Spring

When roasted at 475 degrees, coffee beans are sometimes described as rich and full-bodied. But for the full-bodied person who is not so rich, unroasted coffee beans - green as the day they were picked - may hold the key to cheap and effective weight loss, new research suggests. In a study presented Tuesday at the American Chemical Society's spring national meeting in San Diego, 16 overweight young adults took, by turns, a low dose of green coffee bean extract, a high dose of the supplement, and a placebo.

Deep Springs College, the tiny but prestigious school and ranch north of Death Valley, plans to admit female students for the first time in its 95-year history. But opponents of co-education sought to block the change Wednesday. In legal paperwork filed in Inyo County Superior Court, two college trustees who want the 28-student campus to remain all-male asked a judge to stop the school from admitting women in fall 2013. Those critics contend that enrolling women would violate the campus' founding trust and original mission to educate "promising young men" in a setting that combines the liberal arts with such physical work as baling alfalfa and milking cows.

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.

One of them finally showed up. The other re-emerged after continually flickering in and out. Together, Arron Afflalo and JaVale McGee helped the Denver Nuggets look formidable on a stage where they had been jittery and outclassed earlier in their first-round playoff series. McGee was more impressive than his Lakers counterpart for much of the Nuggets' 102-99 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night at Staples Center, repeatedly dunking over Andrew Bynum on the way to 21 points on nine-for-12 shooting.

Gasoline prices are keeping up their record-setting ways. California drivers paid an average of $4.358 for a gallon of regular gasoline, up 6.6 cents from a week earlier, the Energy Department said Monday. That's a fresh record high for this time of year and is 48.4 cents above the year-earlier price. Nationally, the average rose 7.2 cents to $3.793, also a record for this week, according to Energy Department statistics. A year earlier, the average U.S. price was 27.3 cents lower.

Bob Baffert and Wayne Lukas were sitting next to each other at a recent racing function when Baffert said to Lukas, "Everyone used to hate you. Now they hate me." It's as clear as a giant flowered hat, and just as ugly. At rowdy Churchill Downs today, the only thing more quietly despised than Bob Baffert will be a Breathalyzer. The 128th Kentucky Derby will feature 19 horses, 150,000 fans, and one villain. Baffert will saddle longshot War Emblem.

J. Paul Reddam might not be the type of businessman for whom people suffering through the recession can bring themselves to root. Reddam, 56, is president of Anaheim-based CashCall, the mortgage refinancing and high-interest personal loan company who critics say has unfairly capitalized upon people's financial woes during the country's economic and employment crisis. But the Sunset Beach resident is also owner of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, who could provide horse racing with a huge shot in the arm Saturday with a victory in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Want to fool merchants with a fake ID? Hack someone's text messages? Or how about tracking where your co-workers are, without their knowing it? There's an app for that. The explosion in smartphone and tablet applications that enable people to check the weather, follow their stocks and play Words With Friends has a dark side: apps that facilitate questionable if not outright illegal behavior. Apple's App Store, for example, offers Drivers License software that promises "unlimited access to realistic-looking licenses" for all 50 states.

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.

IF it's been a year or two since you've shopped for a mattress, you're in for some surprises. That memory foam bed that once seemed so novel? It's now decidedly mainstream. Latex is the hot material of choice. And that's not all that's changed. Choices are multiplying -- especially on the luxury end -- and prices are too.

While the legislature in Minnesota continued to work on a solution to keep the Vikings, AEG on Tuesday unveiled its latest vision for an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles. Two weeks remain in the public-comment period of AEG's environmental impact report on the concept, and the company hopes to have its approvals in place by late summer, with the goal of luring a football team back to L.A. next spring. AEG's is one of two competing stadium proposals, with the other in City of Industry.

TEHRAN — On a recent trip to a city on the Persian Gulf, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood in the back of a pickup as it made its way through a thick crowd clamoring for his attention when an older, disheveled man began to shout at him. "Ahmadinejad, I am hungry, Ahmadinejad, I am hungry," he pleaded desperately. The man banged on the pickup's front window to get the notice of the president, who leaned forward as the two exchanged a few words. A young woman then climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and told the leader, "I have problems.

Brett Hundley is rarely so easily shocked. But point out that all 32 NFL teams have passed on UCLA quarterbacks in the draft since Cade McNown was taken in 1999 and Hundley — a bright student with aspirations of being a doctor — gets that bug-eyed look and is unable to form sentences. "Really? Wow. Seriously? Crazy. " Hundley stammered. "I was 6 years old. " Hundley, who turns 20 in June, could be the quarterback to end that spiral. So could Kevin Prince, who has spent nearly as much time in the training room as the film room.

If you're planning a trip to New Y o rk City this summer, check out the spring sale on rooms at Affinia Manhattan . Prices start at $179 a night during an offer good only until Sunday. The deal: The Spring Into Summer Savings is a non-refundable rate, but it's a good low price for this midtown hotel. Use the promotion code "APSALE" when making a reservation. When: The offer is good until Sunday for stays through Aug. 31. Tested: I found this deal had very variable rates depending on when you go. Some examples: I found $179 a night from June 22-24 (usually $266)

"Tomboy Style" author Lizzie Garrett Mettler shares her must-haves for spring. They incorporate this season's trends — like colorful jeans — with classic tomboy staples such as a striped tee.

Hollywood Park will begin its annual lengthy spring/summer meeting with a new name and a top attraction. Thursday will mark opening day at Betfair Hollywood Park. It begins a program of Thursday-Sunday racing that will contest $6.8 million in stakes money and will carry on right through racing's Triple Crown season to a July 15 ending. Thursday's opening-day feature will be the $70,000 Harry Henson Stakes. But Friday's first evening card will attract the weekend's most attention, with the appearance of Acclamation, an Eclipse Award winner last year and winner of Del Mar's Pacific Classic.

Homeowners more deeply underwater on mortgages handled by five major U.S. banking firms are prime candidates for getting help from a $25-billion nationwide settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses. That's because the settlement gives the nation's largest mortgage servicers more incentives to help those who owe 40% to 75% more than the value of their homes, according to details of the settlement filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington. In a complex series of formulas designed to maximize the effect of the deal reached last month, banks will get more than six times the credit for reducing loans for severely underwater borrowers than they would for helping those who owe 5% to 15% more than the value of their homes.

Spring fever, that reputed and seemingly infectious malady that strikes when the days lengthen and temperatures begin to climb, has been blamed for feverish bouts of house-cleaning, restless behavior in the classroom, distraction in meetings and love struck dazes. Some scientists think spring fever is more than just a colloquialism -- they think it's a constellation of symptoms brought about by hormonal changes in the body.

Public Chicago has gotten a lot of buzz since it opened in October. Most recently, the first entry in Ian Schrager's new brand made Conde Nast Traveler's "best new hotels" list for 2012. What's so special? “Contemporary elegance with a dash of whimsy,” the magazine said. Here's another great reason to go: $140-a-night stays through June 30. The deal: Public Chicago started life as the historic Ambassador East Hotel, a vintage grand hotel. Schrager's redo features things such as an "un-color" color palette and spacious guestrooms.

Here's a great spring deal that would work for Memorial Day too: Kick back in a two-bedroom villa at Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa in Santa Fe. The resort in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains offers spring sale prices on villas starting at $339 a night -- more than half off the usual rates. Split the room with three friends and stay in style without breaking the bank. The deal: There's a lot to do -- mountain biking, yoga, hiking, tours -- at this series of lodges and villas that date to the early 20th century.