Mistakes

Often considered the most popular entertainer of the 20th century--his extravagant performances set still-unchallenged attendance records--Liberace (dubbed "Mr. Showman" in tribute to his flashy theatricality) sued a London columnist in 1956 for implying he was gay. He won.

WASHINGTON - The ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for the agency's "foolish mistakes" in singling out conservative groups for intrusive and time-consuming scrutiny, but said that the effort was not driven by partisan motives. Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, whose tenure will end Wednesday after he resigned under pressure this week, said the agency staff's attempts to identify groups with political aims was not "targeting," as it was termed in an inspector general's audit.

WASHINGTON - President Obama forced out the head of the IRS on Wednesday, seeking to restore the public's faith in the tax agency while asserting a measure of control over a rapidly growing political problem. Making a hastily scheduled statement at the White House, Obama denounced the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service as "inexcusable" and pledged to "do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. " "Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it," he said.

At an investment conference last week, Harvard historian Niall Ferguson created a huge mess for himself. He glibly speculated that maybe because economist John Maynard Keynes was a childless, "effete" homosexual, he embraced a doctrine that favored immediate economic gratification. Keynes' bon mot "in the long run, we are all dead" takes on new meaning when you realize he didn't have kids to worry about. FOR THE RECORD: Book title: The May 7 Jonah Goldberg column had a typo in the subtitle of William Greider's book “Secrets of the Temple.” It is “How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country,” not “County.” Following the usual script, but at a much faster clip, an uproar ensued on Twitter and in various blogs.

Two days after their flag was displayed upside-down at Game 2 of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, thousands of Canadians loudly responded Tuesday night before Game 3. They stood and sang the U.S. national anthem. They sang it louder than it was sung in Atlanta last weekend, and when Jon Secada sang "land of the free," they erupted in cheers.

NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.

It was a joyous, tearful family reunion as Kevin Lee Green returned home Saturday after spending 17 years in custody for an Orange County murder that police now say he didn't commit. "I knew I wasn't guilty, and I tried to tell everyone that would listen I wasn't, and it didn't work," Green told television reporters. Vindication came Thursday, when a horrified legal system realized its error and granted freedom to the former Marine, who promptly flew to St.

It was a great twist on Haight-Ashbury hippie history--the house where drug-plagued rocker Janis Joplin once lived was being turned into a drug rehab center. Just one problem--she really lived in the house next door. The San Francisco Chronicle told the dramatic story Thursday, complete with corroboration from such '60s musical luminaries as Country Joe McDonald, who was Joplin's beau back then and briefly lived with her in the Lyon Street house--whichever one it was.

Has anyone been counting how many times the term "mistakes were made" has emanated from the White House in the last four years? PATRICK J. DONAHUE Santa Barbara

ABOUT THIS SERIES This is the second in a series of occasional articles that will examine how DNA evidence is transforming criminal justice. -- State crime lab analyst Kathryn Troyer was running tests on Arizona's DNA database when she stumbled across two felons with remarkably similar genetic profiles. The men matched at nine of the 13 locations on chromosomes, or loci, commonly used to distinguish people.

Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney wound up tied for the lead Saturday in the Wells Fargo Championship, minus much separation from the rest of the field. Mickelson hit a shot out-of-bounds on the 15th hole and hit another shot that struck a spectator in the head, costing him three shots over the last four holes at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., in his round of one-over 73. Watney hit a semi-shank with a six-iron on the par-three 17th, took double bogey and had to settle for a 71. It felt like a small consolation that they were tied at eight-under 208, one shot ahead of George McNeill , who had his share of trouble down the stretch for a 72. Instead of pulling away from the pack, their mistakes in a wild final hour allowed a dozen players to get within three shots of the lead.

It is the chant that has defined the season, yet somehow has not defined the man. The most amazing thing about the derisive jeer that has rained upon Mike D'Antoni's slumped shoulders for the last six months is that not once has he jeered back. "We want Phil," scream the fans. "I understand," says the coach who is not Phil. Before the Lakers take the Staples Center court Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs in probably the last game of the most disappointing season in franchise history, perhaps it is time to consider the fortitude of the man who has borne the wrath of that shame.

A ruthlessly self-aware political wife reconsidering her choices. A sensual socialite facing down an oppressive age with informed good humor. A group of young women so busy defying social expectations they've forgotten to have any of their own. A working mother with a gift for passionate stillness. A recently recovered drama addict determined to save the world. A bipolar CIA operative, an optimistic bureaucrat, a frightened sex slave turned canny warrior. The female leads of "House of Cards," "Parade's End," "Girls," "The Good Wife," "Enlightened," "Homeland," "Parks and Recreation" and "Game of Thrones" are very different sorts of women who share one important trait: We have never seen their like before.

In October 2011, Jamie McCourt agreed to a divorce settlement in which she would get $131 million and give up any claim to the Dodgers. Six months later, the Dodgers sold for $2 billion. "I was surprised I could have made such a huge mistake," she testified Friday. McCourt returned to Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, for the first day of a hearing in which she has asked Judge Scott Gordon to throw out the divorce settlement. Frank McCourt, her ex-husband and the former Dodgers owner, also was in court, although Jamie McCourt was the only  witness to testify Friday morning.

A surgeon cut an Orange County woman's aorta during Lap-Band weight-loss surgery in 2011 and an anesthesiologist failed to detect her hemorrhaging, events that led to her death, according to a Los Angeles County Coroner's autopsy report. The report found that the injury and the failure to respond adequately during laparoscopic surgery at Valley Surgical Center in West Hills constituted "an extreme deviation from the standard of care" on the part of the doctors. Shortly after surgery, Paula Rojeski, 55, of Ladera Ranch went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Stephan Pastis, the former lawyer-turned-cartoonist behind the daily comic strip “Pearls before Swine,” (which runs in 650 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times) recently made his first foray into long-form chapter books with “ Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made ”). While it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Pastis' irreverent sense of humor that the heavily illustrated whodunit is crammed with sly inside jokes, clueless characters and a hulking polar bear sidekick motivated by chicken nuggets and Rice Krispies Treats.

Most Americans say they've made big financial mistakes, with many people costing themselves thousands of dollars, according to a new poll. Two-thirds of people surveyed acknowledged making one “really bad financial decision,” with 47% admitting to more than one bone-headed move. The $5,000 median loss - the point at which half the people lost less than that amount and half lost more - was bad enough. But the average hit was far worse  - a whopping $23,000  - because some people really screwed up. Eleven percent of respondents lost more than $50,000 while 2% cost themselves more than $200,000.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Suddenly, Tiger Woods had a second chance to do something special at the Masters. He needed to look at this as an opportunity, not a curse. Before he was scheduled to tee off in the third round of this event, which is watched and revered worldwide, we learned he had been assessed a two-stroke penalty for taking a drop farther from the proximity of his original shot that went into the water on No. 15 on Friday. That penalty came about after a TV viewer noticed what he had done and called Masters officials.

Health insurers don't exactly enjoy a reputation for timely payouts when people submit claims. They've been known to make policyholders jump through all sorts of hoops before coming across with a little cash. But when you owe them money, that's another story. Karen Fairbank, 60, of Pacific Palisades discovered this recently when Blue Shield of California sent her a letter demanding that she return a payment of more than $2,400, and that she do it pronto. Plus $4.70 in interest.