WORLD
May 17, 2013 | By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times
TONATICO, Mexico - Armando Guadarrama was navigating his taxi through the narrow streets of this central Mexico pueblo on a recent Saturday morning, some 2,000 miles from the Beltway. But like many here, Guadarrama was up-to-the-minute with the immigration reform push that is the talk of Washington. When he spoke of its odds, the 40-year-old could sound like a hard-bitten D.C. veteran, grumbling over a scotch at the Old Ebbitt Grill. He sniffed incredulously at President Obama's statement, a day earlier, that he was "absolutely convinced" that reforms would pass this year.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 16, 2013 | By Chris Megerian and Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO - State lawmakers advanced measures related to firearms and violence Thursday, including two introduced after the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. One would require gun owners to keep their firearms locked away if they live with someone prohibited by law from using guns. The bill provides for sentences as long as three years and a fine of $10,000 for anyone convicted of allowing such a person access to guns if death or great bodily injury resulted.
OPINION
May 16, 2013 | By The Times editorial board
President Obama may be engaging in political damage control in proposing that Congress resurrect legislation to protect the confidentiality of journalists' sources. But his call for action on a federal shield law is welcome even if it is inspired by a desire to deflect criticism of the Justice Department's seizure of the phone records of the Associated Press. Although described as a "reporter's privilege," protection for confidential news sources actually benefits the public by making it easier for journalists to obtain information about wrongdoing in government and elsewhere.
WORLD
May 8, 2013 | By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would sharply toughen U.S. economic sanctions on Iran despite administration calls for Congress to delay penalties that could disrupt diplomacy aimed at resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Advocates say the Senate proposal could, at least in theory, block Iran from accessing about one-third of the foreign exchange reserves it relies on to pay for government programs, to finance trade and to prop up its currency.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 8, 2013 | By Patrick McGreevy and Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO - California legislative leaders and 10 public employee unions announced opposition Wednesday to any sale of the Los Angeles Times and other Tribune Co. newspapers to a pair of wealthy brothers who fund conservative causes. In a letter dated Tuesday to Bruce Karsh, president of Oaktree Capital Management, the largest shareholder in Tribune Co., and chairman of its board of directors, the unions said David and Charles Koch are "anti-labor, anti-environment, anti-public education and anti-immigrant.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2013 | By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The Senate gave strong bipartisan approval to landmark legislation that could largely lead to the end of the nation's decades-long Internet sales tax holiday. Now the issue shifts to the more skeptical, Republican-controlled House, where the debate will revolve around one fundamental question: Does helping governments collect an existing and owed tax constitute a tax increase? The Marketplace Fairness Act, approved 69-27 Monday by the Senate, gives states the authority to require larger online retailers with no physical presence in those states to collect sales taxes that residents already are obligated to pay. Many states, including California, are expected to jump at the chance to start collecting an estimated $23 billion in total sales tax revenue that is lost to online, catalog and other so-called remote sales each year.