Patterns

CHICAGO — Maxine Lauer calls the group of consumers 15 to 34 "Generation Now" because they want what they want and they want it now. Trouble is, "now" isn't happening for them, especially for those in the middle of that range, their 20s, who might reasonably be expected to be thinking about buying their first homes. Generally, though, that's not something they're doing, because most of them just can't, said Lauer, whose Sphere Trending retail industry consulting firm in Waterford, Mich., has studied their attitudes in depth.

The Postman butterfly, a brightly colored favorite of collectors and scientists since its discovery in the Victorian era, tastes bad -- very bad. Predators who have bitten into one shy away from future contact because of the foul aftertaste. The butterflies have taken advantage of this trait by developing distinctive black and red wing coloration that quickly warns predators to stay away. An international collaboration of scientists has now sequenced the genome of the Postman butterfly -- more formally known as Heliconius melpomene -- and shown that this unusual coloring has been passed among related species by hybridization, a crossbreeding among species that is rarely found in the wild because it usually makes the offspring less likely to survive.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Justice sued Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Phoenix law enforcement department Thursday alleging a pattern of abuse and racism against Latinos, especially immigrants, and asking a federal judge to force the 20-year, often outspoken and brazen sheriff to stop racially profiling Latinos and abusing them in his jails.  "The police are supposed to protect and support our community, not divide them," said...

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, asking a federal court to prevent the brazen and outspoken lawman from racially profiling Latinos, abusing them in his jails and retaliating against his critics. "The police are supposed to protect and support our community, not divide them," said Assistant Atty. Gen. Thomas E. Perez, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division. "This is an abuse of power case involving a sheriff and a sheriff's office that has ignored the Constitution.

DENVER - Andrew Bynum is driving me crazy, driving his teammates crazy, driving his coach crazy, driving an entire organization into an early spring ditch. He's doing it again. He's acting like a 24-year-old toddler. One day after failing to show up in the first half of a playoff game in which the Lakers were waxed by the Denver Nuggets, he stood sleepily in front of reporters Saturday and admitted something Lakers fans haven't heard since Dennis Rodman forgot his shoes. Bynum said he wasn't ready to play.

Sometimes an old movie line says it best. Such a line came to mind when I read the Assembly speaker's assertion that political money doesn't influence legislative voting. "I know people love to try to create that impression," Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) was quoted as saying in a Times article Sunday about AT&T's wide-ranging lobbying operation. "But the reality is, that's not the way things happen. People give money because of whatever reasons motivate them, and we evaluate legislation regardless.

A two-year corruption investigation in Oxnard uncovered "a clear pattern of fiscal waste by a small number of city officials" but produced no criminal charges, the Ventura County district attorney's office said Wednesday. The probe began in July 2010 when local investigators and FBI agents raided city offices, and later searched the homes of numerous officials. It yielded more than 100,000 pages of evidence, according to a lengthy report issued by prosecutors. Investigators found city officials had failed to disclose gifts from contractors, tried to delay the D.A.'s investigation, used public funds for expensive meals and submitted skimpy, often unsigned financial records that made it impossible to prosecute possible violations.

They touch down at another NBA city and check their smartphones to help them adjust to a new time zone while their own bodies struggle. They arrive with bags under their eyes and often depart that city a day later sleepless, jet-lagged, stowing sore joints and heavy legs. During this lockout-shortened NBA season, it's been a grueling routine: 66 games played in 124 days, a pace of one per 1.88 days, or 8.5% faster than a usual season. Every team has played back-to-back-to-back sets and stretches such as nine games in 12 days; the Clippers played 20 games in 31 days in March, a marathon that has not been on the NBA schedule in 45 years.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Clippers are 8-2 in their last 10 games, but both losses have similar characteristics. The Clippers fell behind by big margins and made late, furious rallies, only to fall short. So during Tuesday's film session in preparation for their game Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro warned his team about bringing intensity from the start. The Clippers trailed the Lakers by 15 points, then took a lead, but lost last Wednesday.

Los Angeles International Airport is lagging well behind other big-city U.S. airports in the contest to attract highly prized foreign travelers at the levels seen before the global recession caused a steep dip in international trips. Large airports in California and most other regions of the country have surpassed their pre-slump foreign traffic numbers from 2005, sometimes dramatically so, according to passenger data examined by The Times. But LAX, which is spending billions to regain its footing as the premier international gateway on the West Coast, still has 4% fewer international arrival and departures compared with its peak of nearly 17.5 million six years ago. Overall, LAX, the nation's third busiest airport, has the second-lowest recovery rate among the 10 U.S. airports that handle the most international passengers.