SWITCH: Mobile | ePaper | Subscribe

Homes Rentals Jobs Autos Contests

Richard Simon

Motorcycle deaths remain steady as overall vehicle deaths drop

Last updated Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - 3:32pm

WASHINGTON -- No progress was made last year in reducing motorcyclist deaths, even though overall motor vehicle fatalities dropped to their lowest level since 1949, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

One reason, the group said, may be that high gas prices are driving more people to ride motorcycles. But the group also sought to use the data to make the case for mandatory helmet laws, which are under attack in five states.

Fatal accident, Motorcycles, National Read more Comments

Display of Ten Commandments roils Virginia county

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Friday, May 11, 2012 - 3:26pm

WASHINGTON — Is displaying the Ten Commandments alongside copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Star-Spangled Banner, Magna Carta and other documents at a Virginia public high school an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion? Or is it part of an educational exhibit of historic documents?

Lawsuit, Religion, National Read more Comments

FILE - In this April 12, 2012, file photo, former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Edwards arrives outside federal court following a lunch break in jury selection for his criminal trial on alleged campaign finance violations in Greensboro, N.C. Prosecutors accuse Edwards of using campaign money from wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter. Andrew Young, a former aide to Edwards, testified for five days last week. He said Edwards knew the money was being spent to hide Hunter, but also acknowledged that he used much of the funds to build his North Carolina dream house. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Sensational John Edwards trial an uphill push for prosecutors

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Monday, April 30, 2012 - 10:15am

Jurors in the federal criminal trial of John Edwards were clearly not given a primer on the intricacies of the campaign finance laws he is accused of violating. Instead, they listened to Andrew Young, the former presidential candidate's once-trusted aide, describe how Edwards called his mistress a "crazy slut," used a secret "Bat phone" to call her and accepted money from rich friends to pay her expenses.

Although Young's salacious testimony seemed to keep jurors awake, he may not have been as strong a lead witness as the prosecution had hoped. Having laid out the detailed narrative of the tawdry affair in their opening week, prosecutors face a tough road proving that Edwards accepted illegal campaign contributions to conceal his affair to save his 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Courts, John Edwards, National Read more Comments

Space shuttle Discovery flies over D.C. to cheers

Richard Simon McClatchy Newspapers

Last updated Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 5:01pm

WASHINGTON -- It was an extraordinary sight, even for Washington -- a space shuttle flying over the nation's capital atop a modified 747 on the way to its permanent new home, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

Discovery, Museum, Smithsonian, Space shuttle, NASA, National Read more Comments

Media from around the world photograph crews at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Saturday morning, April 14, 2012 as they work on preparations to attach the space shuttle Discovery to a modified Boeing 747, not pictured, that will ferry the spacecraft to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Rubadoux)

Moving space shuttles on Earth a space issue

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Monday, April 16, 2012 - 9:34am

WASHINGTON -- When you need to move a nearly 175,000-pound space shuttle with a 78-foot wingspan, who you gonna call?

NASA, of course -- but also companies that own big cranes. In New York, you'll have to call a barge owner. And in Los Angeles, you'll need to consult with traffic engineers and the L.A. Police Department.

Business, Museums, Space shuttle, Transportation, NASA, National Read more Comments

Saving dollars on pennies with steel

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 10:45pm

WASHINGTON — A penny-pinching member of Congress is taking aim at the cost of producing 1-cent coins.

Coins, Congress, National Read more Comments

Utah to Arizona: Don’t toll Interstate 15

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Monday, October 31, 2011 - 11:41pm

WASHINGTON — A proposed toll on a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 15 in Arizona is drawing opposition from Utah.

Business, Arizona, Economy, Gov. Gary Herbert, Infrastructure, Jason Chaffetz, Roads, Toll roads, Transportation, Trucking, Utah, Gary Herbert, Interstate 15 Read more Comments

Texans urge NASA to take retired shuttle away from New York

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 5:10pm

WASHINGTON -- Houston to New York: Displaying a retired space shuttle near a strip joint is no way to treat a precious space artifact.

Space shuttle, Strip clubs, NASA, National Read more Comments

A big stink over an invasion of the tiny bugs

Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - 9:13am

KEARNEYSVILLE, W.Va. -- Tracy Leskey's job stinks.

Whether working at her Department of Agriculture lab, in orchards or at home, she's a leader of a kind of federal SWAT team fighting what a rural Maryland congressman calls the "bug from hell," the brown marmorated stink bug that is all the buzz in the mid-Atlantic region.

Features, Insects, Stink bugs, Study Read more Comments

Parties accuse each other of fanning flames with public over health care

Faye Fiore, Richard Simon Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 10:32pm

WASHINGTON -- In the days surrounding passage of health care overhaul legislation, Republican lawmakers have been left to strike a fine balance between harnessing voter outrage and fueling it.

Health, Politics, National Read more Comments