Retired cops often guard film and TV shoots. Chief Bratton wants to do away with that and use only active-duty officers.

Democrats need to temper their expectations; their candidate inspires, but there is plenty of hard work ahead.

No-fly lists and photo IDs are supposed to help protect the flying public from terrorists. Except that they don't work.

At the conventions, they'll try to stir up red-blue divisions. But most Americans hold un-partisan views.

College presidents are wrong. Data clearly show the damage done by letting 18- to 20 year-olds drink.

Abortion is again being used as a wedge issue to win votes for the GOP.

Prime Minister Maliki's Shiite-dominated government risks security gains by taking on U.S.-backed Sunni forces.

Jonathan Crutchley discovers how intolerant the gay community can be.

His choice of Biden for the ticket reveals that his campaign rhetoric is just empty words.

Why are Americans so gloomy? It may be all about the yoked dog and 'learned helplessness.'

We get what we wish for in the utterly predictable political conventions.

She may grump about high gas prices, but they've reunited mother and son -- on two wheels.

Schools need to look beyond income in deciding what students and families can really afford.

Barack Obama may be courting defeat by targeting more electoral votes than are needed to claim the presidency.

Forget the promises; there's only so much a president can achieve.

From government jobs to CEO pay, it's all about who you know.

Stem cells, evolution, climate change -- some talking points for the candidates.

For the intellectually disabled and their families, it's just as bad as the "N"-word.

The U.S. tallies all medals; many other nations count only gold.

The top three medal-winning countries in Beijing as of late Thursday, and how they would score using a 1908 British system.

Pop music: In Meghan Daum's column Saturday on lip-syncing at the Olympics, the name of a movie musical was misspelled. It is "Mamma Mia!" not "Mama Mia!"

The traditional party gatherings could be crafted in a computer.

It's 1981 again, and the Russians are once again the bad guys.

Recent deadly attacks in Afghanistan and elsewhere are signs of trouble.

No matter what budget Sacramento comes up with, California voters will probably increase the deficit in 10 weeks.

The West has pushed back against Moscow's repeated attempts to establish closer ties.

The bureau's refusal to confirm or deny a criminal probe of the city attorney is pointless.

Forty years ago tomorrow, the Soviet Union invaded its satellite, Czechoslovakia, and ended a period of political liberalization known as the Prague Spring. A 21-year-old photographer, Marketa Luskacova, was there in 1968, recording the tanks, the grief, the chaos. In August 2008, the specific situation is different, but the photographic evidence from Georgia is startlingly familiar. Luskacova's Prague photos are old and new: She had abandoned her negatives when she left for Britain a few years later. Then, last year, in a cache of her father's papers, she found nine forgotten prints. Like the two published here, they document then, and resonate now.

In politics, what's fair game and what works? We asked veteran strategists from both sides of the partisan divide.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit is a sign that the West can no longer take Turkey for granted as a staunch ally against Iran.

To the Democrat, it's OK to act on a religious conviction if it serves a liberal cause.

In a region torn by conflict, the tiny country in the Caucuses leans toward the West without riling Russia.

L.A.'s biggest gangs have gone international; our law enforcement must do the same.

Activists have used increasingly dangerous tactics on researchers whose goal is to save lives.

The party's message appeals to the region's growing population of independents.

Breakaway movements such as South Ossetia's and Kosovo's tend to become proxies for the great powers.

It's a regular occurrence in American politics. Sometime toward the end of a president's run, the most powerful political leader on Earth suddenly seems to slip from view. His term of office isn't over yet, but this figure who normally invades our thoughts every day turns into a ghost of his former omnipresent self.

Forget the doom and gloom about a tanking market. You made a smart investment.

Should state or federal law prevail on medical marijuana?

California lawmakers shouldn't have to negotiate the budget in hot, humid Sacramento.

Jerome Corsi, author of a pitiful new slam on Obama, is the product of a publishing industry that feeds off extremism.

China may have played the shallow card at the Olympic opening ceremonies, but there was some true authenticity.

The country's problems won't go away when he finally steps aside.

Some bumps in the road to saving the planet.

The country has a huge budget surplus. Why isn't it paying for its own reconstruction?

Bush has spent much of his presidency making things look better than they are. He could make a career out of it.

Conventional wisdom says African Americans will vote against it; recent history says don't be so sure.

Replacing grass with fake turf won't do. Californians should let their thirsty lawns go dry.

Actions by Bush and McCain misled the country into thinking the U.S. would come to its aid.

Petty geographic animosities between local politicians may stop the half-cent sales tax increase from ever going to voters.

The U.S. bioweapons program has grown so large that it has become a threat to Americans.

Supporting independence movements can have disastrous consequences.

In the Israeli military, injuring a handcuffed Palestinian is 'conduct unbecoming' a soldier -- but less so than tying cardboard wings to an antenna.

Sending troops to help Georgia is out of the question, but the U.S. must do more than issue strongly worded statements.

Judging by his reaction to the Georgia-Russia crisis, Obama's make-believe presidency isn't ready for prime time.

Whole Foods thought it could hook Americans on its upscale fare. Then the economy tanked.

Summer Games: The byline and bio of an Op-Ed article Thursday about the Olympics misspelled the last name of the author of the essay. The correct name is Heather Havrilesky, not Heather Havrilevsky.

Yesterday's granite, gilding and mosaics were more financially reassuring than today's stucco storefronts and cheery little branches.

Despite the drumbeat of unity, the true engines of the games are nationalism and capitalism.

You may not believe it, but fuel is more affordable than it was during the early '60s.

Images of orchards created an aura, but the bucolic idealization concealed economic turmoil.

The great Russian writer almost seemed to have opened the door on his life.

How my energy fueled Rielle Hunter into a scandal.

Mao has far outlasted other 20th century dictators as a graphic icon in his country.

His 'celebrity' comes from an emotional identity with voters, not from 'rock star' hysteria.

Many people use words outside their original meaning, but does that make them wrong?

Edwards' admission signals the end of the era in which traditional media set the limits of acceptable political journalism.

The TV pep rally that surrounds the Olympic Games could prove tricky for NBC this time.

Bad week for insider hotshots, great week for snide potshots. Rob Rogers applied himself to the Justice Department hiring scandal. Mike Luckovich slammed Alaska's Ted Stevens from the Senate to the Big House. (How much would a bridge to Alcatraz cost?) And ... wait a minute, is the liberal media conspiracy breaking down? Nate Beeler was just one of many cartoonists to finger a fawning press corps for twisting campaign coverage. Patience, Nate, Obama will stumble soon enough. Word is he's appointing Dick Cheney to head his veep search committee.

A court mandate to California's prisons means rewriting some unwritten rules.

Most people, especially in L.A., think they know how to drive. But do they really know what drives traffic?

It takes redistricting away from the Legislature. Will minorities gain or lose?

His overseas tour highlights the paradoxes that benefit his campaign.

Rather than trying to fix the markets, Washington should just lay down some clear rules.

Now that the city's population has nearly stopped growing, how do we define ourselves?

Summer blockbusters provide cartoonists a welcome respite from the big stories.

California's continuing water crisis may mean the end of the state as we have known it.

IndyMac's crisis is hardly unique. Bank panics have been with us from the beginning.

A war crimes trial for Sudan's leader would be gratifying. But is it worth the price?

Thanks to 'E. coli conservatism,' weakened government watchdogs have put us all at risk.

Both the right and the left try to twist its principles to their own ends.

The rise of independent voters in California means a boost for GOP moderates.

Did we overreact to the New Yorker's controversial Obama art? Cartoonists weigh in.

California's measure to fund education has an unbeatable -- and incomprehensible -- formula.

The movie robot is pushing conservatives' buttons, but they're missing the bigger picture.

Focusing our health policy on the stigma is preventing us from dealing with the realities.

They're a small group, but they love their politics -- and only their politics.

The French are increasingly indifferent to their national holiday.

President Bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics came in the wake of brutal crackdowns in Tibet and during a week when seven peacekeepers were murdered in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China continues to underwrite the carnage.

Olympic opening ceremonies tend to be less about protest and more about pomp: Athletes parade, torches are lighted, interpretive dancers sway in time. But this year, the upcoming ceremonies in Beijing

At a news conference during last week's G-8 summit in Japan, President Bush explained why he's attending the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Games:

A father chronicles his daughter's life in its most intimate moments.

Cartoonists overseas offer their wisdom on energy policy.

The shift of economic risk to ordinary families has them staring into a financial abyss.

Policing is improved; now let's focus on the root causes of crime.

Some believe high gas prices will force a migration back to cities. Don't bet on it.

100 years ago, Lincoln's birthplace was torn by riots as whites attacked blacks -- an episode the city is only now accepting.

After five years on L.A.'s Ethics Commission, he leaves humbled, frustrated and angry.

An idea to create jobs along the L.A. River deserves a public hearing.

Patriotic cartoonists assess the state of the union.

Cartoonists stop pulling their punches on the would-be president.

If you want to know who'll pick the next president, just use the formula 4M + 2M.

What are the chances that the governor's plan to borrow against its revenues will pay off?

Thanks to Facebook, young people's questionable literary tastes are going to haunt them forever.

How editorial pages viewed California's same-sex ruling.

A new checklist indicates that we still have a long way to go when it comes to solving the problem.

The next president must free us from Bush's 'freedom agenda,' but that's not an excuse to disengage from the world.

Playing host to the Olympics may be forcing new ways on the rigid regime.

Our bodies are full of reminders -- good and bad -- of our links to all living creatures.

By working with Democrats and Republicans, the GOP governor closed a massive deficit with spending cuts and tax increases.

The GOP governor closed a major deficit by trimming government and increasing taxes.

Before the freeways, the bicycle ruled the road in L.A. It could be that way again.

The World War II-era Republican governor pushed hard for social progress -- even when it was expensive.

The postwar Democrat governed at a time when even Republicans were not averse to new taxes.

Cartoonists on the high-stakes veepstakes.

She campaigned as the ultimate Washington insider just when Democrats were clamoring for an outsider.

Removing my head covering changed how I saw myself and the world.

After years of 'breakthrough' hype, we may finally be aiming at the right target.

The league screams patriotism but is silent when the family of a patriot seeks its help.

Moving up the presidential vote to February made last week's election an also-ran and lost the state pivotal clout.

Presidential politics are sure to shake up the Bernard Parks/Mark Ridley-Thomas rematch.

Which cartoonist best captured Obama's historic victory?

America's massive military budget is irrational, costly and dangerous. Why isn't it a campaign issue?

Many years separate the two candidates, but it's not a gap you can measure with an EKG.

In its face-off with Google, Gates' empire must find a way to strike back.

Putin may be endangering Russia's future by revisiting the past.

Lack of healthcare turns federal detention into a death sentence for some immigrants.

With projects that combined business and civic pursuits, Robert Maguire defined a decade of development.

A greenhouse gas is killing off the world's coral by turning the oceans into an acid bath.

Cartoonists on Scott McClellan, Clinton's campaign and oil anxieties.

Enough with the 1968 nostalgia. It's time for boomers to stifle themselves.

Despite early bickering, Democrats and Republicans will rally around their candidates on election day.

The contest between Mark Ridley-Thomas and Bernard Parks and is steeped in L.A.'s black political history.

Forget Holmes, Marple and Poirot. The Scandinavians have a clue.

As director of the lab, Charles Elachi has had a string of successes. But a new challenge awaits on Mars.

After three tries, I can't help but be leery about California's gay rights ruling.

Cartoonists on the California court's gay marriage decision.

Businesses take to the ballot box to wage war on competitors. Thousand Oaks is only the latest battleground.

Calls for military action to force aid on Myanmar march us down a dangerous road.

The presidential candidates need to be freed from the gaffe-hunting, sound-bite-obsessed media.

Using L.A.'s transit system can be a jostling, humiliating and dangerous experience.

The former slugger hasn't just been sidelined from baseball, it's as if he has never played.

Is the new memorial statue of Martin Luther King Jr. too colossal, hulking and ... totalitarian?

Good cartoons tend to be partisan. Sometimes, there are exceptions.

After six decades, the Jewish state's hopes for peace are near death.

The planet is nearing a tipping point on climate change, and it gets much worse, fast.

America failed to heed Walter Reuther's ideas for a social safety net. But we may get a second chance.

Israelis and Palestinians must share the land. Equally.

The meddler and the martyr. That's what Achilles and Odysseus had to deal with.

The governor's second thoughts about budget votes shouldn't distract him from redistricting.