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Ralph Vartabedian

The 7-ton spacecraft, one of the most ambitious and costly science projects in U.S. history, is under construction for NASA at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s space park complex in Redondo Beach, Calif.

NASA's Webb telescope: Revolutionary design, runaway costs

Ralph Vartabedian, W.J. Hennigan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Monday, February 20, 2012 - 5:59pm

In deep, cold space, nearly a million miles from Earth, a giant telescope later this decade will scan for the first light to streak across the universe more than 13 billion years ago.

The 7-ton spacecraft, one of the most ambitious and costly science projects in U.S. history, is under construction for NASA at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s space park complex in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Business, Astronomy, Costs, Northrup Grumman, Space, NASA Read more Comments

Figuring out how to avoid another Reno air crash

Dan Weikel, Paul Pringle, Ralph Vartabedian Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - 2:25pm

RENO, Nev. -- Ambulances were parked on the tarmac, ready for an accident. Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration were milling around Reno-Stead Airport, looking for safety risks.

The potential for trouble was so high that the National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the National Air Racing Championships just in case something went wrong.

All the attention was focused on the possibility that a pilot could die, the kind of grim outcome that had occurred 19 times in the past. But nobody expected the scale of disaster that unfolded Sept. 16, when a World War II-era P-51 Mustang plunged into spectators and killed 11 people.

Features, Air Show, Plane Crash Read more Comments

Nevada lawmakers seeking federal amends for massive radioactive contamination

Los Angeles Times, Ralph Vartabedian

Last updated Thursday, June 9, 2011 - 11:33pm

The Nevada Legislature has taken the first step in demanding that the federal government make amends for massive radioactive contamination left from decades of nuclear weapons testing on a swath of desert the size of Rhode Island.

Federal Government, Nevada, Radioactive waste, Water Read more Comments

Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT
In February of 2010, Toyota of Hollywood, California, team leader Erick Garcia examines his handywork after using several tools to shorten the gas pedal, which is part of the fix for several Toyota models that were being recalled due to reports of the pedal sticking. In a tactical shift, lawyers suing Toyota over sudden acceleration are building their cases around the automaker s resistance to installing a brake system that they claim would have prevented deaths and injuries.

Toyota sudden-acceleration lawsuits focus on lack of brake override

Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times, Ralph Vartabedian

Last updated Friday, January 7, 2011 - 4:21pm

LOS ANGELES -- In a tactical shift, lawyers suing Toyota Motor Corp. over sudden acceleration are building their cases around the automaker's resistance to installing a brake system that they say would have prevented deaths and injuries.

The emerging legal strategy is centered on Toyota's slow adoption of brake override systems, which attorneys say is the automaker's single biggest vulnerability as it defends itself against more than 100 lawsuits in state and federal courts.

Lawsuits, Toyota, National Read more Comments