Rating

In an odd yet understandable marketing strategy, the folks behind E!'s new reality show "Mrs. Eastwood & Company" have spent a lot of pre-premiere publicity time explaining what the show isn't. Which is to say, Clint Eastwood. The legendary actor and director will appear in but a few episodes and then only briefly. He will not, for instance, be slamming doors or engaging in filmed therapy sessions with his wife, Dina, around whom the show revolves (see title.) That doesn't mean the show is not about Clint Eastwood; it is. If the principal characters -- Dina, her 15-year-old daughter Morgan and 19-year old stepdaughter Francesca -- were not related to him, there would be Absolutely No Reason to watch this, which, by reality show standards, promises to be tame to the point of sedation.

It was kind of a buzz-kill moment. Earlier this month, at a town hall meeting in Township, Pa., Mitt Romney mentioned that the jobless rate had dropped a bit, from 8.2% to 8.1%. The audience started to applaud, but Romney stopped them. "Normally, that would be cause for celebration," said the former Massachusetts governor. "But anything near 8% or over 4% percent is not cause for celebration.... The reason the rate came down is because about 340,000 people dropped out of the workforce.

Distancing himself from Republicans on housing issues, President Obama pitched a $5-billion to $10-billion plan to help a key segment of struggling homeowners — those still making monthly payments, but on underwater mortgages. Obama proposed Wednesday to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages. He argued that those homeowners — and the country — couldn't afford to let the housing market bottom out, as many Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have advocated.

With the unofficial start of summer just days away, it's time to stock up on sunscreen. Does it matter which one you buy? Consumer Reports tested some popular brands, and found that it does, but the best choices are not necessarily the most expensive. Of the 18 popular products Consumer Reports tested , none rated excellent in all four categories: UVA and UVB protection, UVB protection after being in the water, and staining fabrics. All Terrain Aqua Sport lotion rated best, scoring 88 of 100 possible points.

First of three parts Tiffany Lee wanted a car. She was weary of the two-hour bus ride to her job at a UCLA Health System clinic. She hated having to ask friends to drive her 7-year-old son to his asthma treatments. But as a single mother with three children, bad credit and a $27,000-a-year salary, she couldn't find a bank or dealership willing to give her a loan. Then a friend steered her to Repossess Auto Sales in Hawthorne. Another buyer might have balked at the deal she was offered.

New figures from Gallup place President Obama's reelection bid in a precarious gray zone between the one-term exit of presidents like George H.W. Bush, and successful second-term victories like those of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Combining Obama's job approval rating with several evaluations of public sentiment on the economy, Gallup's indicators show that the president is performing better than he was just a year ago, but his numbers are nonetheless lackluster compared with those of his predecessors.

Auto leasing deals abound these days, with offers that often seem too good to be true. How about a well-equipped Honda Accord for $250 a month with no down payment or any other drive-off fees? Or better yet, $199 a month for a Chevrolet Malibu? So, what's the catch? There isn't any if you know what you're getting into. There are always details. You need top-tier credit to qualify. You pay a penalty if you turn that Honda in with more than 36,000 miles. And the payment is not $250 a month because of that little matter of tax. It is more like $275, depending on where you live.

President Obama has never been wildly popular in West Virginia, but Tuesday's Democratic primary marked the state's sharpest rejection of the president yet. A Texas prisoner, listed as Inmate No. 11593-051, received 69,766 votes, a surprising 41% of the total, showing that many West Virginians would vote for just about anyone other than Obama, regardless of their status as a felon. Obama still won the primary, with 59% of the vote. Keith Judd, the prisoner in question, is currently serving a 17½-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana after being sentenced for extortion in an altercation with the University of New Mexico.

Bob Brickman spent months fighting a ticket he got last fall from a red-light traffic camera at Wilshire and Sepulveda boulevards in West Los Angeles. The 61-year-old from Playa Vista eventually decided to give up the fight and fork over the $476 fine. Now he's regretting paying every penny. City officials this week spotlighted a surprising revelation involving red-light camera tickets: Authorities cannot force violators who simply don't respond to pay them. For a variety of reasons, including the way the law was written, Los Angeles officials say the fines for ticketed motorists are essentially "voluntary" and there are virtually no tangible consequences for those who refuse to pay. The disclosure comes as the city is considering whether to drop the controversial photo enforcement program, with the City Council scheduled to vote on the matter Wednesday.

Los Angeles police will not pursue through the courts scores of motorists with unpaid tickets from the city's defunct red-light camera program. The city Police Commission voted this week to end its contract with the company that operated L.A.'s cameras until they were shut off last summer. And authorities are now planning to reassign a small group of officers who regularly appeared in court to testify in contested photo enforcement cases. With the cancellation of the contract, officers will no longer have easy access to the photo and video evidence that courts require.

Record low interest rates for 30-year mortgages edged down another tick, Freddie Mac said in its latest survey , which showed lenders across the nation offering the benchmark loan at 3.78% compared to 3.79% last week. The typical rate on a 15-year fixed loan held steady at 3.04%. Sales of new homes were rising in a recent survey, with the low rates helping to make housing more affordable. But many homeowners are trapped in homes worth less than their mortgages, restraining home resales and holding back the recovery in the housing markets.

"American Idol"continued to suffer a ratings drop as it headed into its season finale Wednesday night and prepared to crown either Phillip Phillips or Jessica Sanchez the winner. According to preliminary ratings, the Tuesday night episode of the Fox show drew 14.3 million viewers. That was enough for an easy win, and the show also was first in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults ages 18 to 49. "American Idol's" overall numbers, however, are inching downward.

After the coffee. Before getting out of wet Boston. The Skinny: After almost two weeks on the road, I'm finally heading back home Wednesday night. Just don't tell me it's raining in Los Angeles. Wednesday's headlines include NBC's plans to hype the online component to its Olympics coverage, Disney hitting pause on a pricey movie, andCNN's ratings troubles. Daily Dose: While the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn.'

That ray of light you see peeking through all the clouds darkening California's future? That's the sun. More specifically, solar power, in which California is the hands-down national leader. The state's installed solar generating capacity of about 1.2 gigawatts - the equivalent of two big conventional power plants and enough to fill the electrical demand from nearly 200,000 homes for a year - easily outstrips the next 10 highest-ranked states. It's also the fastest-growing solar market in the country.

Moody's Investors Service raised the credit rating of Ford Motor Co. to an investment grade, giving its seal of approval to a corporate turnaround of the business that started with heavy borrowing at the end of 2006. The move Tuesday returns control of the automaker's famous "Blue Oval" logo back to Ford. The logo, with the Ford name written in distinctive script, was first seen on a Model A in 1928 and was pledged as collateral to obtain the loans. Moody's raised its assessment of the creditworthiness of Ford's automotive operations to Baa3, up from Ba2. Ford Motor Credit Co., the automaker's finance arm, now has a rating of Baa3, up from Ba1. The investment rating is an important measure of corporate health and will reduce the automaker's borrowing expenses.

OAKLAND — Several big league veterans, including Torii Hunter , were convinced Howie Kendrick would win a batting title some day after the Angels second baseman hit .285 as a rookie in 2006, .322 in 2007 and .306 in 2008. Entering Tuesday, the only category in which Kendrick ranked among American League leaders was strikeouts — he was tied for ninth with 39, including five three-whiff games, in 161 plate appearances. That Kendrick went five for 38 in 11 games through Monday, a .132 clip that dropped his average from .298 on May 9 to .257, is disturbing enough.

President Obama's approval rating has taken a hit in a new poll that shows a growing frustration with the president's handling of the economy. The Washington Post/ABC poll found that 46% of people approve of the Obama's job performance, while 50% disapprove. That's a reversal of the president's ratings just last month, when his approval hit 50% for the first time in that survey in nearly a year.  The quick drop coincides with a spike in gas prices and an increase in criticism from Obama's Republican rivals on the issue, even as the economy has shown noticeable signs of growth.

Mezze Rating: two and a half stars Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory. Location: 401 N. La Cienega Blvd. (at Oakwood Avenue), Los Angeles, (310) 657-4103, http://www.mezzela.com Price: Dinner mezze plates, $11 to $22; large plates, $26 to $27; flatbreads, $6 to $18; sides, $9; desserts, $9. Lunch items less.

WASHINGTON - The Congressional Budget Office warned that the country could be thrown into a recession if Congress tries to reduce the nation's deficit quickly with a combination of budget cuts and higher taxes scheduled to take place at the end of the year. The nonpartisan budget office laid out the stark choices Tuesday over what has been called the coming fiscal cliff as congressional leaders square off in an expected partisan showdown from now through December. The office warned that the growth of the nation's gross domestic product - the value of goods and services produced - would slow to just 0.5% next year if Congress did nothing.

When it comes time to trade in your frequent-flier reward points for seats on an airplane, low-cost airlines do the best job of getting you in the air. That was the conclusion of a study released last week by IdeaWorks, a Wisconsin consultant to the airline industry. In March, IdeaWorks submitted nearly 7,000 booking requests through the frequent-flier websites of 23 airlines. Seats were requested for the airline's most popular routes in June through October. The study had a 93.5% success rate of finding available seats on low-cost airlines around the world, including U.S. carriers such as Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways.