Paul

Amid anxiety over rising costs from the federal healthcare law, California received better-than-expected insurance rates for a new state-run marketplace, but many consumers still won't be spared from sharply higher premiums. Three years after President Obama's landmark law was passed, the state unveiled the first details Thursday on what many Californians can expect to pay for coverage from 13 health plans offering policies in the state's exchange, in which as many as 5 million people will shop for coverage next year.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, 65, who became a vigorous fundraiser for research on ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, during his last years, died Saturday in Hudson, Mass. His death of complications from ALS was announced by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he led a campaign to raise money for research that ultimately brought in nearly $2 million. Cellucci had been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, several years before he publicly disclosed it in 2011.

Those searching for answers to the question " Is medical marijuana good medicine? " will find few in Dr. David Sack's Times Op-Ed article.   On the one hand, Sack concedes, "Marijuana can effectively treat neuropathic pain, and it has been shown to improve appetite and reduce nausea," an acknowledgment substantiating the plant's therapeutic utility. However, he later warns that cannabis' ability to provide relief for certain other conditions, such as lupus and anxiety, remains unproven.

If history dwells at all on President Obama's trip this week to California, it will probably be because of his Friday meeting in Rancho Mirage with President Xi Jinping of China. When the leaders of the globe's two great powers meet, scribblers pay attention. But for one middle-class constituent who almost landed on Obama's agenda, the quick Western swing will be forever remembered for the meeting that did not happen, a subsequent tumble into the politico-media mulcher and what Paul Scott now hopes will be a mostly happy ending.

WASHINGTON - Two years into a civil war that shows no signs of ending, the Obama administration is considering resettling refugees who have fled Syria, part of an international effort that could bring thousands of Syrians to American cities and towns. A resettlement plan under discussion in Washington and other capitals is aimed at relieving pressure on Middle Eastern countries straining to support 1.6 million refugees, as well as assisting hard-hit Syrian families. The State Department is "ready to consider the idea," an official from the department said, if the administration receives a formal request from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the usual procedure.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a conservative Republican, announced her support Sunday for a bipartisan immigration overhaul plan, lending momentum to the comprehensive measure being debated in the Senate. “Our immigration system is completely broken,” the New Hampshire lawmaker said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “This is a thoughtful, bipartisan solution to a tough problem.” Ayotte, who was elected in 2010, is the first Republican to endorse the measure apart from the four in the Senate's so-called Gang of Eight: Sens.

In a office decorated with Chinese art and diagrams of body parts, Dr. George Ma cares for more than 4,000 patients. Nearly three-quarters are covered by Medi-Cal, the state's public insurance program for low-income Californians, and Ma said he receives $10 a month to treat most of them. This summer, when California makes a controversial 10% cut to Medi-Cal rates, he could get paid less. Ma said he didn't go into safety net medicine for the money, but he worries that the reductions will make it even harder for his patients to get medication, medical equipment and appointments with specialists.

'Paul' MPAA rating: R for language, including sexual references, and some drug use Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes Playing: In general release

this is a ttest    hallp fhapweo  upaowejr

Don't let "Paul's" R-rating fool you. In the latest comedy from those funny Brits of "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead," the wise guys have gone more off-center than off-color with this whimsical and surprisingly gentle road trip adventure about two friends, an obsession and an alien named Paul. After the sharp bite and harsh light of most American-style guy-based funny films today, "Paul" comes as such sweet relief. If not for a lot of F-bombs and other naughty words, this would be a family film, a sort of fractured "E.T.," with Seth Rogen never more likeable than as the bald-headed extraterrestrial who just wants to phone home (he should consider this kind of disappearing act, a la Mike Myers and Shrek, more often)

Gary Sacks, the Clippers' vice president of basketball operations, said Friday that Chris Paul shouldn't be blamed for the dismissal of Coach Vinny Del Negro, saying it was an "organizational decision. " Sacks also said that Paul won't play a major role in deciding who the Clippers' next coach will be. There have been reports that Paul was angry because the Clippers' organization was letting him take all the heat for Del Negro's departure. "It was my conclusion that a change needed to be made" and that the Clippers needed a new coach, Sacks told The Times in a phone interview.

Why mess with success when you have known only defeat previously? The Clippers sold out 94 straight games with Vinny Del Negro as coach, won the franchise's first Pacific Division title and then decided to not bring back the winningest coach in Los Angeles Clippers history. I called the Clippers, asked for PR, got transferred to a machine, and when I called back and asked for a live person, I got transferred to another machine. Four more times. Maybe they fired the PR guys as well as the coach.

The courtship that has riveted the neuroscience world blossomed at a Saturday night dinner in a tony Brentwood restaurant. USC provost Elizabeth Garrett and executive vice provost Michael Quick kept the conversation light. Over chicken with braised leeks, onions, mustard bread crumbs and white wine at Tavern, they talked to UCLA neuroscientist Arthur Toga about his life. Not the brain imaging research for which his lab is renowned but about "the things that get you excited in the morning," Toga recalled.

When we first mentioned that the Thin White Duke and Sir Paul Smith would be doing a series of collaborative projects in support of David Bowie's album "The Next Day," the only fruit of that partnership was an album cover T-shirt .  Now there's a limited-edition album to go with it. And before you start imagining the pair crooning duets in a darkened pub, rest assured that no music was harmed in the making of this merchandising effort....

Clippers guard Chris Paul was selected Monday to the NBA All-Defensive team, and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant failed to make the list for the first time since 2005. Paul led the NBA in steals per game (2.4) for the fifth time in six years and was joined on the first team by Miami's LeBron James, New York's Tyson Chandler, Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, Memphis' Tony Allen and Chicago's Joakim Noah. The second team consisted of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley of Memphis, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Indiana's Paul George and Boston's Avery Bradley.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - If he runs for president, says Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), he wants to be considered on his own merits. But when he brought his fledgling campaign to Iowa this weekend, there was no escaping the double-edged legacy of the man he's almost always compared with - his father. Until recently, Ron Paul, the former Republican congressman from Texas, still largely overshadowed his son. Then came Sen. Paul's filibuster in March over the Obama administration's use of drones.

'The Green Room With Paul Provenza' Where: Showtime When: 10:30 p.m. Friday Rating: TV-MA-L (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17 with an advisory for coarse language)

Texas Rep. Ron Paul slammed Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney on Sunday, saying they were inconsistent politicians who represent the status quo. “They come from the same mold,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “They're about the same. They're both on the defensive, they're both explaining themselves … Why should we have a nominee that is going to spend most of the their time explaining themselves and deciding what position they were on and when?” ( Watch video below. ) “I think if you are consistent it speaks for itself,” Paul said.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Sen. Rand Paul sharply attacked former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, declaring that her actions in the months leading up to the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya last year were "inexcusable, it was a dereliction of duty, and it should preclude her from holding higher office. " His remarks, which drew cheers Friday night from a crowd of about 500 Republican activists gathered here for the party's annual Lincoln Day dinner, previewed what could become an often-heard line of attack if Clinton runs for president in 2016.

These are desperate times for the Dodgers, desperate enough that Manager Don Mattingly has resorted to searching for positive omens on his way to work. Mattingly thought he found what he was looking for upon his arrival at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. “As soon as I walked around the corner, the elevator was just dinging to go down,” he said. “I didn't have to wait for the elevator at all.” BOX SCORE: Arizona 5, Dodgers 3 But the short wait for the elevator was nothing more than a short wait for the elevator.