L.A. Times - Most E-mailed Stories

IPhone 3GS owners bemoan its battery life

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Buyers are finding that the device has trouble making it through a workday without a rest stop at the electrical outlet.

The new, high-octane iPhone 3GS is loaded with features that could light up your life -- but its battery isn't one of them.

Jani's at the mercy of her mind

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The parents of a 6-year-old schizophrenic search for help against daunting odds for a patient so young and a case so severe.

It's been a rough week. A few days ago, at UCLA's Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, 6-year-old Jani toppled a food cart and was confined to her room. She slammed her head against the floor, opening a bloody cut that sent her into hysterics. Later, she kicked the hospital therapy dog.

Lakers make the wrong move going with Ron Artest

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:12:00 -0700

The champs should have spent more time negotiating with Trevor Ariza and passed on the forward with a volatile past.

Less than three weeks after the parade, the NBA champion Lakers have already met the biggest threat to their throne.

Bizarre and unusual destinations around the world

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 09:21:22 -0700

Another wave of foreclosures is poised to strike

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mortgage defaults have surged to record levels amid rising unemployment and falling home prices. Lenders are expected to move quickly to clear up backlogs as moratoriums on foreclosures expire.

Just as the nation's housing market has begun showing signs of stabilizing, another wave of foreclosures is poised to strike, possibly as early as this summer, inflicting new punishment on families, communities and the still-troubled national economy.

A modern house in the treetops built around the view

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:34:51 -0700

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Waste is killing California

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Cutting fraud and waste won't solve the entire budget mess, but it needs to be done, the governor says.

In San Luis Obispo County, a 20-year-old drug abuser who was the sole caretaker for his seriously disabled father provided such poor care that, according to the grand jury in that county, the father frequently had bedsores, he was not properly cleaned, adult protective services had to be called in and, ultimately, he died before he was 60 years old. Incredibly, the son was being paid by the state, through the In-Home Supportive Services Program, for this substandard care.

Chinese drywall blamed for odors and corrosion in U.S. homes

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Health concerns are raised over the imported building material. Some drywall made with radioactive phosphogypsum, a waste byproduct, was shipped to the U.S. by at least four Chinese-based firms.

The final years of the U.S. housing boom and a disastrous series of Gulf Coast hurricanes created a golden opportunity for Chinese drywall manufacturers. With domestic suppliers unable to keep up with demand, imports of Chinese drywall to the U.S. jumped 17-fold in 2006 from the year before.

Recession-fed tensions grow in luxury hotel industry

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Owners and managers are at odds over how much to spend on keeping up deluxe properties, where bottom lines are suffering as travelers scale back.

At the tranquil Four Seasons Resort Aviara north of San Diego, a heated struggle for control of the deluxe hotel's future is playing out in a rare public spat.

Glut of oil could push gasoline prices back down below $2 a gallon

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Energy experts say oil supply is outstripping demand. Eventually suppliers will tire of paying to store all of the surplus oil and flood the market, they predict.

A year after oil hit a record closing price, the commodity's price is way down -- and may fall significantly further as supply continues to dwarf demand.