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Monsoon season compounds refugees’ troubles

"Refugees are the most vulnerable people on Earth. They are fighting to survive." — Angelina Jolie, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees goodwill ambassador The world’s population at the end of last year included 42 million displaced people, 80 percent of them in developing nations, according to a report this week by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many of these refugees are living in minimal standards for shelter and are exposed daily to the harshest elements of weather, the report says

A Brief History of Juneteenth

There is a common misconception among Americans that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with a stroke of his pen. Yet the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on Jan.

Why Some People Are Gay: Notes (and Clues) from the Animal Kingdom

We have known for at least a decade that hundreds of animal species — including birds, reptiles, mollusks and, of course, humans — engage in same-gender sexual acts.

Is California the State Closest to Economic Ruin?

Arnold Schwarzenegger may believe that he would be sitting in Barack Obama’s chair in the Oval Office if only he had been born a U.S. citizen

Rihanna testimony won’t be televised

Singer Rihanna’s expected testimony at singer Chris Brown’s preliminary hearing on assault charges will not be televised, a court spokesman said. Prosecutors are expected to call Rihanna, 22, as a witness Monday afternoon as they make their case that Brown attacked her, said Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman Alan Parachini

Iranians dodging government’s Internet crackdown

It’s a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. As the Iranian government seeks to crack down on the online networks being used by protesters who question the nation’s election results, a community of Net-savvy users — both inside and outside the country — are working to try to stay one step ahead

Missing teen’s family pushes on after closing volunteer center

The parents of a California teen who disappeared on her way to school in February have closed the center that was the staging ground for search efforts, citing a lack of volunteers and a shift in direction. But the parents of 14-year-old Amber DuBois say the search will continue with a small group of dedicated volunteers. “We’re absolutely going to keep going

Survey: Gas prices up 17 cents in two weeks

The average price per gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.66, up 16.68 cents from two weeks ago, the Lundberg Survey found. The price, an average of thousands of gas stations nationwide, is $1.34 lower than a year ago.

Wish Fulfillment? No. But Dreams (and Sleep) Have Meaning

Dreams may not be the secret window into the frustrated desires of the unconscious that Sigmund Freud first posited in 1899, but growing evidence suggests that dreams — and, more so, sleep — are powerfully connected to the processing of human emotion. According to new research presented last week at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, adequate sleep may underpin our ability to understand complex emotions properly in waking life. “Sleep essentially is resetting the magnetic north of your emotional compass,” says Matthew Walker, director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, Berkeley.

Clashes in Iran reveal deep divide

A group of 20 to 30 men, carrying clubs and metal pipes, banged on the door of an apartment building in a Tehran neighborhood. The group was agitated. They chanted and shouted and kept banging on the building’s door.