excused from such disgusting behavior by just admitting to being a jerk, then we'll soon have a police state.

In one brief letter, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy underscored both the fragility of his own health and of the Democratic consensus on healthcare. The ailing liberal icon wrote this week to his home-state governor, Deval Patrick, and state legislative leaders, asking them to alter the method by which Kennedy's successor could be chosen. Massachusetts law calls for a special election to be held when a Senate vacancy arises, a process that would take months. Kennedy urged the Legislature to act to allow Patrick, a fellow Democrat, to appoint an interim replacement until such an election could be held.

Stone's "JFK" is a one-sided presentation of the conspiracy theory surrounding Kennedy's assassination. Even so, it has served an enormous purpose. It has aroused the curiosity of this American educator who has used this film as an impetus to learn more and seek more answers. I, along with a majority of the American public, have long believed that there was a conspiracy to kill the President. I am not afraid of the truth; obviously many other people are. DAVID CORBIN, North Hollywood

I believe many people my age, late 50s and older, feel we had an obligation to take care of the little boy who saluted his fallen dad. We watched him grow under the love and guidance of his mother; and after she died, we saw a young man begin to blossom. I had high hopes for John F. Kennedy Jr. I observed with great excitement his development as a mature young man. I felt he brought so much calm and dignity to the Kennedys. He appeared so serene. I had no preconceived notion as to who he would become.

For Democrats, it's a nightmarish scenario: A Republican appears to be within striking distance of capturing the Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy. Massachusetts hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972. But some polls show that Scott Brown, a state senator, is gaining on his Democratic rival, state Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley, in Tuesday's special election to replace the "liberal lion" of the Senate. The contest has become close enough to make Democratic officials in Washington nervous.

There have been 10 All-City catchers produced by Granada Hills Kennedy since the high school opened in 1971, raising the question of whether there is some kind of electromagnetic field transforming its catchers into Ninja-like figures. "No, it's the luck of the draw," Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado said. From past major leaguers Darryl Cias and Phil Lombardi to high school standouts Jeff Johnson, David Bourne, David Lusk, Kevin Serr, Phil Avlas, John Kane, Michael Sanchez and Branden Soto, the catcher position at Kennedy is reserved for high achievers.

WASHINGTON — Nicholas Katzenbach, the Kennedy administration lawyer who faced down Gov. George Wallace to enroll the first black students at the University of Alabama and who helped write the landmark civil rights and voting rights acts of the 1960s, has died. He was 90. Katzenbach died Tuesday night of natural causes at his home in Princeton, N.J., according to his daughter, Anne Katzenbach of New York City. Katzenbach was one of the "best and brightest" who were drawn to Washington when John F. Kennedy became president in 1961.

The Passage of Power The Years of Lyndon Johnson Robert Caro Alfred A. Knopf: 736 pp., $35 "The Passage of Power," the fourth volume in Robert Caro's epic biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson, encompasses the period of LBJ's deepest humiliation and his greatest accomplishment. It is a searing account of ambition derailed by personal demons in Johnson's unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination. It is a painful depiction of "greatness comically humbled" when Johnson gave up his unbridled authority as Senate majority leader to becomeJohn F. Kennedy's disdained vice president.

The City Section championship game in high school baseball is a little more than a month away at Dodger Stadium, but there was a playoff-like atmosphere Monday in a Valley Mission League game between San Fernando and host Granada HIlls Kennedy. "It was a typical San Fernando-Kennedy rivalry game," San Fernando Coach Armando Gomez said. "Everybody's fired up. " In the end, a pitchers' duel into the seventh inning was broken up by Steven Campos' run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Robles, giving San Fernando (23-4, 9-0)

Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy of Chivas USA was named Major League Soccer's player of the week after shutting out Toronto FC on Saturday in a 1-0 win. Kennedy made four saves, including a crucial stop in the 89th minute when he frustrated Danny Koevermans from close range, giving Chivas its second consecutive road victory. Kennedy also leads the league with 23 saves on the season, and Saturday's shutout was his second of the year. The player of the week award was the first for Kennedy and the first by a Chivas USA player since Justin Braun won in May 2011.

Borrowing a line from conservative critics of the judiciary, President Obama declared that the Supreme Court would be engaging in "judicial activism" if it threw out the 2010 healthcare reform law. Responding to a question at a news conference Monday, Obama said it would be "an unprecedented, extraordinary step" if the court overturned "a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress. " He added that such a move would be a good example of the lack of judicial restraint that conservative commentators have bemoaned for years.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy developed no complications a day after his risky surgery to treat a malignant brain tumor, his office said in a statement. Kennedy spent the day walking hospital hallways, visiting with his family and "keeping up with the news of the day," his office said. The 76-year-old Democrat is expected to stay at the hospital in Durham for about a week. His doctors have described the surgery as a success.

When the players from Buena High showed up for their baseball game Wednesday night against Kennedy wearing sport coats, ties and penny loafers, the attempt at sartorial splendor drew a few chuckles from the more casually attired Kennedy players. Buena Coach Stan Hedegard's all-white, Miami Vice outfit drew the most attention. "Remember, it's better to look good than to feel good," cracked one Kennedy player, clad in a T-shirt, team cap, spikes and his uniform pants.

Inside Wayne Lensing's auto museum, down a remote road from a body shop, visitors can see Elvis Presley's 1972 Lincoln, the Mayberry squad car from "The Andy Griffith Show" and three Batmobiles. A few steps from a Cadillac that has been covered in 120,000 coins, the curious also can view a decidedly different artifact: Lee Harvey Oswald's tombstone. That's right. The 130-pound gray granite slab that marked the final resting place of one of U.S. history's more notorious figures is about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, on the outskirts of Roscoe, Ill., best known perhaps as the hometown of race car driver Danica Patrick.

First American Financial Corp. was known as Orange County Title Co. and had only one office when Donald P. Kennedy, fresh out of law school, joined the family firm in 1948. When Kennedy began leading its expansion beyond the county lines in 1957, the title insurance company had annual sales of less than $1.5 million. By 2006, First American was one of the world's largest title insurers and was developing vast databases that helped transform the real estate industry. It had hundreds of offices in the United States and abroad and revenue topping $8 billion - an expansion attributed to Kennedy, who died Saturday at his home in Santa Ana after three years of declining health.