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COLUMN ONE
So does Chris Johnson, a denim detective who sniffs out fakes so that major designers can sue the people who sell and profit from them.
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COLUMN ONE
Adults who came to Pueblos Unidos for haircuts as children still patronize the shop, with new generations in tow. >>
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Kean University students visit the dead, the dying and convicted murderers. Along the way, they learn to value what they have. >>
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Boat jousting takes place on the waterfront, and honor is on the line. >>
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Residents in the Naples area have higher rates of cancer and other diseases. Activists who fight back have been threatened and witnesses killed. >>
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Bertha Means, 88, has long stood up for civil rights. This week in Denver she sat down and cried. >>
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After a life hemmed in by service to others, including three sons, a big corporation and an alcoholic husband, a Torrance woman jump-starts her vision. >>
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Yoga, French poetry, pizza making -- the international forces stationed there give war-weary residents a respite from their cares. >>
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With no evidence of speeding, drunk driving or other malfeasance, a jury found George Damaa guilty in a car accident that killed three. He spent two years in jail and is now obsessed with the case. >>
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Joe Sanderson traveled the world for years until his death amid leftist rebels fighting El Salvador's U.S.-backed military regime. More than 25 years later, a diary he kept reveals details about his life. >>
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Film credits from the 1920s reveal imprecision in copyright claims that some experts say could invalidate Disney's long-held copyright. >>
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Near Area 51, a solitary mailbox -- white -- is the only landmark for miles around. It has become the subject of UFO lore and a magnet for true believers on the state-christened Extraterrestrial Highway. >>
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Austin and Howard Raishbrook, each equipped with scanners and cameras, roam freeways and byways, shooting fires and wrecks for TV. >>
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Ahmad the rapper has put out 'insightful' music while denouncing his industry's glamorization of violence. Ahmad the scholar got a full ride to Stanford and dreams of earning a doctorate. >>
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A Florida law requiring such businesses to post hefty bonds is on hold -- but fellow Cuban Americans hoping to visit family are afraid to buy tickets. Mario Romero says hard-liners don't understand. >>
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The pair tackle their biggest job yet: finding homes for Michael Vick's battle-scarred animals. >>
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After decades of planning for their funerals, the dead wait months, even years, for their last rites while relatives negotiate arrangements for the perfect send-off. >>
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The scenic Columbia River and its wildlife attract visitors while a $2-billion-a-year cleanup of the area continues. >>
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Those traveling to and from the war zone in South Ossetia are physically bruised and mentally crushed. >>
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Professional musicians need more than gigs to stay afloat. One way they can make a little cash is to teach their future competitors. >>
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During a marathon session of Texas Hold 'Em in Las Vegas, a writer gets a taste of what it's like to be a big-time gambler. >>
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Julio Pimentel is trying not to let his neighborhood shop become one of the many that have been forced to close -- victims of high prices, both for rent and the food they sell. >>
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Mike Campbell has fought efforts to seize his farm. Though shaken by a brutal attack on his family by Mugabe's militiamen, he remains undeterred. >>
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More than 430 miles of highway are backed up during the first weekend of the month as the annual summer vacation exodus kicks off, conjuring apocalyptic visions. >>
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A former Marine fights nightmares of Iraq by struggling to stay awake. Millions, veteran and civilian, face a nightly battle. >>
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The Haynesville Shale may be the largest field ever discovered in the continental U.S. >>
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A friendship has taken hold between U.S. veterans of an unpopular war that ended 33 years ago and newly battle-honed soldiers from a similarly controversial conflict. >>
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August Kleinzahler has made a name for himself -- as the bad boy of American poetry -- with his fighting words, and ways. >>
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Nearly 40 years after the psychedelic splash of 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' the bickering puppeteers believe their time has finally come. >>
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With the breathtaking moments of history come many perils -- all manner of diseases, nights on the floor in remote areas without indoor plumbing. Not to mention the bullets and missiles dodged. >>
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Thomas Weller has been on a mission to aid stranded motorists since 1966. But gas prices have cut into his good deeds. >>
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The Libertarian Party candidate thinks the GOP, which he once served with gusto, has run off the rails. Some Republicans worry their quirky former colleague will spoil McCain's chances. >>
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Because Evaristo Suarez twice entered this country illegally, he must wait 10 years before he can apply to legally return. His wife, Heather, and three children wait with him amid Tijuana's perils. >>
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The head of the U.S. Humane Society has retooled the organization from a mild-mannered protector of dogs and cats into an aggressive group flexing its muscle on behalf of all animals. >>
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It's as much of a movement as it is a way of moving. Some see the trend as simply a tool to sell merchandise. And it's starting to go mainstream, which may mean it's about to lose its cool. >>
COLUMN ONE
Among Sgt. Joseph Derrick's belongings, sent home to his mother in South Carolina after his death, was a flash drive full of photos. He was going to narrate their stories for her. Now she translates them to canvas. >>
COLUMN ONE
Trying to bridge the grade divide in L.A. schools: Lincoln High students have candid ideas. >>
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A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving the women in a murky world with no recourse when things go wrong. >>
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In 2004, Kim Quickel thought the days chronicling her son's battle were over. But she's back in front of the computer, as the Orange County teen is threatened by leukemia. >>
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Its maker now sells more of the thick, muddy stuff in Nigeria than it does in Ireland. 'Boodweiser' . . . it's enough to curl an old-timer's lip. >>
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Abdul-Rahman Mahaini says he hacks into programs because U.S. sanctions block their sale in his country. But he is not above helping Western clients. >>
COLUMN ONE
Carl Hodges is growing salicornia, a crop nourished by ocean water that holds the potential to provide food and fuel to millions. >>
COLUMN ONE
Illegal immigrants are ferried through this once unspoiled natural kingdom where drug traffickers land planes in fields carved from ancient forests. Even the trees aren't safe. >>
COLUMN ONE
Reid Hoffman's vision of the Web as a means to connect people, not just computers, has shaped his role in some of its most successful ventures. >>
COLUMN ONE
They post their drawings of fellow commuters on public websites and befriend other such artists via chat groups, blogs and Facebook pages. >>
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A tricked-out muscle car on the streets of Baghdad can turn heads, tempt carjackers or anger fundamentalists. What's a gear head to do? Floor it. >>
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Police told a gang member a girl he knew had identified him as a killer. Soon she was dead. >>
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Soccer, a frowned on activity in their home country, becomes a passion. >>
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With demand sky high for caterpillar fungus, a prized ingredient in traditional medicine said to boost energy and immunity, the Tibetan nomads who gather it are enjoying a windfall. >>
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Phil Holmes has taught English for decades, first to the privileged but lately to the disadvantaged. His method and his intensity make a solid connection with both extremes. >>
COLUMN ONE
Rafid Ahmed Alwan talks publicly for the first time. Charges that he fabricated intelligence that helped lead to war in Iraq are themselves fiction, he insists. >>
COLUMN ONE
The young president has silenced dissent, pacified the Russian republic and embarked on a massive reconstruction campaign. His critics are hard to find, because they have a habit of disappearing. >>
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The 10-year-old was married off to a man in his 30s who abused her. She made her way to a courthouse, found a lawyer and broke free. >>
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Those who wear their guns in full sight are part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm a common accessory. >>
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Francisco Marroquin University is a bastion of libertarianism, drawing potshots from both sides of the political spectrum. >>
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The performance artist donned bridal attire -- to signify the 'marriage' of cultures and the building of trust -- and hitchhiked toward the Mideast. She didn't make it. >>
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Cities like Baldwin Park are turning away from ethnic-oriented retail projects in favor of mainstream businesses. Starbucks is welcome. >>
COLUMN ONE
At a corner cart known for its faoul, a bean dish, customers seek sustenance and commiserate over the soaring cost of food in Egypt. >>
COLUMN ONE
The desert town, feeling slighted for years, considers joining booming Nevada or Arizona. But there are doubts on both sides of the Colorado River. >>
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A developer and his partners spend tens of millions on a golf and resort home project in the Anza-Borrego community, raising hopes and apprehensions. >>
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A village mayor had a vision: build a field and spark interest in baseball. It did, just barely. But what a ballpark. >>
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Basir Beria just wants to make kites. But even after a movie brought attention to his sport, the reality of making a living ties him down. >>
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Erica Ford washes and repairs their uniforms, along with those of other teams. But she's not cleaning up when it comes to salary. >>
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With rising gas prices and concern over auto emissions, more workers are taking to two wheels. But they must navigate an obstacle course of anarchic traffic conditions. >>
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One Palestinian decided to give up his weapons in hopes of gaining amnesty and a new start. His younger brother followed a different road. >>
ISLAM IN A NEW WORLD
The new film, based on the Islamic version of Jesus' life, depicts him as a prophet rather than the son of God. Its director says he wants to further understanding. >>
COLUMN ONE
'The Corn,' 'Washbag' and others were eccentric and beloved. Their era is ending, but patrons forged bonds not easily forgotten. >>
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The son of eastern European Jewish immigrants has devoted his life to playing and promoting the blues. He's calling his CD 'Old School Blues.' >>
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A decrepit lab in Abkhazia reassures a would-be nation of its place in the world. It's harder to console the forlorn primates held there. >>
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In the serialized radio drama 'BodyLove,' characters wrestle with diabetes and high blood pressure along with traditional soap-opera problems. They get through to audiences in a way doctors can't. >>
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Ken Layton is battling the convict in his head. So far, he's winning. Experts say in many respects, it's a matter of mind over prison. >>
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With the inflation rate at 100,000%, educators simply can't afford to teach. They are fleeing to take menial, but better-paying jobs -- leaving students behind. >>
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An arts school is an oasis for children who keep culture alive despite war and threats from extremists. >>
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A reporter whose '89 Camry was 'made to be stolen' didn't expect a threepeat. Next to other crimes, he realizes, it's not the end of the road. >>
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Peter Davenport runs the National UFO Reporting Center from an abandoned missile complex in Washington state. He is passionate that there is something out there. >>
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The close ties between an Iraqi general and a U.S. military advisor underscore efforts to strengthen the Mideast nation's new army. >>
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When country musician David Serby goes looking for his biological parents, he finds the root of his artistic talent -- and a brother to boot. >>
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Where's that power pole? And the guy who said he photographed a flying saucer above it? Two down-to-earth private eyes want to know. >>
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Traditional zanjeros have long shepherded water in the West. In a region ravaged by drought, they're being bypassed by automation. Audio slideshow >>
COLUMN ONE
To support her family, an undocumented worker gathers recyclables from street-side containers. 'I do it out of necessity,' she says.
Audio photo gallery | >> COLUMN ONE
A Beijing-born former fashion executive is on a quest to bring the South China tiger back from the brink of extinction through her reserve in South Africa and silence her detractors. >>
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The policy of clearing California's institutions is nearing the end. Left are the cases that are most difficult to relocate. >>
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Two mass killers used Eric Thompson's online store, but he considers guns a deterrent. >>
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Myanmar's famous comedy troupe, unable to publicly stage its satirical routines, still pokes fun at the ruling generals nightly at home. "Joking shares the suffering," says one member. >>
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Mohamed Fikry loved his frequent-flier status. But after he was yanked from a flight as a terror suspect, his loyalty to the airline was tested. >>
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A Salvadoran is returned to his native land, leaving one family behind and reuniting with another. >>
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For access to Silicon Valley camaraderie and capital, you can't beat the informal Founders spread. >>
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A group of San Diego County homeowners who rebuilt knew they had a mission when disaster struck again in October. >>
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Joe Cook found joy in baseball after he fled Cambodia's killing fields. He's driven, perhaps obsessed, to bring the game home. >>
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Australia's wild horses are being shot to preserve the environment. One woman is determined to save them. >>
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A team of historians scours the country for any scrap or document written by or to the 16th president. Even the tiniest message can be a revelation. >>
Column One
The country is a fast-growing producer of kosher-certified food. But inspection and approval require a cultural balancing act -- how do you explain the Book of Leviticus in an atheist nation? >>
COLUMN ONE
He is grieved by his inability to make peace between liberals and conservatives in his own faith. It's a battle that has left him estranged from the Southern Baptist Convention. >>
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A new nose or derriere can be had on the installment plan. 'Now beauty is no more a luxury,' a banker says. >>
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They wanted their Billings, Mont., communal home to bring them a deeper faith and a simpler life. But everyday concerns kept getting in the way. >>
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In a country where extremists rage against the cosmopolitan, Ali Saleem dons the persona -- and sari -- of a flirty middle-aged widow for a TV talk show watched by everyone from models to mullahs. >>
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A Southland group sends beauty products and other goodies to black servicewomen to nourish their souls, as well as their hair. >>
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Hip Hop High counters a neighborhood culture of extreme violence and poverty with respect, attention and the chance to make music. >>
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Research suggests the epic trek by Mao's Red Army was more of a great flight than a strategic retreat. But survivors don't buy that or other 'new thinking.' >>
COLUMN ONE
Altagracia Valdez and other Latinas are changing the face of cosmetics giant Mary Kay. They want better looks -- and finances. >>
Islam in a New World
To be the American wife of a Saudi is to forsake familiar freedoms — or enjoy them secretly — in exchange for a secure, family-centered life. >>
COLUMN ONE
Kristina Contes was known in crafting circles for her avant-garde designs, celebrating Converse sneakers and her hairless terrier, Chloe. But with one mistake, her world turned on her. >>
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A councilman from Walnut is teaching Chinese bureaucrats the U.S. way of running a municipality. And red tape is getting snipped. >>
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A commuter new to the city is haunted by the images of the poor and desperate and buoyed by glimpses of kindness she sees on the subway. >>
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'We had abortions,' say men whose lovers ended pregnancies. It isn't just a women's trauma, they insist. But critics see a political calculation. >>
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Peru's ancient 'cloud warriors' put their dead in towering walls. The Chachapoya gave way to the Inca and Spanish, but first they flourished. >>
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Not quite anything goes in the Netherlands these days. Many Dutch think their open lifestyle has gone too far; others say new limitations have. >>
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Fervent activist and magazine editor Xie Lihua aims to convince maltreated wives and daughters that they are men's equals. >>
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On dry land near Newport Bay, they toil for years to finish their boats, dreaming of a life afloat and knowing that it may never be. >>
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A strict Santa Barbara program lets people live in their cars. For some it's transitional, but others are happy with their spot on the asphalt. >>
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Even a loving family with ample financial resources is powerless against the disease. >>
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Stereotypes, language skills and the lowest price come into play as black Americans and Latino immigrants compete on an Atlanta street. >>
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A Palestinian fights in court for a hill his family has held since 1916. But Jewish neighbors say the farm should be theirs. >>
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Stained with the blood of a journalist killed in Iraq, it bonds two women -- the widow who loved him and the translator who served him. >>
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The barrio figurines left their creator rich but unfulfilled. Then he cast his brother as a model of mutual redemption. >>
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Granjeno on the Rio Grande has outlasted the rule of Spain, Mexico and the Republic of Texas. Now the border fence aims for its heart. >>
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The five friends played football, partied -- and occasionally brawled. Now they're accused of killing a surfer. La Jolla mourns and asks: Why? >>
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Lisa Misraje Bentley was a bored U.S. homemaker when she reluctantly went to China with her family to open an orphanage. A charred baby boy would change everything. >>
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On Southern California's freeways, the numbers -- and the physics -- are against anyone walking. The circumstances may vary, but the result is too often a death. >>
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The two Iranians were of opposite worlds, one secular and rich, the other pious and poor. In post-revolutionary Tehran, they built a friendship and a business. >>
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When those descending into mental illness commit a crime, their chances of getting needed help can dissolve when law enforcement arrives. >>
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Despite being portrayed as hip gunslingers, the unskilled workers who toil for traffickers are an expendable lot who often die in obscurity. >>
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A man seeking Confederate gold and his own family's hidden history uncovers a cryptic trail that may stretch back to a secret society and Jesse James. >>
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Westerner Edwin Maher reads government 'news' for Beijing TV. He ignores those who call him a sellout. >>
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Travis Claridge, a high school and USC football star, achieved his goal of playing in the NFL. But injuries took their toll, as did the painkillers. >>
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With one driver for every 62 residents, the Albanian and Korean cabbies drive circles around other towns. Well, it's just one circle: Only 10 miles of road are paved. >>
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A Salvadoran wanted to help the environment and his country's poor. Instead, his acclaimed invention has cost him his family and savings. >>
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Of Iran's 27,000 attorneys, perhaps no more than 100 take politically charged cases. They brave insults, assaults and jail. >>
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Technology is bringing the ivory tower to big rigs and fishing boats, offering the chance to study existentialism or theoretical physics. >>
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They make up one-fifth of the population, but are rarely seen on TV. A programmer adds shows and alters popular ones in a push to change that. >>
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Portraying love and loss in black and white, a group of photographers gives parents cherished images of their dead or dying newborns. >>
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L.A. gang unit cops slow their pace when it's calm. Suddenly, shots are heard, then screams, sirens and police radios. >>
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Strong but not lethal, effective but not ugly: The U.S. is looking for a barrier along the border with Mexico that will say 'keep out' -- nicely. >>
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With hyperinflation at 7,900% and people using up their savings just buying food, life has been reduced to the queue. >>
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Aging homeowners find practical benefits in opening their doors to younger roommates. Sometimes, they forge strong bonds. >>
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The murder victim was found Oct. 31, 1984, and her three sisters never gave up hope for justice. This Halloween, things will finally be different. >>
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In a mountain mecca, a former hunter uses tough love instead of lethal force to keep wayward ursines in line. >>
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And Steve Arnold is there to pick up the pieces of sky, in Kansas or Chile or Oman. Don't laugh: His meteorites are worth a bundle. >>
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Fire statistics, raw emotions, stories of heroism and despair. It's all too familiar to Southern Californians. >>
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Firefighters in San Diego County sensed from the start that they were outmatched this time. Maddeningly intense blazes met explosive suburban growth. >>
COLUMN ONE
Ramona Airport is the hub for San Diego's air assault. But the runway caught fire. Then the water failed. And the planes went elsewhere. |