CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 22, 2013 | By Jeff Gottlieb
Less than a year after state auditors warned that Bell faced possible insolvency, the city has seen a significant infusion of cash from settlements with firms it blamed for not preventing the corruption scandal that engulfed the town. City officials said the $5.5 million in settlements, along with the sale of $15.5 million worth of city property, has left Bell on the strongest financial footing since the 2010 scandal, when the city defaulted on bonds it had issued and civic leaders first discussed the possibility of bankruptcy.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 27, 2013 | By Dan Weikel
Just north of the big hotels along bustling Century Boulevard east of LAX lie the remains of Manchester Square. Once a thriving community with its own elementary school, the working-class neighborhood that sprang up in the postwar building boom is now an urban void of unkempt buildings, desolate streets and residential lots scraped bare where thousands used to live. Their long-gone addresses are marked by idle driveways, clusters of trees and chain-link fences that crisscross 20 square blocks.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 6, 2013 | By Louis Sahagun
BUCKHORN MEADOWS, Calif. - Calls for massive salvage logging, restoration and reforestation projects in the 257,000 acres of public wilderness scarred by the Rim fire have ignited controversy over how to proceed with the largest recovery effort undertaken in the Sierra Nevada. "We're hoping to negotiate our way through this, but we need the infrastructure and personnel," said Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the Stanislaus National Forest. "This effort will be huge, so we'll also need additional help from Washington.
SPORTS
September 17, 2013 | Wire Reports
Toronto Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion needs surgery on his left wrist and will sit out the remainder of the season. All-Star left-hander Brett Cecil is also being shut down by the Blue Jays for the final 13 games because of a sore elbow. Encarnacion sat out four games last week because of soreness in the wrist. He returned to play all three games of a weekend series against Baltimore, but had only one hit in 12 at-bats. Encarnacion ranks third in the majors with 36 home runs and his 104 runs batted in are the fourth-highest total.
WORLD
August 30, 2013 | By Henry Chu
LONDON - Has the sun finally stopped setting on the British Empire? A day after Parliament's surprising refusal to back a possible international military strike on Syria, Britons both wrung their hands and rejoiced over what some pundits described as the end - yet again - to British imperial pretensions, to punching above the country's weight on the world stage. "There will be a national soul-searching about our role in the world, whether Britain wants to play a big part in upholding the international system," a disappointed George Osborne, a senior Cabinet member, said Friday.
SPORTS
August 9, 2013 | By Eric Pincus
According to Lakers all-star Kobe Bryant, listening is a vital part of leadership. "You have to be able to listen to what your teammates are saying," said Bryant in a YouTube clip released Thursday while he was on a tour of China with Nike. "You have to be observant," he continued. "Observe what they may be going through, what their emotions might be at that point and time. Then once you listen and observe, then you can figure out the best way to motivate them. There's no one way of doing it. It's always fluid, ever-changing because it all depends on the individual.