United States

In 1986, lawmakers decided the problem of illegal immigration had to be dealt with. More than 3 million people were living in the United States after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas. A new law signed by President Ronald Reagan gave legal status and a path to citizenship to most of those unauthorized residents - helping many secure a slice of the American dream but also giving fuel to critics who sought to turn "amnesty" into a pejorative. Less than 30 years later, the number of immigrants living in the country illegally is thought to have nearly quadrupled, and the freighted baggage of amnesty looms over new efforts to reform the nation's immigration laws.

WASHINGTON - President Obama on Thursday ruled out unilateral U.S. military action in Syria even if proof emerges that Syrian forces have used lethal chemical weapons. "This is … an international problem," Obama said at a White House news conference with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "It's not going to be something that the United States does by itself. And I don't think anybody in the region would think that U.S. unilateral actions … would bring about a better outcome.

Whether by necessity or choice, a quarter of Americans take at least one vacation by themselves each year. Some solo travelers are single. Some have partners who dislike travel or have different interests or can't get away. Some just crave freedom. But all face the same question: What's the best trip for the person traveling alone? "The key is to know yourself," said Beth Whitman, author of a guide for women traveling alone and founder of Wanderlustandlipstick.com , a website devoted to advice and tours for women on the go. "There are times when you just need to get away, to recuperate.

SACRAMENTO - State lawmakers advanced measures related to firearms and violence Thursday, including two introduced after the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. One would require gun owners to keep their firearms locked away if they live with someone prohibited by law from using guns. The bill provides for sentences as long as three years and a fine of $10,000 for anyone convicted of allowing such a person access to guns if death or great bodily injury resulted.

How can you tell if you or someone you know is having a heart attack? Sometimes the symptoms can be surprisingly subtle. "They can be very different from person to person, between women and men and even within an individual who has more than one heart attack," says Dr. David Rizik, director of Interventional Cardiology for Scottsdale Healthcare Hospitals, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Men and women may experience atypical heart attack symptoms. In contrast to the "classic" chest-splitting, gasping-for-breath symptoms, many heart attacks begin with symptoms that are so mild they are often mistaken for indigestion or muscle ache.

Trial judges are, on the books, elected officials, and even the vast majority of those whose names never appear on a ballot are subject to election challenge every six years. Should voters not call them to account for their performance, as they do with any other politician, on election day? Should they not encourage opponents to challenge incumbent judges? Or are judges different from members of Congress or city councils? Judges are most definitely different. The last thing we want or need in California is trial judges who sit on the bench with one eye on justice and the other on how any particular ruling is going to play with the public.

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

As detectives pieced together the 2008 slaying of a young Santa Monica woman, they came to a chilling conclusion: She had been calling police for help when the killer snatched the phone from her hands and hung up. Prosecutors unveiled the eerie account of the 911 call and other details from the March 2008 killing that has attracted national attention during secret grand jury proceedings against Kelly Soo Park, the woman arrested in June this year...

Philip Hsiang and his wife, Mary Ann, used to pay almost $1,000 a year for a pair of cellphones under a family plan contract. But as recession gripped the economy a few years back, the Davis couple opted for low-cost prepaid phone service and never looked back. They shaved $800 off their annual phone bill, even though Hsiang could easily afford the pricier plan on his salary as an electrical engineer. "As a Chinese immigrant to the U.S., it's a virtue to be frugal," Hsiang said.

Olympic sprint champion Florence Griffith Joyner died after suffering an epileptic seizure, according to autopsy results released Thursday, and her family and friends say they hope the findings will put to rest rumors that drug use contributed to her death. Griffith Joyner died last month in her sleep at age 38. Her husband, Al Joyner, bitterly criticized those who suggested that she took performance-enhancing drugs.

The use of unmanned aircraft to kill suspected terrorists, a practice that has dramatically escalated during the Obama administration, is receiving fresh and welcome scrutiny in Congress and elsewhere even as the number of drone strikes seems to be on the decline. Last week, Rep. William M. "Mac" Thornberry (R-Texas), the chairman of a House armed services subcommittee, introduced legislation to require the Pentagon to promptly inform Congress about every drone strike outside Afghanistan as well as about operations to kill or capture terrorists away from declared war zones.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's overwhelming victory in weekend parliamentary elections returns to power a seasoned politician who historically has had rocky ties with Pakistan's powerful military and is viewed by many as soft on militants and extremist groups. The expected showdown between Sharif, 63, and former cricket-star-turned-politician Imran Khan never really materialized. Sharif's party swept the elections, putting him in a position to lead the next government and become prime minister for an unprecedented third time.

Re "Time to act in Syria," Opinion, May 9 Chuck Freilich speaks of the terrible consequences of not dealing with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war. He focuses only on Bashar Assad's regime as the likely perpetrator. A prominent member of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported "strong, concrete suspicions" that sarin may have been used by rebel forces. The member in question, Carla Del Ponte, is no dilettante in such matters, having served as a prosecutor with the International Criminal Court.

It almost goes without saying that hair is huge business in Hollywood. Healthy, beautifully coiffed and colored locks are a key calling card for those in the spotlight. Exhibit A: Jennifer Aniston's headline-generating honey-blond shag, hyped year after year by fashion magazines as the "best hair in Hollywood. " While jaws flap about First Lady Michelle Obama's bangs or Miley Cyrus' extreme crop, it is something else entirely when the subject moves to supermodel Naomi Campbell's dramatically receding hairline, Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie's ever-growing part or Prince William's bald spot.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Diplomats from the United States and Afghanistan met formally Saturday for just the second time since the two countries signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement a year ago as they sought to hammer out a pact defining Washington's 10-year commitment to the war-ravaged country. A senior diplomat from each nation spoke of progress afterward, but the talks come at a time of tension over Afghan President Hamid Karzai's criticism of U.S. actions in his country as the NATO combat mission winds down.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly committed the most terrible of acts, the killing and maiming of innocent people. So when cemeteries in Cambridge, Mass, refused to take his body for burial, it was easy to understand the dark mutterings about the Boston Marathon bombing suspect not deserving a proper burial, about how he should be cremated despite his family's wishes and his religion's traditions, or his corpse cast into the sea. Easy to understand, but...

Hours after Republican members of Congress sharply questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton and the State Department's handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the former secretary of State did not explicitly mention the controversy in an appearance Wednesday night. But she did reference partisan bickering in the nation's capital as she accepted an award in Beverly Hills. "We truly, still today - despite all of our partisan wrangling, and the gridlock that sometimes seems to take hold - we stand up for the rights and opportunities of all people," Clinton said in a speech that largely focused on U.S. policy toward Asia.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power dropped the ball Monday. Actually, it dropped 400,000 of them. The agency started dumping thousands of floating plastic balls into Ivanhoe Reservoir -- the dwarf sibling next door to Silver Lake Reservoir, the neighborhood's crown jewel -- to protect the drinking water supply needed for summer.

Re "The Vietnam syndrome," Opinion, May 5 Frank Snepp, a former CIA analyst who was in Vietnam during the fall of Saigon in 1975, worries that we may not have learned the lessons of our war in that country. He may have missed the most important lesson. Vietnam today is a small country that represents no great threat to the United States or its allies. The collapse of South Vietnam didn't lead to falling dominoes or global disaster. We should ponder this outcome when we hear warnings of doom about our withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan or our refusal to intervene in Syria.

Hours after Republican members of Congress sharply questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton and the State Department's handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the former secretary of State did not explicitly mention the controversy in an appearance Wednesday night. But she did reference partisan bickering in the nation's capital as she accepted an award in Beverly Hills. "We truly, still today - despite all of our partisan wrangling, and the gridlock that sometimes seems to take hold - we stand up for the rights and opportunities of all people," Clinton said in a speech that largely focused on U.S. policy toward Asia.