Security

If you think Bluetooth is a rare dental condition and an app is what you eat before the entree, you might not be a candidate for today's high-tech, whiz-bang smart phones. Instead, you might be happier with a mobile phone geared toward seniors. Those phones typically don't have Web-surfing capability, GPS maps and video games. Instead they have large buttons, oversized digital readouts and hearing-aid compatibility, along with a relatively simple calling plan. Although senior-friendly phones aren't new, their lower prices and variety are. A recent price skirmish among wireless companies means seniors can get an easy-to-use cellphone and cheap service to go with it, said Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the independent and nonprofit Alliance for Generational Equity.

... and the results, as usual, are ugly. Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) has made a name for himself by lowering the tenor of debate over Social Security with his intemperate and vulgar attacks on the program's advocates -- not to mention with his ignorant grasp of the subject. What makes him especially dangerous is the credibility he has gained as an author of the so-called Bowles-Simpson anti-deficit proposal. The charmless Simpson directed his most recent blast at the California Alliance for Retired Americans, an Oakland group that claims to represent 950,000 retirees as an umbrella organization for numerous advocacy groups.

When the White House sent a last-minute invitation for Asif Ali Zardari to attend the two-day NATO summit, they were taking a highly public gamble. Would sharing the spotlight with President Obama and other global leaders induce the Pakistani president to allow vital supplies to reach alliance troops fighting in Afghanistan? But long before the summit ended Monday, the answer was clear: No deal. Zardari's refusal to reopen the supply routes left a diplomatic blot on a summit that NATO sought to cast as the beginning of the end of the conflict in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - A widow who conceived a baby from the sperm of her late husband is not automatically entitled to Social Security survivors benefits to help raise the child, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 9-0 decision rejected the claim that a biological child of a married couple, even one born years after the father died, always qualifies as his survivor under the Social Security Act. Instead, the justices upheld the government's multi-part definition of who deserves survivors benefits.

BEIJING - "Beijing power struggle heralds end of China Communist Party," screams one headline. More sensational headlines purport to reveal how the wife of recently sacked Politburo member Bo Xilai poisoned an Englishman, who may have been her lover. And if that weren't enough, other stories claim that "Bo planned airline crash" and "slept with more than 100 women. " It's payback time for Chinese exiles, especially those with a printing press, television station or just a computer at their disposal.

Managers of an atomic power plant in Sweden used janitors to guard the facility when the alarm system was malfunctioning, according to a critical report from the country's nuclear watchdog. In a statement on its website, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said managers at the Oskarshamn plant had cleaning and maintenance staff help guard parts of the plant's perimeter because some motion sensors were not working. It said the workers had no security guard training.

A lawyer for Texas state troopers says a security system intended to detect intruders at the governor's mansion wasn't working the night that an arsonist set fire to the building. The system was supposed to sound an alarm to troopers stationed in a carriage house behind the mansion if someone got over the property walls. The Department of Public Safety cut back its security at the 152-year-old mansion last year after Gov. Rick Perry and his wife moved out at the start of a $10-million renovation job. Only one trooper was on duty when the fire broke out June 8, causing extensive damage.

Hollywood's production community is yelling "cut!" to a plan by the LAPD to take over the jobs of handling security -- many of which are filled by former cops -- on film sets. A coalition of labor and industry groups, including the Teamsters and the Motion Picture Assn. of America, is seeking to block the Los Angeles Police Department's effort that would force production companies to hire only off-duty active police officers to control crowds and direct traffic at film locations.

A free Caribbean cruise -- and all you have to do is participate in a brief phone and online survey. Sweet! I received just such a call on my office line a few days ago and eagerly dove in. Who wouldn't want a two-day, two-night, all-inclusive cruise to the Bahamas? First I had to respond to a series of automated questions. What's my gender? What's my age group? Do I speak Spanish? Is anyone in my household a diabetic? Am I a homeowner? Do I use a credit card when I make purchases?

A program that lets preapproved air travelers zip through faster security lines will be expanded this year to 35 of the nation's largest airports, Transportation Security Administration officials announced Wednesday. The pilot program, dubbed PreCheck, lets travelers who get TSA clearance avoid what have become the most annoying steps of post-9/11 screening: removing shoes, belt and coats. PreCheck has been tested for several months with frequent travelers who fly with several major airlines at seven airports, including Los Angeles International.

Social Security has gone digital. The federal retirement program, which last year stopped mailing out estimated benefit statements to everyone who has paid into the system, launched an Internet tool this month that can be used to view several aspects of your personal status. Here's how to use the online tool. Sign up: Go to http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement to create your online account. You must have a Social Security number, email address and U.S. mailing address, and be at least 18. Create a user name and password (save them someplace safe)

College graduation is typically a time to tally accomplishments and to look ahead. But for many graduates, it is also a time to tally student loans and figure out how to repay them. About two-thirds of college graduates have some student loans to pay off, and their average debt is about $25,000 to $28,700, according to estimates by education experts and organizations. (About 10% of those with loans owe more than $50,000 or so.) Many college seniors say they had not thought much about their debt until they received summaries just before graduation.

"Do you need any help out with your groceries today?" Well yes, as a matter of fact. There are three full grocery bags in the cart. And a purse. And a 3-year-old. And that cart is a lifesaver because a person only has two arms. But instead of going all the way to the car or the bus stop, the wheels are locked and the thing won't move. Staring down from a post and mocking shoppers is a snarky sign explaining that the carts will go only so far and then stop at an electronic barrier, and that this confounded new system is somehow there for our protection.

SAN DIEGO -- Bud Black was a member of Mike Scioscia's original coaching staff with the Angels. Three of those coaches ascended to managerial jobs - Black with the San Diego Padres, Joe Maddon with the Tampa Bay Rays and Ron Roenicke with the Milwaukee Brewers. Never in Scioscia's 13 years had one of his coaches left involuntarily - until this week, that is. Hitting instructor Mickey Hatcher , another of Scioscia's original coaches, was fired by General Manager Jerry Dipoto . "Your initial reaction is surprise," Black said.

The USC women's water polo team fell short of a national championship Sunday, losing to Stanford, 6-4, in the title match at San Diego. The Trojans (23-6) tied the score four times but couldn't prevent a late push by the Cardinal (26-2) that secured the championship. USC had defeated rival UCLA in a semifinal Saturday to reach the championship match. Stanford goalie Kate Baldoni finished with 15 saves. The Trojans' goals came from Madeline Rosenthal, Colleen O'Donnell, Patricia Jancso and Monica Vavic.

The criticism came from all angles, and Andrew Bynum reacted to each of them accordingly. Magic Johnson made headlines by arguing as an ESPN analyst that the Lakers should fire Coach Mike Brown if the Lakers lost their first-round series against Denver. Within the same breath, Johnson then suggested the Lakers forgo exercising Bynum's $16.1-million contract option after seeing his inconsistent effort throughout the playoffs. "I don't have time to entertain stuff like that," Bynum said.

Their name conjures up the most celebrated moment of America's post-Sept. 11 military campaigns. Now the Navy SEALs belong to a grimmer chapter in history: the most deadly incident for U.S. forces in the 10-year Afghanistan war. Three months after they killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan and cemented their place in military legend, the SEALs suffered a devastating loss when nearly two dozen of the elite troops were among...

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Wednesday that he wanted the FBI to investigate the loss of classified computer disks at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. But FBI officials in New Mexico say they will only monitor the case. Abraham issued a public memo that called on Energy Department officials in New Mexico to "request the FBI Los Alamos Field Office open an investigation." FBI officials said they did not have a Los Alamos field office.

"We urge all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities," a State Department spokesman said last month after India successfully blasted its new long-range Agni 5 missile into the Bay of Bengal. But he quickly softened the admonishment: "That said, India has a solid nonproliferation record. " Washington's oddly relaxed approach to India's nuclear program goes back to 2008, when Congress approved the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

AT&T Inc. is moving beyond cellphone and Internet service and getting into home automation and security. The wireless giant Monday announced plans for an all-digital, Internet-connected system that it said would give users "unparalleled control and security" of their homes using Web-enabled devices such as PCs, tablets and smartphones. The company said it was planning a nationwide launch, with trials of the service to begin in Atlanta and Dallas this summer. AT&T joins several other companies that are seeing revenue opportunities in home security.