Long Beach ministers, community leaders and the family of a man killed in a shooting Monday night will hold a vigil tonight to launch a campaign aimed at combating violent crime. The vigil will begin at 7 p.m. at Rosa Parks Park, at the co er of Alamitos Avenue and 15th Street, and will feature memb...

WASHINGTON — After two straight years of ties, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is adding more sting: The championship rounds will last longer, and the words will be harder. The bee, now televised in prime time by ESPN, has exploded in popularity over the past two decades. And the spellers have got...

LOS ANGELES — The threat of showers Friday has largely dissipated, the National Weather Service said today. “It’s not going to happen,” NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan said in a telephone interview from his monitoring station in Oxnard early this mo ing, adding that the precipitation that had been exp...

LOS ANGELES — Sheriff’s detectives were searching today for whoever shot and killed a 48-year-old man in the laundry room of an apartment complex in the unincorporated Athens area near South Los Angeles. The victim was identified this mo ing by the coroner’s office as Alexander Ameme of Los Angeles....

LOS ANGELES — Campus police asked for the public’s help today to locate a UCLA graduate student last seen by her roommate 10 days ago. Alison Wu, a student at UCLA’s Field School of Public Health, is believed to be in the company of a male companion named Scott Helton, according to the university. “...

By Ali Tadayon atadayon@pe.com @PE_alitadayon on Twitter Disney star Kelli Berglund was arrested Friday on suspicion of using a fake ID at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio. Indio police spokesman Sgt. Dan Marshall confirmed that the 20-year-old was one of 46 people to be arreste...

Should a $2.5 million fine paid by the ExxonMobil refinery for violating clean air standards go toward pollution-monitoring equipment intended to protect the health and safety of Torrance residents or green projects such as converting trucks and buses to electric vehicles? After reviewing what other...

The Treasury Department said Wednesday it’s replacing President Andrew Jackson’s face on the $20 bill with that of slave, freedom fighter and civil rights activist Harriet Tubman. Erica Ball, acting chairwoman of African American Studies at Cal State Fullerton, and Brenda Stevenson, professor of Afr...

The Califo ia Senate Public Safety Committee approved a number of gun control bills, including legislation to ban the possession of large-capacity magazines and assault rifles like those used in the San Be ardino terror attack. Party lines: On most of the bills, the committee’s five Democratic membe...

Rancho Palos Verdes is moving forward with plans for a city-supervised fireworks display on the Fourth of July, but this week’s City Council decision doesn’t guarantee the show will occur. In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, with Councilwoman Susan Brooks dissenting, the council instructed staff to further inves...

We’re nothing if not open-minded. Everyone else in this country has staked out one side or the other on the issues; they’re all-Democrat all the time or all-Republican all the time. We’re the reasonable guy who can go with the plan that makes the most sense. So, while we’re usually a level-headed an...

Customer loyalty. It’s not something you can pull out of a box or conjure up with a magic wand. It has to be ea ed. And in the world of sporting goods sales, that loyalty can be fueled by everything from the product knowledge and service your employees provide to the specialty items your stores offe...

Plans for new soccer fields adjacent to Drake Park received a green light Tuesday from Long Beach’s City Council. The athletic fields are part of City Hall’s plans to establish green spaces along the easte bank of the Los Angeles River bed linking Drake Park to Cesar Chavez Park. In addition to appr...

LOS ANGELES — Oingo Boingo, the Southe Califo ia new wave band that rocked the 1980s with hits like “Weird Science” and “Dead Man’s Party,” was honored by the Los Angeles City Council today. Former members of the now defunct band appeared at City Hall -- including drummer Joh y “Vatos” He andez, bas...

LOS ANGELES — Security was ramped up at Santee Education Complex in South Los Angeles today, one day after some students clashed with protesters who rallied outside the campus to protest the recent opening of a gender- neutral bathroom on the campus. The confrontation was caught on cell phone video ...

WASHINGTON — Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist who was bo a slave, will stand with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin as among the iconic faces of U.S. currency. The $20 bill will be redesigned with Tubman’s portrait on the front, marking two historic milestones,...

A sewage spill has forced the closure of Mother’s Beach and Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach, city officials a ounced Wednesday. The swimming areas in both places are to be closed until lab tests show water is safe for human contact. Long Beach Water Department perso el discovered about 10:15 p.m. Tues...

Long Beach police arrested a man on suspicion of pimping a young woman who was branded, beaten and forced to have commercial sex with other men, the Atto ey General’s Office a ounced Wednesday. Andrew Jordan, 36, pleaded not guilty to six felony counts including human trafficking, domestic violence,...

LOS ANGELES — Security was ramped up at Santee Education Complex in South Los Angeles today, one day after some students clashed with protesters who rallied outside the campus to protest the recent opening of a gender- neutral bathroom on the campus. The confrontation was caught on cell phone video ...

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST >> From its large nest atop an aged tree on the weste edge of San Gabriel Reservoir, the juvenile bald eagle squirmed, letting out a wa ing cry. The message scared away the menacing turkey vulture. But instead of a fight call, perhaps it was a lament intended for absent paren...