Politics

Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) says he was just responding to Japanese criticism when he told workers they “should draw a mushroom cloud and put under it: ‘Made in America by lazy and illiterate Americans and tested in Japan.’ ” Hollings said he used the World War II image of the atomic bombs dropped on … Read more

A federal inquiry into the activities of celebrity fund-raiser Aaron Tonken is examining his involvement with a $1-million Hollywood political event for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, according to people familiar with the investigation. The inquiry raises the stakes in a longstanding controversy that has pitted Bill and Hillary Clinton against some of their … Read more

Comedian Paul Rodriguez at the Conga Room last year. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez was arrested after police allegedly found narcotics in his vehicle during a traffic stop on Friday night in Burbank. Burbank Police Sgt. Stephen Turner said Rodriguez, 70, was a passenger in a vehicle that was … Read more

Karine Jean-Pierre, pictured in November, is the new White House press secretary. She is taking over from Jen Psaki at a difficult time for the Biden administration. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) As a young staffer working in the Obama White House, Karine Jean-Pierre was surprised the first time she struck up a conversation with … Read more

When an obscure nonprofit group attacked one of California’s signature green-energy projects this summer — warning a congressional panel that the embrace of solar energy would lead to crippling hikes in electricity bills — officials in the state shrugged off the testimony as noise from the fringe. With Donald Trump’s election, however, that group, the … Read more

Here are excerpts from testimony Friday by Anita Faye Hill before the Senate Judiciary Committee on allegations that she was sexually harassed by Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas: (Hill, under questioning fro m Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), describing behavior that Thomas allegedly engaged in while Hill’s boss.) Hill: I recall at least one … Read more

A day after California lawmakers decried a renewed call from U.S. Atty. Gen Jeff Sessions to strip so-called sanctuary cities of federal funds, an appearance Tuesday by the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Sacramento town hall meeting touched off emotional reactions from protesters and officials there seeking answers about deportations and other … Read more

Blocked from speaking this week at the GOP’s national convention 30 miles away in San Diego, maverick conservative Patrick J. Buchanan gave a passionate speech in exile here Sunday night, calling for a new Republican Party imbued with a “conservatism of the heart.” “Our dream was to create a new Republican Party of Main street, … Read more

Democratic National Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. suggested Wednesday that Democratic congressional leaders consider eliminating Social Security benefits for people “who have no real need for them.” In a breakfast interview with reporters in Los Angeles, Kirk also suggested that Democratic leaders consider an across-the-board budget freeze for one year–including a cap on Social Security … Read more

For seven years, the state of California turned a blind eye to the deadliest prison in America, where 50 inmates were wounded or shot dead by guards. Gov. Pete Wilson and the man who wants to succeed him, Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, finally launched an examination of Corcoran State Prison that ended last year. The … Read more