DJ Cassidy provided the soundtrack as the ceremonial roll call of the states was held at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) While delegates gleefully cast their ceremonial votes for Vice President Kamala Harris to be their presidential nominee at Tuesday night’s Democratic National Convention, a … Read more
In the waning days of his presidency, Bill Clinton promised to use his clemency powers to help low-level drug offenders languishing in prison. When Carlos Vignali walked out of prison on Jan. 20 and returned home to his family in Los Angeles, he appeared to fit the broad outlines of that profile. But the 30-year-old … Read more
Ninety-one-year-old Constantine Socrates Savalas stepped on the stage at Los Angeles Valley College’s music recital hall and surveyed the younger faces before him. “I stand before you as a witness to the destruction of ships and destroyers at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941,” said Savalas, briefly describing the surprise attack by the Japanese that … Read more
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) set off a bipartisan tempest Tuesday by warning that President Clinton had “better watch out” for his safety if he travels to military bases in North Carolina, prompting the White House to suggest that Helms be denied chairmanship of a key Senate committee. After GOP leaders delicately distanced themselves from Helms’ … Read more
Los Angeles television and radio commentator Bruce Herschensohn launched a second straight bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, announcing the formation of an exploratory committee that he hopes will boost him into the seat to be vacated by Democrat Alan Cranston. Herschensohn, 58, is the second Republican to seek the retiring Cranston’s seat, and … Read more
An Orange County Superior Court judge has criticized the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and two of California’s best-known political consultants for “hoodwinking” the public with fraudulent fund-raising tactics in the 1980s. Superior Court Judge Donald E. Smallwood said this week that the anti-tax Jarvis group, along with consultants William Butcher and Arnold Forde, raised money … Read more
Since a government raid near Waco, Tex., turned into a fiery disaster two years ago, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno has steadfastly defended her decision to storm the besieged compound of the Branch Davidian religious sect and cited a need to rescue the 24 children inside from unsafe and worsening conditions. But as the episode becomes … Read more
Despite February polls showing President Bush losing his early reelection lead, he’s still the favorite. No modern president running unopposed in his party’s primaries and caucuses has ever lost in November. But there may be a key to undoing that precedent. The two Bush presidencies are so closely linked, especially over Iraq, that the 43rd … Read more
A worker moves rolls of sheet metal at a Laredo, Texas, plant that is dependent on Mexico trade spurred by NAFTA. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) As American political footballs go, trade deals rank second probably only to the Affordable Care Act. The Trans-Pacific Partnership was thrown for an enormous loss during the presidential campaign … Read more
Is it in the public’s best interest for law enforcement factions to become politically active in the election of city council candidates? A close look at the activities of local police and fire associations and the district attorney in our local elections reveals some issues that taxpayers and voters should consider. The most blatant law … Read more