Election, Storm and Shaky Economy Affect Holiday Shopping

Many retailers have more than the usual riding on sales beginning this Thanksgiving weekend. The presidential election pushed holiday shopping later than usual because some toy and game makers held off on their big introductions for maximum attention. The aftereffects of Hurricane Sandy have included logistics problems and merchandise delivery delays. And some retailers, trying to keep...

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In L.A., inexperienced teachers more likely to be assigned to students behind in math, study says

A new study has found that inexperienced teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are disproportionately more likely...

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Amazing Time-Lapse Video Features Ever-Changing Earth and Sky

.Heaven meets the Earth in this moving time-lapse video showing gorgeous landscapes underneath an ever-changing night sky.“Within Two Worlds” was created by photographer Brad Goldpaint. The film features shooting comets, a giant tilting Milky Way, and glowing purple and pink auroras peeking over the horizon. Stunning sequences watch day turn to night and night to day,...

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Movie industry has shed 16,000-plus jobs in L.A. since 2004, study says

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The motion-picture industry has lost more than 16,000 jobs in Los Angeles County since the peak year of 2004, according to a new study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.And according to the study, “runaway productions” that have moved out of the county due to tax incentives in other areas could be to blame. The...

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Daniel Stern, Who Studied Babies’ World, Dies at 78

Dr. Daniel Stern, a psychiatrist who increased the understanding of early human development by scrutinizing the most minute interactions between mothers and babies, died on Nov. 12 in Geneva. He was 78. The cause was heart failure, said his wife, Dr. Nadia Bruschweiler Stern. Dr. Stern was noted for his often poetic language in describing how children respond to their world — how...

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Which Tablet to Buy Among Dozens Confuses Shoppers

Holiday shoppers with a tablet computer on their gift list this year might be forgiven for feeling a little panicked. Look at the tablets available online or at a consumer electronics store and it can be dizzying to choose from among the dozens of slim rectangles with touch screens — each with various sizes, features, prices and applications. Tablets were supposed to be a simple alternative...

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D.A.-elect has full plate as she confronts her next challenge

As a junior at UC Irvine in 1978, Jackie Lacey was featured in a Seventeen magazine article profiling 13 young women. The first...

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Israel's Rocket-Hunting Ace Got His Start Playing <em>Warcraft</em>

War has once again erupted between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces, with the Gaza-based militant group launching hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israeli towns. But many of these projectiles never made it to their targets, thanks to the new Iron Dome missile defense system that’s arguably become this conflict’s most important technological difference-maker. This article, first published...

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Liam Neeson in negotiations for crime thriller “The All Nighter”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Liam Neeson is in negotiations to star in the crime thriller “The All Nighter (AKA Run All Night)” a person familiar with the situation has told TheWrap.The story follows an aging hit man who, in order to protect his wife and son, must take on his former boss in a single night. He then winds up on the run from the mob and the...

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The Neediest Cases: Emerging From a Bleak Life to Become Fabulous Phil

For years, Phillip Johnson was caught in what seemed like an endless trench of bad luck. He was fired from a job, experienced intensifying psychological problems, lost his apartment and spent time in homeless shelters. At one point, he was hospitalized after overdosing on an antipsychotic drug. “I had a rough road,” he said. Since his hospital stay two years ago, and despite setbacks,...

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