Topic Browser

Groups are buying attack ads to turn voters against candidates they oppose

WASHINGTON -- For those few Florida voters unfamiliar with attacks ads, the latest TV spot by the conservative Americans for Prosperity offers a classic take on the genre.

Candidates discuss hot topics from the economy to climate change to abortion. Boxer gives scathing critiques of Fiorina's record as Hewlett-Packard CEO and Fiorina calls Boxer 'bitterly partisan.'

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican opponent Carly Fiorina met in a contentious first debate Wednesday that seethed with disputes over their records and covered a broad range of issues from the economy to climate change to abortion rights.

A Journey

Tony Blair covers the Iraq war, George W. Bush, Princess Diana and more in his wide-ranging and frank biography.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair's memoir "A Journey: My Political Life" is a political biography of unusual interest.

In social media, it rarely matters whether you're loved or hated. In the old theatrical adage, if you're entertaining, it means "bums on seats."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and GOP rival Sharron Angle have sparred over controversial remarks. Focusing on the past works for Reid but not as well for Angle, one observer says.

Sharron Angle is not running against only Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She is also running against herself.

Attorneys cite case of ex-Enron CEO

Former Gov. George Ryan wants a judge to free him from prison and throw out some of the charges that landed him there, using an argument based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this summer.

But lawmakers defeat a proposed ban on plastic grocery bags in the waning moments of the 2010 session.

California lawmakers passed wide-ranging public compensation reforms inspired by the Bell municipal salary scandal in the waning hours of the 2010 legislative session, but a closely watched, first-in-the-nation ban on plastic grocery bags was defeated Tuesday night.

The House Ethics Committee will investigate campaign fundraising appeals to Wall Street firms ahead of a vote on financial regulatory legislation.

A congressional ethics watchdog has asked for a further probe of campaign fundraising appeals to Wall Street firms by Rep. John Campbell (R-Irvine) and two other House members before lawmakers voted on financial regulatory overhaul legislation.

On the eve of her first debate with Carly Fiorina, the three-term Democrat reminds a San Francisco audience of her antiwar stance and liberal positions on the environment and economy.

On the eve of her first debate with Republican Carly Fiorina, Sen. Barbara Boxer outlined her rationale for reelection Tuesday, vowing to hold President Obama accountable for bringing troops home from Afghanistan, defending California's efforts to regulate emissions and reiterating her five-point plan to boost the nation's economic recovery.

The politicized confirmation process has left nearly 1 in 8 posts empty. Republicans say it's part payback, but they argue that Obama has been slow to nominate judges.

Almost one in eight federal judgeships is vacant in the country and legal scholars warn that the increasingly politicized confirmation process threatens the administration of justice across the nation.

Political analysts who wanted the Democrat to press Meg Whitman hard now express admiration for his ability to stay even in the polls.

Democrat Jerry Brown is running for governor, but voters in California might not know it. Since winning the primary in June, he has spent almost nothing, has rarely appeared on the campaign trail and has yet to air a single ad against Republican rival Meg Whitman.

The money from a tax on car owners goes to a fund for clean-energy technologies. But backers say it was not to be used for corn ethanol, which they say harms the environment as much as oil.

California's energy commission has promised millions of dollars to a struggling corn ethanol business founded by a political ally — and generous campaign contributor — to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger despite public assurances that the commission's environmental funds would not be used to subsidize that technology.

Banana Republican

The six-day, three-country trade mission would come at a politically awkward time for the governor, as California faces the prospect that it could run out of cash within weeks.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to jet out of California for a six-day, three-country trade mission to Asia early next month — even if the state has no spending plan in place.

Senate officials say they may address the issue through a house rule rather than legislation. A proposed law to force hospitals to disclose radiation overdoses during CT scans nears final passage.

As legislators rush to bring more transparency to the salaries of city officials — like the eye-popping compensation enjoyed until recently by administrators in Bell — they're balking at passing a law that would make it easier for the public to find out their own pay.

In rare simultaneous campaigning, each faults the other on past experience or the lack of it.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown argued Thursday that his experience makes him the only candidate who can right California, and he slashed at Republican rival Meg Whitman by calling her a neophyte who has run an ugly and inaccurate campaign against him.

Estimates suggest the incumbent would have to win 3 of every 5 absentee votes to prevail in the GOP primary. If she falls short, she has not ruled out running as the Libertarian Party nominee.

If Sen. Lisa Murkowski is to overcome a 1,668-vote deficit in her bid for a second full term, she needs substantial support from the thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted in Alaska's surprisingly tight Republican Senate primary.

Even if they disagree with the same-sex marriage ban or think it unconstitutional, the governor and attorney general have a duty to stand behind the voters' will.

The will of the California electorate is being undermined by Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The former Alaska governor was paid $75,000 to speak at a campus event. The court asks the university to make public files on the use of facilities, staff and services surrounding the gala.

A California university violated the state's open records law when it refused to release the contract and other documents related to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's fundraising appearance in June, a judge has ruled.

Senate and Assembly approve dozens of bills, including a plan to help finance a replacement for King-Harbor Hospital and fines for minors who ski or snowboard without a helmet.

A plan to crack down on paparazzi who drive recklessly in pursuit of celebrities is moving through the Legislature despite heated opposition from media organizations as lawmakers approach next week's deadline for advancing bills to the governor's desk.

The measures are a response to the rapes and murders of San Diego County teens Chelsea King and Amber Dubois.

The state Senate approved a package of bills Tuesday in response to the rapes and murders of San Diego County teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, including a measure that would keep violent sexual offenders behind bars longer and require closer supervision for those paroled.

Rep. Timothy Johnson constantly calls those he represents on his cellphone. Critics say the practice takes the Illinois Republican's time away from other House business, but others marvel at his discipline.

"I'm not a telemarketer," the friendly voice says into his cellphone. "I'm your United States congressman."

Facing attacks on her effectiveness from rival Fiorina, the U.S. senator said she is working on getting Congress to help make funds available for key Southern California transportation projects.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer renewed her commitment Monday to securing federal assistance for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to accelerate 12 of the region's transit projects, completing them in one decade instead of three.

Teachers should be judged in part by how well students do

Grading teachers based on how much their students learn should be a no-brainer.

Some who worked with him in Bell and elsewhere over the years came to know him as a calculating risk-taker.

The lifestyle that Robert Rizzo enjoyed during his run as Bell city manager included a stable full of thoroughbreds, among them a gelding named Depenserdel'argent — French for "spend money."

In my new novel, "Eat Pray Belch," I tell the story of a man who runs off to the foothills of Los Angeles in a journey of personal discovery and redemption. This book is sure to be a life-changing experience, particularly for men who believe in the spiritual powers of eating, praying and belching.

At a campaign event in Riverside, the Republican Senate candidate also calls for a slowing in the rate of government spending and says anxiety over possible tax hikes is hurting small businesses.

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina cited the continuing rise in first-time jobless claims as evidence that the Obama administration's economic policies were not working as she renewed her call Thursday for making the Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

California Republicans have high hopes for November, but the gubernatorial candidate's shifting tone on illegal immigration will likely raise tension at their convention.

As California Republicans gather in San Diego on Friday, enthusiasm about their ticket's competitiveness in this left-leaning state is being tempered by concerns about gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman.

The Fair Political Practices Commission is looking into whether laws were broken when employees of the pension fund took private jet trips at investment firms' expense.

State ethics officials launched an investigation Thursday into the private jet trips and other luxury travel that the embattled public pension fund allowed its top investment staff to accept, without public disclosure, from financial firms with whom they were doing business.