Now that I have seen Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” a space alien thriller that’s out of this world, I am making this my own disclosure day:

I could have been the star of the movie.

And not necessarily as a space alien.

I was sure I’d be heading to Hollywood when I read about a casting call for Spielberg’s new film, the ...Read more

From her postage-stamp-sized backyard near the BART tracks, Penny Barthel is growing a revolution.

About 10 years ago, the longtime educator, gardener, author and foodie began to raise cannabis in her lush, colorful kitchen garden in Albany, California. A novice to cannabis, Barthel’s project was as extension of her love of “messing around ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — My dinner course is served. It is a Campbell's-inspired soup can, lightly angled so strands of broccoli are peeking out. I lift the can to uncover a slow-braised short rib and mashed potatoes. An American dish to represent an American artist, here Andy Warhol.

The room is overtaken with projections, scenes of bustling New York ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- It was a hot and dry summer night in 2019 when the Campbell family drove from Los Angeles to their new desert vacation home in Joshua Tree.

As they crested a hill on Highway 62, a drunk driver crashed into their car.

Ruby, 17, and Hart, 14, were killed.

To channel their grief, their parents — like thousands of people across ...Read more

The weather pattern going into early July was nothing short of brutal, and I hope that by the time you read this, it will have passed. But I am in Georgia and not counting on it. If you are wondering what plant can exist with such heat and humidity, think Heart to Heart Caladiums. Not only can they exist but they will beautify and lend a touch ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.

It's hot on the grounds of the Los Angeles State Historic Park in April, but 35-year-old Gonzalez and her fiancé, Jordan Colindres, keep their cool as a crowd gathers ...Read more

You’ve heard the joke: How do you know if someone ran a marathon? They’ll tell you.

How do you know if they’re running another one? They’ll tell you again.

Hi, it’s me. Telling you I’m running another one. Again. Chicago in October. This time with my daughter, who will turn 21 a few days before we cross the finish line together. (...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- What makes some teenagers more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol? A new study from Pitt theorizes that one factor may be tied to their levels of dopamine, also known as “the pleasure chemical.”

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, analyzed a massive data set that followed substance use levels in...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Give a girl a bow and arrow, take her to the woods, and anything feels possible.

That’s what I was thinking as I positioned myself in front of bales of hay in an open field at the Woodley Park Archery Range in Van Nuys. Channeling my inner Katniss, I took a “power stance:” shoulders back, legs slightly bent, bow cradled in ...Read more

We have questions today about someone’s potential readiness to be in a relationship, one-word answers in the dating apps, making a good first impression and how to know when it’s time to get back out there after a breakup.

Question: I met a guy. It’s been six months since his separation after more than 20 years of marriage. Is this a deal...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- For 26 years, Joe Davis has been a one-man support system for people who work daily with death.

He was a volunteer chaplain in the county Medical Examiner’s Office, providing help for staffers and grieving families.

Over the years, the position grew from two days a week to a full-time presence. It became a calling. He comforted ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I have been using your strategies with my kids, and their behavior has improved so much that I feel like I am able, for the first time, to really get them to act like I want them to act. But now I think I need to consider exactly what behaviors I want them to use. I heard you say that a negative behavior is a behavior that ...Read more

Q. How do I get along with my ex without fighting? We can barely stand each other and I can tell our kids are being affected. She thinks they are “just fine.” I think they are struggling. I tell her what the kids say and how they have trouble sleeping and she says, “I don’t see it here. It must be something YOU’RE doing.” I’m at a ...Read more

Fortunately, I didn’t see the late-night text from our son until early the next morning. I wouldn’t have slept a wink if I had.

His two youngest girls spent the night with us. They live in the country, know all the plants and trees and animal tracks and can give wildlife a run for their money.

The 10-year-old, who slept over, is gentle as ...Read more

CHICAGO -- The “what ifs” are many when it comes to social justice.

What if Emmett Till had lived and not been a catalyst to the Civil Rights Movement because the 14-year-old Chicagoan wasn’t murdered in Mississippi in 1955 by two white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman? What if his body, pulled from the Tallahatchie River, ...Read more

CHICAGO -- The pride flag poking out of Jordan Scott’s backpack fluttered with every step.

As he danced to a DJ’s tunes Sunday at Pride South Side, he felt something he couldn’t feel anywhere else.

“I skipped Pride events on the North Side in favor of this,” the Beverly resident attending for a second year said. “I just love the ...Read more

When it comes to talking the talk and walking the walk, the talk is that I do more talking than walking, even when I’m on a walk.

That’s why I won’t walk back the fact that I talked my way through two recent walks, one on which I had a delightful talk with a retired doctor and the other on which I tried to keep up with my wife, Sue, an ...Read more

The battle between a yoga teacher and the city of San Diego is heating up.

Steve Hubbard, known as "NamaSteve," recently filed a third lawsuit alleging the city has violated his rights by citing him for teaching free public yoga classes.

And in a separate ongoing civil case, the city has issued nearly two dozen subpoenas seeking a broad array ...Read more

It’s tempting to ignore Megyn Kelly’s latest rant, given her long and storied history of inane rants.

From insisting back in 2013 that both Jesus and Santa are white (despite Jesus Christ being born in the Middle East and Santa being born in your imagination), to downplaying sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes because his victims were ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been messaging someone I met on a dating app for about three weeks, and we finally have our first date this weekend. We’ve had some really fun conversations, and I’m genuinely excited to meet her. The other night she mentioned that she’d been reading a book she loved, but her library hold expired before she could finish ...Read more