L.A. Times - National News

Yucca Mountain critic picked to head nuclear panel

By Lisa Mascaro, Washington Bureau — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

President Obama selects Allison Macfarlane as chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a nod to the importance of the waste storage site in the swing state of Nevada.

WASHINGTON — Stirring the lingering debate over storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, President Obama tapped Yucca critic Allison Macfarlane as the new chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Senate agrees on FDA overhaul

By Lisa Mascaro, Washington Bureau — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration accord would provide faster access to generic drugs and speed potential breakthrough treatments.

WASHINGTON — In a momentary flash of bipartisanship, the Senate approved legislation that would allow Americans speedier access to generic drugs as well as breakthrough treatments for life-threatening diseases as part of a Food and Drug Administration revamping that now heads to the House.

Romney discusses education policy and class size in Philadelphia

By Paul West, Washington Bureau — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

At an inner-city school, he defends his claim that small classes don't necessarily improve student performance.

PHILADELPHIA — Making a rare inner-city campaign stop, Mitt Romney preached the merits of traditional two-parent families and touted his platform of educational choice at a West Philadelphia charter school Thursday.

John Edwards trial jurors request more exhibits

By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:39:00 GMT

They finish a fifth day without reaching a verdict on charges he took illegal campaign contributions to cover up an affair.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jurors in the John Edwards campaign finance trial on Thursday ended a fifth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict, but not before requesting 20 exhibits involving payments from one of two wealthy benefactors at the heart of the case.

Supreme Court limits protection against double jeopardy

By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:39:00 GMT

Justices rule that a jury's unanimous but tentative vote to acquit a defendant on some charges does not count as a verdict. It means an Arkansas man can be retried.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court limited the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy in cases involving multiple charges and a deadlocked jury.

New Jersey man says he killed Etan Patz

By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:17:00 GMT

New York City police say Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, N.J., admits to killing the 6-year-old boy 33 years ago as a teen store clerk in SoHo. Investigators may find it difficult to corroborate his account.

NEW YORK — A New Jersey man who was a teenage store clerk when 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished 33 years ago Friday told police he lured the boy into the store with promises of a soda, strangled him, then dumped the body into an alley — a dramatic confession that could solve one of the country's most chilling missing-child mysteries.

Crystals can help predict volcano eruptions, scientists say

By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:08:00 GMT

Research on Mt. St. Helens links the movement of underground magma to warning signs such as earthquakes and gas emissions.

Scientists dissecting the remains of the disastrous 1980 explosion of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state say that crystal formations trapped in volcanic rocks hold important clues about when a magma-loaded mountain is about to blow — a discovery that could help volcanologists make more accurate predictions about future eruptions.

Etan Patz: N.Y. police holding person in 1979 missing-child case

By Tina Susman — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:20:00 GMT

New York police on Thursday had someone in custody in connection with one of the city's and country's most gripping missing-child cases.

New York police on Thursday had someone in custody in connection with one of the city's and country's most gripping missing-child cases: that of Etan Patz , a 6-year-old boy who vanished off a Manhattan street in 1979 on his way to school.

NYPD: Person implicated in Etan Patz death

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:03:00 GMT

The New York City police commissioner says a person who's in custody has implicated himself in the disappearance and death of Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) 33 years ago.

H.H. Brookins dies at 86; pastor was influential black leader

By Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

The mentor to Mayor Tom Bradley, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and others was the bishop and pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.

The Rev. Hamel Hartford Brookins, an influential bishop and former pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles who became a political power broker, civil rights leader and mentor to former Mayor Tom Bradley, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and many others, has died. He was 86.

Still no verdict in John Edwards trial

By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Jurors complete a fourth day of deliberations in the campaign finance trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards. They will resume Thursday.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — For a fourth day Wednesday, the jury in the John Edwards trial deliberated without reaching a verdict in a case focused on an illicit affair and federal campaign finance laws.

Officials helped makers of Osama bin Laden film, documents show

By Kim Geiger, Washington Bureau — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Pentagon and CIA papers show the agencies granted privileges to director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, including access to a Navy SEAL and a CIA 'vault.' There is no indication that classified information was shared.

WASHINGTON — In the months after the U.S. militarymission that killed Osama bin Laden, Pentagon officials met with Hollywood filmmakers and gave them special access in an effort to influence the creation of a film about the operation, newly released documents show.

Romney makes his case on education

By Paul West, Washington Bureau — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Mitt Romney, in a speech to the Latino Coalition in Washington, attacks Obama's education policies and blames teachers unions' influence for preventing needed reforms.

WASHINGTON — Targeting an issue popular with women, a key voter group, Mitt Romney assailed President Obama's leadership on education Wednesday and blamed teachers unions for problems facing American schools.

Obama rebuts GOP charges on U.S. influence

By Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

In an address to the Air Force Academy's graduating class, President Obama emphasizes the nation's leadership role in the world, countering GOP claims that he has 'led from behind.'

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — President Obama pushed back against the idea of U.S. influence being in decline — and against Republican criticism of his stewardship — telling the Air Force Academy's graduating class that around the world "there's a new confidence in our leadership."

Cheetah cubs being raised by hand at D.C. zoo

From the Associated Press — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:56:00 GMT

There's one male and one female, the survivors in a 4-cub litter. "I'm thrilled that we have two," says one veterinarian.

Two cheetah cubs have a new home at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and are being raised by human hands after a risky birth last month at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.

Secret Service director says Colombia prostitution scandal was isolated incident

By Brian Bennett, Washington Bureau — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:11:00 GMT

Mark Sullivan assures a Senate panel that there's no evidence of a wider culture of reckless partying and that President Obama's safety was not compromised.

WASHINGTON — The prostitution scandal that has embroiled the Secret Service is not evidence of a wider culture of boozing and paying for sex among those who are trained to take a bullet for the president, the director of the agency told skeptical senators.

CIA discloses names of 15 killed in line of duty

By Ken Dilanian, Washington Bureau — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

The CIA publicly acknowledges 15 of its operatives, some previously identified as State Department workers, who were killed in the last 30 years.

WASHINGTON — The CIA on Tuesday disclosed the names of 15 of its operatives killed in the line of duty over the last 30 years, the result of a new effort to honor fallen officers whose sacrifices had long gone unrecognized by all but a few.

Colorado is latest to reconsider zero-tolerance school policies

By Jenny Deam and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Shortly after a 6-year-old boy was suspended for singing a pop song to a girl — deemed sexual harassment — Colorado moved to ease disciplinary policies in schools, as other states have.

AURORA, Colo. — On May 2, D'Avonte Meadows, a 6-year-old with an infectious grin and rambunctious streak, was suspended for three days from Sable Elementary in suburban Denver for crooning "[I'm] Sexy and I Know It" to a girl in lunch line.

John Edwards jury requests more exhibits

By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

On the third day of deliberations in John Edwards' campaign finance trial, jurors request two more prosecution exhibits, bringing the total number to more than a dozen.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A third day of jury deliberations in the campaign finance trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards passed without a verdict Tuesday, with the jurors due back in federal court Wednesday morning.

'Stroller Brigade' rolls out for Safe Chemicals Act

By Ian Duncan, Washington Bureau — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Families and activists turn out to support Senate Democrats' Safe Chemicals Act, which would strengthen monitoring of toxic chemicals in consumer products. Chemical manufacturers say the act is seriously flawed.

WASHINGTON — Moms, a few dads and some children gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to urge Congress to strengthen the federal government's powers to regulate harmful chemicals.

U.S. goes after ex-Mexican governor's Texas property

Associated Press — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

— The former governor of a Mexican state bordering Texas accepted millions in bribes from drug cartels and invested the money in Texas real estate, federal prosecutors alleged in two forfeiture cases filed Tuesday.

Defense says Muslim soldier never built bomb

Associated Press — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Prosecutors say Naser Jason Abdo was close to completion and planned to 'commit mass murder' and 'martyr himself' in a terrorist attack outside Ft. Hood, Texas.

WACO, Texas — A Muslim soldier was stopped just hours before completing assembly of a bomb that he planned to detonate at a restaurant full of Ft. Hood troops, prosecutors said during opening statements at his federal trial Tuesday.

Paul Ryan coy on whether he'd join the GOP ticket

By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:58:00 GMT

Rep. Paul Ryan, who is considered a contender to be Mitt Romney's running mate, is predictably evasive in addressing the question during an appearance at the Reagan library in Simi Valley.

It is a ritual of the vice presidential audition: A contender for the role of running mate tries to profess just enough interest, but not too much.

Hawaii documents Obama's birth for Arizona

Associated Press — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:40:00 GMT

The states appear to have resolved a months-long dispute that could have kept the president's name off the ballot in November.

HONOLULU — The state of Hawaii has verified President Obama's birth records to Arizona's elections chief after a nearly three-month back-and-forth that Arizona officials had said could have ended without the incumbent's name on its November ballot.

Ann Romney and dressage: A pricey private world

By Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Testimony in a lawsuit — from which she was eventually dropped — reveals the would-be first lady's passionate engagement in dressage, a sport she believes helps her deal with multiple sclerosis.

It was the end of a long day in a stuffy Simi Valley office building. Ann Romney had been under oath for more than four hours, testifying in a sometimes contentious deposition about a pricey horse she sold that may or may not have been afflicted with a condition that made him unrideable.