NEWS
April 17, 2012 | By Jon Healey
Mitt Romney was probably surprised to learn Tuesday that his native state's most famous rock guitarist, Ted Nugent , had officially joined his campaign as a spokesman. Oh wait -- he didn't. But you wouldn't know that from the news release put out Tuesday by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, who railed, "Mitt Romney surrogate Ted Nugent made offensive comments about President Obama and November's elections this weekend that are despicable, deplorable and completely beyond the pale.
WORLD
April 14, 2012 | By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times
CAIRO - Egypt's volatile presidential race was jolted Saturday when the election commission disqualified three controversial front-runners - the nation's former spy chief and two impassioned Islamists - just five weeks before voters go to the polls. The commission removed Omar Suleiman, the intelligence director under deposed President Hosni Mubarak; Khairat Shater, a leading voice for the ascendant Muslim Brotherhood; and Hazem Salah abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Salafi Islamist with wide populist appeal.
OPINION
April 1, 2012
Recent weeks have brought sharply different perspectives on the state of women in America today. A new study on the status of women and girls in California, just released by Mount St. Mary's College, concludes that women here earn degrees at a higher rate than men. Nearly a third of the state's businesses are solely owned by women, and 38% of its elected representatives are women. Those are encouraging, if still developing, indicators that an equal society is under construction. And yet the same survey produces reminders of persistent inequity.
NATIONAL
March 27, 2012 | Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta
Republican presidential candidates renewed their criticism of President Obama's healthcare program Monday in a double-barreled assault from both coasts. Standing before a "Repeal and Replace Obamacare" banner at a medical device manufacturer in San Diego as he opened a campaign swing in the state, Mitt Romney called the president's policies "an attack on free enterprise, an attack on economic freedom unlike anything we have ever seen before. " "We've got to make sure that we replace President Obama with someone who truly understands what it is that makes America's economy work," Romney said.
BUSINESS
March 10, 2012 | By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times
NationBuilder — a Los Angeles start-up that helps politicos and social causes build support for their campaigns — has gotten some big backing of its own. The company this week announced that it got a $6.25-million investment led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Former Facebook executive and Silicon Valley veteran Sean Parker participated in the investment and joined the board of NationBuilder along with Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz. Founded by Jim Gilliam of Brave New Media, NationBuilder combines technology and the Internet to help politicians and others organize and gather support for their campaigns or causes.
WORLD
March 1, 2012 | By Sergei L. Loiko, Los Angeles Times
It was not just another day on Alexei Burkov's little dairy farm west of Moscow. In a country where political campaigns are conducted with scripted television events and carefully orchestrated public appearances, a presidential candidate was coming to share a hearty winter lunch of homemade dumplings, pork chops, herb-seasoned cheeses and a raspberry drink. To the delight of half a dozen photographers, Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA basketball team, visited Burkov's barn and awkwardly touched the horn of one of his cows.