As many Americans nursed full bellies on the morning after Thanksgiving, they also gave merchants an early start this holiday shopping season. While many lined stores early Friday morning, sales nonetheless fell short of Wall Street’s ambitious expectations. Read more...

In the basement of Young Research Library, rare manuscripts that have sat untouched for sometimes over 40 years are being discovered by graduate students working in the Center for Primary Research and Training. Read more...

County money spent without public input LOS ANGELES “”mdash; The five members of the county’s Board of Supervisors over the last five years have dispersed more than $11 million of taxpayer dollars without public notice or a public vote. Read more...

Closing the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center’s trauma unit will save the County of Los Angeles money, but likely at the cost of lives. For years, the King/Drew Medical Center has been plagued by mismanagement and service quality problems. Read more...

A destructive new federal spending bill awaiting President Bush’s signature would slash the number of students eligible for Pell Grants. The bill, likely to be approved by the president, will further erode the nation’s already-fragile public university system. Read more...

We don’t need to worry about the separation of church and state. Rev. Jerry Falwell and televangelist Pat Robertson are taking care of it for us. Read more...

Mher Alaverdyan is hiding an eager grin with his clenched fist as he watches two actors reading lines from his screenplay, vying for his approval and auditioning for roles in his directorial debut. Read more...