S.F. mourns a twin with a passion for fashion

SAN FRANCISCO — They were known simply as the San Francisco Twins.At 5-foot-1 and about 100 pounds apiece, the fashion enthusiasts...

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Wired Science Space Photo of the Day: The Star Factory

This is a near-infrared, colour-coded composite image of a sky field in the south-western part of the galactic star-forming region Messier 17. In this image, young and heavily obscured stars are recognized by their red colour. Bluer objects are either foreground stars or well-developed massive stars whose intense light ionizes the hydrogen in this region. The diffuse light that is visible nearly everywhere...

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Former Lab Technician Denies Faulty DNA Work in Rape Cases

A former New York City laboratory technician whose work on rape cases is now being scrutinized for serious mistakes said on Friday that she had been unaware there were problems in her work and, disputing an earlier report, denied she had resigned under pressure. The former lab technician, Serrita Mitchell, said any problems must have been someone else’s. “My work?” Ms. Mitchell said....

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Business Briefing | Retailing: Best Buy Shares Rally on Improved Holiday Sales

The Best Buy Company had better-than-expected holiday sales, setting off a gain of $2, or 16.4 percent, in its stock price, to $14.21 a share on Friday. The holiday quarter accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s revenue last year. The chain said that revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.4 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. The company’s performance in the United States was flat....

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Restored funding for prescription drug-monitoring program urged

California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris on Thursday called on Gov. Jerry Brown to restore funding to a prescription drug-monitoring...

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Canadian Tax Collectors Solve Mystery of Open Source Government

When you think of hotbeds of open source innovation, Canada’s Treasury Board typically doesn’t make the cut. But over the past three years, coders at this slightly obscure Canadian tax-collecting agency have produced something that’s pretty rare in government: a hit open source project.We’re not talking about the next Linux here, but this summer, the Treasury Board of Canada hosted a CodeFest...

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UK’s Savile abused hundreds over six decades: report

LONDON (Reuters) – The late British TV presenter Jimmy Savile physically abused hundreds of people over six decades, according to a police-led report on Friday which said he carried out attacks at the BBC and at hospitals where he did voluntary work.Of his victims, 73 percent were under 18 and 82 percent were female. The oldest was 47 and the youngest just 8.“Savile’s offending footprint was vast,...

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Parental Consent Rule May Proceed for a Circumcision Ritual, a Judge Says

New York City health officials may proceed temporarily with a plan to require parental consent before an infant may undergo a particular Jewish circumcision ritual, a federal judge ruled Thursday. City officials say 12 cases of herpes simplex virus have likely resulted from the procedure, known as metzitzah b’peh, since 2000, including one Brooklyn case reported this week. Two infants died,...

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Japan Approves $116 Billion for Urgent Economic Stimulus

TOKYO — The Japanese government approved emergency stimulus spending of ¥10.3 trillion Friday, part of an aggressive push by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to kick-start growth in a long-moribund economy. Mr. Abe also reiterated his desire for the Japanese central bank to make a firmer commitment to stopping deflation by pumping more money into the economy, which the prime minister has said...

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Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending...

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Stranded Motorist Photos Are Metaphor for Hurricanes, Recession and Loneliness

If you’re ever broken down on the side of an American highway and a woman with a light meter around her neck stops her car and approaches you, don’t be afraid. She’s not there to rob or hurt you.It’s just Amy Stein, and all she wants to do is take your picture for her portrait series, Stranded. It might be a little awkward at first, but you’ll quickly see she’s chatty, friendly and not only...

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‘The Hunger Games’ lead fan favorites at People’s Choice awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Post-apocalyptic action film “The Hunger Games” was the big winner at the People’s Choice Awards on Thursday, picking up five awards including favorite movie of the year, while singer Katy Perry again led in the music categories.Hosted by “The Big Bang Theory” actress Kaley Cuoco, the People’s Choice Awards named winners in more than 40 categories across film, television and...

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Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter’s Ills

It is not your imagination — more people you know are sick this winter, even people who have had flu shots. The country is in the grip of three emerging flu or flulike epidemics: an early start to the annual flu season with an unusually aggressive virus, a surge in a new type of norovirus, and the worst whooping cough outbreak in 60 years. And these are all developing amid the normal winter...

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Consumers Win Some Mortgage Safety in New Rules

WASHINGTON — Banks and other lenders will be prohibited from making home loans that offer deceptive teaser rates or require no documentation from borrowers, and will be required to take more steps to ensure that borrowers can repay, under new consumer protections to be announced on Thursday. The rules, being laid out by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and taking effect next January,...

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Charlie Sheen downplays Baja encounter with L.A. mayor

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa found himself sucked deeper into the Charlie Sheen-TMZ-Hollywood gossip vortex Tuesday,...

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Kickstarter Campaigns Reap $319M in 2012

While Kickstarter’s hardware projects made headlines in 2012, film and gaming ideas (of both the video and board variety) were the real cash magnets for the crowdfunding site, raising a combined $176 million.That’s just one of the many stats Kickstarter recently released on its crowdfunding activity in 2012, arguably the year the online service, and the notion of crowdfunding, went mainstream....

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TV drama production in L.A. plunges by 20% in 2012

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The filming of TV dramas and reality shows in Los Angeles plummeted in 2012, according to figures released Tuesday by FilmL.A., the non-profit agency that coordinates location shoots in the region.TV drama shoots were off by 20 percent from 2011, while the filming of reality shows dropped by 11.8 percent. Those numbers overshadowed the report’s good news on overall location...

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Recipes for Health: Cauliflower and Tuna Salad — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesI have added tuna to a classic Italian antipasto of cauliflower and capers dressed with vinegar and olive oil. For the best results give the cauliflower lots of time to marinate. 1 large or 2 small or medium cauliflowers, broken into small florets 1 5-ounce can water-packed light (not albacore) tuna, drained 1 plump garlic clove, minced...

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Safety of Boeing 787 Dreamliner Called Into Question

NEW YORK — For Boeing, much rides on the success of its newest and most sophisticated jet, the 787 Dreamliner. But a spate of mishaps is reviving concerns about the plane’s reliability and safety. The plane had a new problem Wednesday, when the Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways canceled a domestic flight after a computer on board erroneously showed problems with the aircraft’s brakes. A...

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LAPD force exceeds 10,000 for the first time, officials say

For the first time in the city's history, Los Angeles' police force now exceeds 10,000 officers, city officials said Monday.Appearing...

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Bare-Bones Photo Tour of London Squat Proves Content Is King

While flashy animations and interactions are fun to play with on the web, photographers don’t always need to think big-budget to tell their story online. With just a little bit of HTML and jQuery, photographer Adrian Nettleship has churned out a timely and purpose-built web experience that lets users explore a London squat and meet its inhabitants. Nettleship’s photos and audio are combined...

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