los angeles times times home and garden articles

Having given her campaign $104 million, the GOP candidate buys TV, direct mail and a Web presence. Yet she and Jerry Brown are in a competitive race.

Meg Whitman's record-breaking spending in the race for governor has enabled her campaign to blanket California with more TV ads and mailers than any other in state history, while also tapping new technologies to further broaden her reach.

Former city manager Robert Rizzo's latest contract divided his nearly $800,000 salary between his main job and various city boards. Excluding the side pay could drastically cut his retirement income.

California pension officials are investigating the pay received by former top officials of Bell with an eye toward excluding large chunks of their salaries from retirement calculations.

'Freedom' deserves to stand on its own merits. What people think about the author personally should not matter.

Although Jonathan Franzen's novel "Freedom" came out only on Tuesday, it has been the subject of impassioned debate for the better part of a month now, both in the review pages of most major media outlets — he is the first living writer to appear on the cover of Time magazine in a decade — and in the more ethereal corridors of the digital world.

The ancient and storied relic, now a gray lump that's all but ignored, might have been an altar to the goddess Diana or part of a monument erected by the Romans.

It isn't much to look at: a gray lump of rock behind an ugly metal grill, attached to an even uglier building. You have to crouch down to see it, and its admittedly modest (or maybe nonexistent) charm can seem trifling compared with the glories of St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey.

The latest government figures show hiring remains lackluster, with the nation's jobless rate rising to 9.6% in August.

Pressure on President Obama to do something about the weakening economy intensified Friday with new government data showing that hiring remains lackluster, nudging the nation's unemployment rate up to 9.6%.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Chimneys and walls crumbled to the ground, roads cracked in half and residents were knocked off their feet as a powerful magnitude-7.1 earthquake rocked New Zealand's South Island early Saturday. The prime minister said it was a miracle no one was killed.

AquAdvantage salmon would be the first gene-altered animal grown commercially for food. The agency says cross-breeding between the new fish and wild populations is 'unlikely,' but some are wary.

Genetically modified salmon safe to eat, FDA report says

Detectives believe a man was followed home from a Hawaiian Gardens casino and robbed of his winnings before being killed on a Santa Ana street this morning.

The recent killing of 72 people, from El Salvador, Honduras and other nations, as they tried to cross through Mexico into the U.S., has sent shockwaves across the continent. But many may still attempt the perilous trek.

Cayetano Flores wishes he had just said no.

Despite losing some punch, the storm still packs dangerous winds, officials warn

Hurricane Earl weakened Friday as it sped north toward New England, lashing coastal communities with heavy winds and rain while disrupting travel on the eve of a three-day weekend.