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You just got your new iPhone 5 and the thought of losing it is far from your mind. But statistics show that a lot of people lose their iPhones or or get it stolen as more thieves eye the popular device. You can take steps right now that can help you quickly recover your smartphone if you were ever to misplace it or someone makes off with it. First, set up a passcode for your iPhone. It can be inconvenient but it can also help your chances of recovering your phone. And make sure "location services" is turned on. You can find that in "Settings," and then at the top of "Privacy.

Fox and Twitter have entered into a partnership to promote the broadcaster's programs and help advertisers reach TV audiences as they discuss shows on the social network. Twitter Inc., which has established itself as the water cooler where America dissects the latest developments on NBC's "The Voice" or AMC's "Mad Men," is expected to strike more deals with broadcasters. On Tuesday, ESPN and Twitter plan to announce they are expanding their partnership. Last year the sports network, majority owned by Walt Disney Co., incorporated video highlights directly into Twitter feeds related to its coverage of the BCS championship game.

Phil Jackson never liked to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Believe me, I tried everything. Sometimes I'd ask him after random Lakers practices or before games against Charlotte, the team Jordan owned. Or after games in Chicago, where nostalgia hopefully would add to the mix. There would be a little nugget here, a tiny nibble there, but nothing that mattered. It's coming out now, though, in Jackson's 339-page memoir co-written with Hugh Delehanty and available Tuesday: "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.

The Oracle of Omaha has taken to Twitter. The notoriously tech-shy billionaire launched his @WarrenBuffett handle Thursday, where he quickly garnered more than 180,000 followers. He is the second-richest person with a verified Twitter account, after tech mogul Bill Gates (@BillGates.) His first tweet: "Warren is in the house. " Twitter might be a perfect medium for Warren Buffett, who has built a reputation for a folksy approach to investing. But it's also a surprising move given that he's not exactly the most tech-savvy person on the planet.

Obsession of the moment: Hasami porcelain plates and bowls released in a new matte black finish by the Japanese design importer TGS, or Tortoise General Store, in Venice. The Hasami porcelain is beautiful in its spare simplicity and smart function. The pieces nest nicely for storage. Optional oak lids pair well with the stone bowls and can be used separately as serving trays. TGS co-owner Keiko Shinomoto says  the collection has a nice back story too: It's part of a project in the southern Japanese town of Hasami, where a pottery tradition that dates to 1599 is ailing because of -- can you guess?

It's strange how "scandal" gets defined these days in Washington. At the moment, everyone is screaming about the "scandal" of the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizing conservative nonprofits before granting them tax-exempt status. Here are the genuine scandals in this affair: Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years. The bottom line first: The IRS hasn't done nearly enough over the years to rein in the subversion of the tax law by political groups claiming a tax exemption that is not legally permitted for campaign activity.

Anyone who has booked a last-minute flight knows you pay more when you wait. But you also pay more if you book too early. What's too early? What's too late? Pity the poor fare geek trying to hit that elusive sweet spot. Discount travel site Cheapair.com has crunched a year's worth of booking data and found some answers to these and other eternal travel questions, including: - Best time to book a domestic flight? Seven weeks in advance. - Best time to book an international flight?

Only one lottery ticket - sold in Florida - managed to nail all six numbers in tonight's $600 million Powerball jackpot. But two California players who guessed five of the six numbers will each win $2.3 million, lottery officials said. The winning California tickets were sold at 7-Elevens in Taft and in San Jose, said California Lottery spokesperson Donna Cordova. The winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and Powerball 11. The lottery involves 43 states, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

In these troubled economic times, it's not hard to understand why people might want to protect their life savings by purchasing a hard asset like gold or silver. At least, that's the pitch of Monex, the big Newport Beach investment firm, which bills itself as "America's trusted name in precious metals investments" and assures clients that it's "committed to customer service. " So let's take a look at the experiences of some customers who say their trust in Monex was misplaced.

"The Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan is usually focused on rehabbing canines -- but he's now revealing some work he had to do on himself following a suicide attempt in 2010. In February of that year, he lost his top dog, Daddy, to cancer after 16 years as a team. A month later, Millan's wife told him she wanted a divorce after 16 years of marriage. The combined blow knocked him for a loop, he shares in "Cesar Millan: The Real Story," a documentary on Nat Geo Wild. In May 2010, he attempted suicide via drug overdose, winding up unconscious and hospitalized, he said.

  Carrot cake ice cream Total time: 1 hour, plus chilling and freezing time Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try this or any other recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, please share it with us: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish. Servings: Makes 1 quart Spiced pecans 1 cup pecan halves 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Hackers who support Syrian President Bashar Assad claimed responsibility Tuesday for hijacking an Associated Press Twitter account and falsely tweeting that explosions were rattling the White House. "Ops! @AP get owned by Syrian Electronic Army! #SEA #Syria #ByeByeObama" tweeted an account tied to the hacking group, linking to a screenshot of the hacked AP account. The false tweet also claimed President Obama had been injured. It made little traction with other news organizations.

At the L.A. Times Festival of Books, Kelly Oxford sat down with Times columnist Robin Abcarian to talk about her book “Everything Is Perfect When You're a Liar,” the Twitter star's first collection of humorous essays. VIDEO: AUTHOR INTERVIEWS FROM FESTIVAL OF BOOKS The book is about "things that have happened that in my life that were mostly horrifying but I found the humor in them," she says. She liked reading books by David Sedaris and Chelsea Handler, she explains, because of the stories that are both depraved and funny.

The Associated Press' main Twitter account was taken over Tuesday by hackers who sent out a fake tweet saying two explosions had gone off at the White House, injuring President Obama. Within minutes, the real AP used other accounts at its disposal to tweet that the attack message was bogus and Twitter shut down the @AP account. "The (at)AP twitter account has been hacked," the news service warned. "A tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise on acct. status," the news agency tweeted from its @APStylebook account.  PHOTOS: The top smartphones of 2013 Twitter also suspended the news agency's @AP_Mobile account to prevent more false news from spreading.

Salads get a bad rap. Often the obligatory first course at a dinner, a plate of greens drenched in dressing is easy to overlook. But sometimes, if you get creative, a salad can be the real star of a meal or even a meal in itself. Monday morning's #Weekendeats chat participants went beyond the Caesars and Cobbs and got creative with their salads. Here are some highlights: Susan Orlins from the blog Confessions of a Worrywart shared a recipe for a crunchy salad made with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, jicama, bell pepper, radish, celery, pine nuts, pistachios, blue cheese and pomegranate.

Kobe Bryant has sworn off Twitter -- at least during games. While sidelined with a torn Achilles' tendon, Bryant has been reduced to spectator as the Lakers try to upset the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Bryant gave his observations throughout the 91-79 loss in Game 1 on Sunday, which got national attention, even making the ABC broadcast.   To tweet or not to tweet.. I CHOOSE not 2. Focus should be on the team not my insight. @ georgelopez voice "Can't DO nothin!"

You can do a lot with smartphones these days, but unless you're downloading the best apps for your device, you aren't really using it to its full potential. So if you aren't sure what to download, just make sure you have these 10 apps on your iPhone or Android device. Google Maps This app comes preinstalled on Android devices and should be the first app downloaded on iPhones. Besides top-notch design, the app is the best free voice navigation app for driving directions.

“Downton Abbey" is going to look quite different when it returns for a fourth season. On Friday Siobhan Finneran -- better known to fans as O'Brien, Lady Grantham's constantly scheming, severely coiffed maid -- confirmed that she is leaving the beloved costume drama. Finneran follows co-stars Dan Stevens and Jessica Brown Findlay out the door, though it seems likely her character will do so under less tragic circumstances than theirs: In the Season 3 finale, O'Brien was jockeying hard for a new job that would allow her to see more of the world.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the run-up to what would be the biggest initial public stock offering for a consumer Internet company since Facebook, Twitter has nailed its biggest advertising deal yet. The San Francisco-based social media company has reached a deal with Publicis' Starcom MediaVest Group worth hundreds of millions of dollars over multiple years, the Financial Times reported . The agreement is the first of its kind: a partnership between...

You'll have to forgive the nicest guy in the NBA if he ignores your complimentary tweets for several weeks. Jamal Crawford is not being rude. He is, to put it in his words, "#onamission. " The Clippers guard has vowed to stay off Twitter during the playoffs, apologizing to his roughly 279,600 followers with a 140-character missive on the eve of his team's series opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. "Anything worth having is worth working hard for, thank you guys for all the support," Crawford tweeted Friday.