As many Americans nursed full bellies on the morning after Thanksgiving, they also gave merchants an early start this holiday shopping season. While many lined stores early Friday morning, sales nonetheless fell short of Wall Street’s ambitious expectations. Read more...

Couple files suit for transsexual discrimination A lawsuit filed Monday against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alleges the agency discriminated against a Filipino couple when it denied the husband’s legal residency because his wife had a sex change operation nearly 24 years ago. Read more...

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2004 Gold medal hurdler earns Owens Award over former Bruin Gail Devers UCLA alumna Joanna Hayes received USA Track and Field’s 2004 Jesse Owens Award, which is given to the most outstanding male and female performer in the sport. Read more...

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County money spent without public input LOS ANGELES “”mdash; The five members of the county’s Board of Supervisors over the last five years have dispersed more than $11 million of taxpayer dollars without public notice or a public vote. Read more...

Closing the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center’s trauma unit will save the County of Los Angeles money, but likely at the cost of lives. For years, the King/Drew Medical Center has been plagued by mismanagement and service quality problems. Read more...