Deasy wants 30% of teacher evaluations based on test scores

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy announced Friday that as much as 30% of a teacher's evaluation will be based on student test scores,...

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Romanian movie 'Child's Pose' wins at Berlin fest

BERLIN (AP) — Romanian director Calin Peter Netzer's movie "Child's Pose" has won the top Golden Bear award at the annual Berlin film festival.A runner-up Silver Bear went to Danis Tanovic's "An Episode In the Life of an Iron Picker," in which a Bosnian Roma, or gypsy, couple re-enact their own struggle to get treatment after their baby died in the womb. Nazif Mujic, the husband, was voted best actor...

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Livestrong Tattoos as Reminder of Personal Connections, Not Tarnished Brand

As Jax Mariash went under the tattoo needle to have “Livestrong” emblazoned on her wrist in bold black letters, she did not think about Lance Armstrong or doping allegations, but rather the 10 people affected by cancer she wanted to commemorate in ink. It was Jan. 22, 2010, exactly a year since the disease had taken the life of her stepfather. After years of wearing yellow Livestrong wristbands, she...

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BMW recalls 3 Series, 1 Series and Z4 models for stalling

BMW is recalling about 500,000 vehicles in the U.S., including recent model year 3 Series sedans, its most popular vehicle,...

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'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius weeps as he faces murder charge

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee revered in South Africa for overcoming his...

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Judge: Kardashian divorce ready for trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge says Kim Kardashian's divorce case is ready for trial.Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney says a trial date should be set and Kardashian's estranged husband, Kris Humphries, has had adequate time to prepare.Moloney's ruling Friday in Los Angeles came after months of wrangling between lawyers for when a trial can be set to end the former couple's marriage.Humphries wants...

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Well: Winter Fruit Desert Recipes

Whether you are looking for an extra dose of vitamins or just love the flavors of fruit, winter is a time of abundance at the fruit stand. Martha Rose Shulman writes:When I lived in Europe I got hooked on blood oranges, small oranges with dark ruby red pulp and mottled orange-red skins. Their flavor is deep and multidimensional, with nuances of berries and cherries. And like berries, cherries and...

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Impact of Carnival Triumph mishap may not last, experts say

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Oscar Pistorius remains in jail facing murder charge

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who made history last year as the first double amputee...

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Miss America heads back to Atlantic City, NJ

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Miss America, Atlantic City's prodigal pageant, is coming home, and the spectacle that became synonymous with the New Jersey seaside resort is being assured all is forgiven after a six-year fling in Las Vegas.The pageant will be back where it started 93 years ago and where it was fixture until 2006, when organizers moved to Nevada in the hopes of attracting a younger TV...

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U.S. Approves First Method to Give the Blind Limited Vision

The F.D.A. Approves a Bionic Eye: The Argus II allows Barbara Campbell, who lost her sight 20 years ago, to see the world through patterns of light. Scientists hope it is the beginning of even more treatments.The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first treatment to give limited vision to people who are blind, involving a technology called the “artificial retina.” With...

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Toyota settles with 29 states, American Samoa over recall issues

Used Cars Dealer and private-party ads Make: Model: Price Range: to Search within: miles of ZIP ...

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Dorner manhunt: Investigators work to ID charred human remains

After what LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called "a bittersweet night," investigators Wednesday were in the process of identifying...

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Actress considers deal in NY Baldwin stalking case

NEW YORK (AP) — A Canadian actress accused of stalking Alec Baldwin is considering a plea deal.Genevieve Sabourin (JEHN'-uh-veev SAB'-oo-rihn) appeared Wednesday in a Manhattan court. The case was adjourned until Thursday as she and prosecutors try to hammer out a deal.Sabourin lives in Quebec and has acted in television and film.She and Baldwin met on the set of the 2002 sci-fi comedy "The Adventures...

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Southern California home prices rise; foreclosures fall statewide

Southern California’s housing market in January posted strong median home price gains as new foreclosure starts plummeted dramatically...

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Ex-Bell officials defend themselves as honorable public servants

Less than three years ago, they were handcuffed and taken away in a case alleged to be so extensive that the district attorney...

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Life imitates film in story of vengeful LA ex-cop

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It sounds like the plot line to a movie: He's a former LA cop on a violent, rage-filled rampage who will stop at nothing for revenge.Instead, police say, it is the latest real-life crime story to grip Southern California, a place where fiction frequently blurs with reality and pop culture often plays larger than the truth.Christopher Dorner's alleged killing spree hasn't just terrorized...

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Well: Straining to Hear and Fend Off Dementia

At a party the other night, a fund-raiser for a literary magazine, I found myself in conversation with a well-known author whose work I greatly admire. I use the term “conversation” loosely. I couldn’t hear a word he said. But worse, the effort I was making to hear was using up so much brain power that I completely forgot the titles of his books.A senior moment? Maybe. (I’m 65.) But for me, it’s complicated...

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Four in 10 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, study says

More than four in 10 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and nearly one in 10 doesn’t earn enough to pay for essentials,...

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Grammys 2013: Fun., Mumford, Gotye lead a newer generation

Grammy Awards voters gave their top honor to British roots music band Mumford & Sons for their album "Babel" on Sunday at...

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Grammy audience down, still 2nd highest since 1993

NEW YORK (AP) — While the Grammy Awards couldn't come close to the freakishly high ratings generated in 2012 because of Whitney Houston's death and Adele's smashing success, this year's show had the second-largest audience for the program since 1993.The Nielsen company said Monday that music's annual awards show was seen by 28.4 million people Sunday night on CBS.The Grammys this year were packed...

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Catholic Bishops Reject Contraception Compromise

The bishops said they would continue fighting the federal mandate in court. The administration said the proposal, issued last Friday, would guarantee free employee coverage of birth control “while respecting religious concerns” of organizations that objected to paying or providing for it. The bishops said the proposal seemed to address part of their concern about the definition of religious...

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