Sole

— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is poised to repeat as NASCAR Nationwide Series champion after his closest challenger, Elliott Sadler, found trouble Saturday. Joey Logano won the Great Clips 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, but Stenhouse took a 20-point lead over Sadler in the Nationwide standings with only one race remaining. The two had arrived in Phoenix tied for the series lead. But with two laps left in the 200-lap race, Sadler crashed into the outside wall along with Cole Whitt and Brendan Gaughan.

George Joseph must think that the old saw defining insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result doesn't apply to him - or at least that it's amenable to tweaking. Joseph, the billionaire nonagenarian founder and still kingpin of the insurance company Mercury General Group, is represented on November's statewide ballot as the promoter and virtually sole bankroller of Proposition 33. This initiative would allow auto insurers to offer discounts to drivers who have maintained coverage without a break, which is known as "persistency.

There's a new sheriff in town in the Trinity League ... for now, anyway. Lonell Woodhouse ran for a game-clinching first down on fourth and one at the 41-yard line with 47 seconds left as Bellflower St. John Bosco moved into sole possession of first place in league with its 27-19 victory over host Santa Ana Mater Dei on Friday night. It was the Braves' first win against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in 10 years and moved them one step closer to their first league crown since they captured the Serra League title in 2002.

GOP vice presidential nominee Paul D. Ryan said in the debate that American troops should not be placed in harm's way for humanitarian purposes, unless it is in the interest of national security. “It's got to be in the strategic national interests of our country,” the Wisconsin congressman said during his face-off Thursday night with Vice President Joe Biden in Danville, Ky. Pressed by moderator Martha Raddatz, Ryan said that every situation must be evaluated independently and that America could offer other aid, but stuck by his original statement.

With an initial public stock offering expected by the end of the year, the historic film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's executive ranks were shaken Wednesday by the surprise resignation of co-chief executive Roger Birnbaum. The departure leaves Birnbaum's longtime partner Gary Barber as sole CEO of the Beverly Hills company, home of the upcoming James Bond film "Skyfall" and "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. " Birnbaum and Barber have been partners since 1998, when they co-founded the film finance and production company Spyglass Entertainment.

MEXICO CITY - Somewhere underneath the hull of Armando Tovar's boat, the aquatic manifestation of the great god Xolotl was slithering along the muddy canal bottom, digesting bugs, laying eggs and trying to avoid extinction. Even though he could not see the creature, Tovar knew it would be confronting its troubled environment with that weird fixed smile, the one that makes it appear to be in on some cosmic joke. As a 9-inch salamander, of course, the ajolote (pronounced ah-ho-LO-tay)

A call for change is afoot in the difficult and often heartbreaking world of addiction treatment. For decades, 12-step programs and a medication-free approach have dominated the recovery industry. But now doctors and scientists and the leader of the National Institute on Drug Abuse are pushing for broad recognition of addiction as a disease and more medical approaches to therapy. In the last couple of years, a top addiction society officially declared addiction a "brain disorder.

Following the unexpected ouster Friday of Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman Tom Rothman, Hollywood's eyes have turned to a son of Greek immigrants known for his expertise in international distribution, digital devices and filmmaker relationships but not making and marketing movies. Jim Gianopulos, who has been co-chairman alongside Rothman since the two were promoted in 2000, will stay on as the studio's sole chairman. Rothman officially leaves Jan. 1, but lame ducks don't merit much respect in Hollywood.

In a legal battle over red soles, luxe shoe brand Christian Louboutin won a limited victory over design house Yves Saint Laurent when an appeals court granted trademark protection for some of its footwear with lacquered red bottoms. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower-court decision by deciding that Louboutin shoes that have red soles combined with a different colored top are protected under trademark, while a shoe design that is red all over cannot be protected, That means Louboutin can theoretically prevent another designer from putting out a black stiletto with a red sole, for example, but not a red stiletto with a red sole.