Politics

After an extraordinary bicoastal judicial duel kept his fate in doubt throughout the night, Robert Alton Harris died in San Quentin’s gas chamber at sunrise Tuesday, becoming the first person executed in California in 25 years. Harris, 39, was pronounced dead at 6:21 a.m., just 36 minutes after the U. S. Supreme Court overturned the … Read more

Patricia Roberts Harris, a Pullman waiter’s daughter whose intellect and plain-spoken manner propelled her to two Cabinet posts in the Jimmy Carter Administration, died of cancer Saturday. She was 60. Claire Fiori, a spokeswoman for George Washington University Hospital, said Harris died at 2:11 a.m. She had been admitted to the hospital Wednesday as part … Read more

The most feared man in Washington state politics may be a giggling, pasty-faced watch salesman who’s about to take himself on another ride. “Hoo-ha!” he likes to say. “This is Tim Eyman!” In four short years, the man known around these parts as the initiative king has risen from suburban obscurity to become the Moses … Read more

Democratic state Sen. Josh Newman, left, lost reelection to Republican Steven Choi (Los Angeles Times) A University of California workers union was successful in its fight to oust an Orange County Democrat from the state Senate after he did not support a bill it backed in the Legislature. But in doing so, the union may … Read more

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of Defense, speaks with reporters after a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill in November 2024. (Rod Lamkey / Associated Press) In a normal presidential transition, the president-elect spends weeks carefully considering candidates for the most important jobs in his Cabinet. Potential nominees undergo rigorous private vetting … Read more

The fall of the Kadafi regime is a victory for Libya, the Middle East and the world, said U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had been strong advocates for U.S. military intervention in the months-long conflict. “Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat … Read more

Steve Garvey won’t be able to attend, but yachtsman Dennis Conner is supposed to be there. The Republican members of San Diego County’s congressional delegation are being invited to share the stage, and some of the Democrats might get invited too. Vice President George Bush is going to Escondido on Friday, and everyone is trying … Read more

After more than a decade of criticizing California’s nursing home operators, the Little Hoover Commission turned its spotlight on medical doctors at a public hearing Friday, accusing physicians of neglect and poor treatment of rest home patients. Doctors were accused by the state commission of making rushed “gang visits” to as many as 50 patients … Read more

When Mayor Richard Riordan recently introduced his second budget, he hailed his usual priorities–crime and a better business climate–and endorsed a new one–improving the lives of families and neighborhoods. His budget, overall, reflects the ideas of his many task forces–an inevitable breath of fresh air after a long incumbency–and the experience his Administration gained last … Read more

A federal jury convicted an infertility specialist, who admitted inseminating patients with his own semen, of 52 counts of fraud and perjury Wednesday. On the fourth day of jury deliberations in Alexandria, Va., Dr. Cecil Jacobson was found guilty of lying to women about the identity of the sperm donor used in their artificial insemination … Read more