Sisters And Brothers

The U.S. correspondent for a major Paris weekly newsmagazine flew in from New York City. A producer from King World, which syndicates "Oprah" and other TV talk shows, also dropped by to survey the action. Each day, an international crowd of television and print reporters jockey for a handful of front-row seats to one of Orange County's most popular attractions: the murder conspiracy trial of Jeen Han, accused of plotting with two teenagers to kill her identical twin sister, Sunny.

The holidays are here, a good time to revisit Karla Green, devoted aunt and — in one horrible instant almost two years ago — the sudden, sainted mom to five young orphans. Doesn't hurt that speaking to Karla is like speaking to an angel. Even the timbre of her voice is soothing, acoustic, like a well-played cello. She'd scoff at such sentiment, and you probably would too. Unless you know of her incredible back story. Two years ago, Karla was a single nurse living in Vancouver, Canada, when, just before dawn one winter morning, she got an almost unimaginable phone call.

Cora Mungia always thought it was terrifying enough being the mother of two Los Angeles police officers working in two of the city's toughest neighborhoods. Then, last Friday, she watched as her only daughter, Melissa, 28, and her only son, John James, 32, were wheeled into operating rooms at USC University Hospital. Melissa gave her sibling and fellow officer the ultimate in police backup: one of her kidneys. The operation was a success.

My brother, John, tried to sleep during the boring part of the three-hour trip from Los Angeles to Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierra. Fortunately, I was driving. Besides, I don't think there's a boring part, especially once you get on U.S. 395 in the Owens Valley. To keep him awake, I recounted some of our past misadventures in the great outdoors. Remember when we ran out of food backpacking across the Haleakala crater on Maui? Whose idea was it to take a motor boat up Lake Powell in a snowstorm?

The new Fountain Valley High School Homecoming king and queen share the same last name. Brandon and Shanna Andreason, who are brother and sister, were announced as winners Friday, which was Homecoming at the school. The two seniors were voted the honor by the student body. Evelyn Belgen, community resource coordinator for the high school, said that, after two rounds of student voting, the Andreasons became part of the Homecoming Court. The court is composed of five boys and five girls.

The defense attorney blamed his own bad judgment. The mother blamed her own bad parenting. Thousands of Koreans who petitioned the judge blamed a lack of American understanding for a seemingly peculiar nuance of Korean culture. But after all the blame had been parceled out, Judge Eileen Moore shoved it aside and sentenced 24-year-old Jeen Han to prison for a long, long time.

My brother, John, tried to sleep during the boring part of the three-hour trip from Los Angeles to Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierra. Fortunately, I was driving. Besides, I don't think there's a boring part, especially once you get on U.S. 395 in the Owens Valley. To keep him awake, I recounted some of our past misadventures in the great outdoors. Remember when we ran out of food backpacking across the Haleakala crater on Maui? Whose idea was it to take a motor boat up Lake Powell in a snowstorm?

The Good Muslim A Novel Tahmima Anam Harper: 297 pp., $25.99 Maya Haque is one of the century's most interesting characters: prickly, passionate, tender, selfless, headstrong, devoted, belligerent, idealistic, naive, wise. "The Good Muslim" is Maya's story, rooted in her devotion to nation and family and particularly to her brother, the tormented Sohail Haque. What is it about Bengali anthropologists? First we have feted novelist Amitav Ghosh from West Bengal and now Tahmima Anam from East Bengal.

A 12-year-old girl testified Friday that her father, Marco Barrera, killed her 2-year-old sister and then beat her 5-year-old brother daily until his death in 1998. Maria Esquivel, speaking in a hushed courtroom in San Fernando, recalled the final minutes of Guadalupe "Lupita" Esquivel's young life, but had difficulty remembering the particular beating that caused Ernesto Esquivel's death. Barrera, 38, could face the death penalty for killing and allegedly torturing his two children.

Tracy Knizek and Greg Williams boarded the squid boat Meridian at Channel Islands Harbor on Wednesday, a sister and brother on a bittersweet mission. It was a year to the day since their parents died in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. A year since the crew of this 32-foot boat joined a hopeless rescue effort eight miles off the coast, fishing up one small treasure in so much ruin: their father's prized Masonic ring.

The Good Muslim A Novel Tahmima Anam Harper: 297 pp., $25.99 Maya Haque is one of the century's most interesting characters: prickly, passionate, tender, selfless, headstrong, devoted, belligerent, idealistic, naive, wise. "The Good Muslim" is Maya's story, rooted in her devotion to nation and family and particularly to her brother, the tormented Sohail Haque. What is it about Bengali anthropologists? First we have feted novelist Amitav Ghosh from West Bengal and now Tahmima Anam from East Bengal.

Kyle Coble was a peppy kid just coming into his own. His little sisters, Emma and Katie, were darlings of the neighborhood, whether riding around together in their wagon or selling lemonade. A year apart, the tow-headed children were everything to their parents, Chris and Lori Coble, who kept a family website chronicling the adventures of their "crazy monkeys" including their soccer games, birthday parties, Christmas mornings and trips to Sea World.

A 12-year-old girl testified Friday that her father, Marco Barrera, killed her 2-year-old sister and then beat her 5-year-old brother daily until his death in 1998. Maria Esquivel, speaking in a hushed courtroom in San Fernando, recalled the final minutes of Guadalupe "Lupita" Esquivel's young life, but had difficulty remembering the particular beating that caused Ernesto Esquivel's death. Barrera, 38, could face the death penalty for killing and allegedly torturing his two children.

Some people go to high school reunions, hoping to find the football hero overweight and balding and the high school beauty queens tired and haggard. In "Crane, Mississippi," at the Elephant Space, playwright Timothy McNeil gives us just that, yet there's no nasty glee in their less-than-glorious circumstances. Instead, high school memories become the foundation for hope.

Tracy Knizek and Greg Williams boarded the squid boat Meridian at Channel Islands Harbor on Wednesday, a sister and brother on a bittersweet mission. It was a year to the day since their parents died in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. A year since the crew of this 32-foot boat joined a hopeless rescue effort eight miles off the coast, fishing up one small treasure in so much ruin: their father's prized Masonic ring.

Cora Mungia always thought it was terrifying enough being the mother of two Los Angeles police officers working in two of the city's toughest neighborhoods. Then, last Friday, she watched as her only daughter, Melissa, 28, and her only son, John James, 32, were wheeled into operating rooms at USC University Hospital. Melissa gave her sibling and fellow officer the ultimate in police backup: one of her kidneys. The operation was a success.

Some people go to high school reunions, hoping to find the football hero overweight and balding and the high school beauty queens tired and haggard. In "Crane, Mississippi," at the Elephant Space, playwright Timothy McNeil gives us just that, yet there's no nasty glee in their less-than-glorious circumstances. Instead, high school memories become the foundation for hope.

The holidays are here, a good time to revisit Karla Green, devoted aunt and — in one horrible instant almost two years ago — the sudden, sainted mom to five young orphans. Doesn't hurt that speaking to Karla is like speaking to an angel. Even the timbre of her voice is soothing, acoustic, like a well-played cello. She'd scoff at such sentiment, and you probably would too. Unless you know of her incredible back story. Two years ago, Karla was a single nurse living in Vancouver, Canada, when, just before dawn one winter morning, she got an almost unimaginable phone call.

The U.S. correspondent for a major Paris weekly newsmagazine flew in from New York City. A producer from King World, which syndicates "Oprah" and other TV talk shows, also dropped by to survey the action. Each day, an international crowd of television and print reporters jockey for a handful of front-row seats to one of Orange County's most popular attractions: the murder conspiracy trial of Jeen Han, accused of plotting with two teenagers to kill her identical twin sister, Sunny.

The new Fountain Valley High School Homecoming king and queen share the same last name. Brandon and Shanna Andreason, who are brother and sister, were announced as winners Friday, which was Homecoming at the school. The two seniors were voted the honor by the student body. Evelyn Belgen, community resource coordinator for the high school, said that, after two rounds of student voting, the Andreasons became part of the Homecoming Court. The court is composed of five boys and five girls.