In the Ashes, Evidence of Failures in Oversight

A sample shirt with the Canyon Creek label hung inside the charred remains of a factory in Karachi where at least 262 workers died in a fire in September.The garment factory, owned by Arshad and Shahid Bhaila, who are brothers, had been certified as safe three weeks before the bla...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Operators at 311 are accustomed to oddball calls

Just before Thanksgiving a few years back, Raquel Lopez fielded her umpteenth call of the day to find an irate man on the line.Someone...

Read More..

Internet governance talks in jeopardy as Arab states, Russia ally

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A landmark attempt to set global rules for overseeing the Internet threatened to fall apart on Friday as a rift pitting the United States and some Western countries against the rest of the world widened, participants in the talks said.A 12-day conference of the International Telecommunications Union, taking place in Dubai, is supposed to result in the adoption of a new international...

Read More..

Susan Powell's Father-in-Law Secretly Took 4,500 Pictures of Her

12/07/2012 at 07:30 PM EST Wrapping up a year that has brought unimaginable frustration and heartbreak, Susan Powell's family marked the three-year anniversary of her disappearance at a ceremony this week near where her two sons are buried."It's a hard time of year," Susan's father, Chuck Cox, tells PEOPLE....

Read More..

IHT Rendezvous: How to Save Egypt's Dying Chance at Democracy

NEW YORK — The return of protests, tanks and death to the streets of Cairo this week is harrowing. So is the power of the rampant conspiracy theories that cause both Muslim Brotherhood members and their secular opponents to sincerely believe that they are the defenders of Egypt’s revolution.Criticisms of President Mohamed Morsi’s power grab and rushed constitutional process are legitimate. So are...

Read More..

Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

Read More..

L.A. literary stalwart selected as city's first poet laureate

Before sitting down for tea in Echo Park, the poet reaches for her iPhone."I have to turn this thing off," she explains, silencing...

Read More..

Netflix says CEO’s Facebook post triggered SEC notice

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Netflix Inc said on Thursday securities regulators warned they may bring civil action against the company and its chief executive for violating public disclosure rules with a Facebook post, in a case that raises questions about how public companies communicate on social media.The high-profile Silicon Valley CEO, Reed Hastings, dismissed the contention and said he did not...

Read More..

Kate Carrying Twins?

By Simon Perry and Dimi Gaidatzi 12/07/2012 at 07:15 AM EST Prince William and Kate outside King Edward VII Hospital on Dec. 6 Rupert Hartley/REX USA When Prince William and Kate's official announcement that she is pregnant came Monday, the palace said she was "expecting a baby."But in light...

Read More..

Congo Peace Talks Set to Open in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda — Congolese rebels and government officials prepared on Thursday for direct peace talks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, their first face-to-face encounter since the rebels relinquished Goma, one of Congo’s principal cities, after capturing it last month. “Since May, we asked Kabila to come to the table,” said Amani Kabasha, a spokesman for the March 23 rebels, or M23, at...

Read More..

Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

Read More..

Republican Kevin James makes an outsider run for L.A. mayor

A fundraiser put on by heavyweights in Los Angeles' liberal-leaning environmental community should have been a tough crowd for...

Read More..

Zynga Wants to Get into the Gambling Business

Zynga recently filed a preliminary application for a gambling license in Nevada. We’re not talking about gambling with Farmville credits, either. We’re talking cold hard cash.RELATED: Irish Olympic Athlete Accused of Betting on an OpponentGetting a gaming license is no easy task in Nevada. The paperwork that Zynga filed this week is just the beginning of a process that the company’s executives...

Read More..

John McAfee Arrested in Guatemala

By Tim Nudd 12/06/2012 at 07:30 AM EST John McAfee, the American anti-virus software pioneer who has been on the run from police since his neighbor was found murdered in Belize last month, has been arrested in Guatemala. McAfee, 67, was detained Wednesday at a hotel in Guatemala City and is accused of entering...

Read More..

India Ink: India's Parliament Opens Door to Foreign Retail Investors

After two days of sometimes ear-splitting debate, India’s Lok Sabha, or lower house, of Parliament voted down a measure prohibiting large foreign retailers like Wal-Mart from entering the country. Of the 543 members in the house, 218 voted in favor of a proposition banning these companies from the country, and 253 against.Rival leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav...

Read More..

Longer tamoxifen use cuts breast cancer deaths

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen can cut their chances of having the disease come back or kill them if they stay on the pills for 10 years instead of five years as doctors recommend now, a major study finds.The results could change treatment, especially for younger women. The findings are a surprise because earlier research suggested that taking the hormone-blocking drug for longer...

Read More..

Secure Communities is optional, Harris says

SAN FRANCISCO — California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris told local law enforcement agencies Tuesday that they were not obligated...

Read More..

Mario Lopez Wedding Photos: A Family Affair

12/05/2012 at 07:15 AM EST Courtney Mazza, Mario Lopez and their daughter, Gia FameFlynet Mario Lopez looks good wearing next to nothing – but he's absolutely dashing in a suit. In photos from his weekend nuptials to actress Courtney Mazza, Lopez, 39, looks like...

Read More..

At War Blog: In Afghanistan, Humor Finds Its Way in Lost Translation

Funny isn’t an adjective often used to describe Afghanistan. Yet to many Afghans, the war and the foreigners waging it can present a surprising source of humor.Afghans around the country tell anecdotes about encounters with NATO troops. The best of these are encapsulated, shared and sometimes aggrandized in the form of half-funny, half-sad tales told over warm chai or at picnics. Sometimes told with...

Read More..

Chino Hills seeks to close home used by pregnant Chinese women

A Chino Hills residence allegedly housing women from China who want to give birth to U.S.-citizen children is on the verge of...

Read More..

Yahoo sees several flaws in $2.7 billion Mexico ruling: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc believes it has “numerous” grounds to appeal a Mexico City civil court‘s $ 2.7 billion preliminary judgment against the company, including both errors in procedure and in application of law, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.The ruling in the case, which involves allegations of breach of contract related to an online yellow pages listings...

Read More..

The Voice: Which Team Will Win?

TV Watch The Voice By Julia Haskins 12/04/2012 at 07:45 AM EST From left: Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly Mark Seliger/NBC The Voice's top six contestants had two chances to shine on Monday, when each singer performed...

Read More..

Clinton Warns Syria Against Using Chemical Weapons

PRAGUE — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday warned President Bashar al-Assad of Syria not to use chemical weapons and said that the United States was prepared to act if he ignored the warning. David W Cerny/ReutersSecretary of State Hillary Clinton during a news conference in Prague on Monday. Lynsey Addario for The New York TimesSyrian...

Read More..