Mitchell Landsberg

Obama to heckler: ‘Part of free speech... is you listening’

washingtonpost.com — While speaking about the closing of Guantanamo Bay at National Defense University, a heckler interrupted President Obama's speech and he addressed her directly.

Kerry pursues Mideast peace a bite at a time

latimes.com — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry eats sweets inside a shop after his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday. (Fadi Arouri / Associated Press) RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Secretary of State John Kerry nibbled away at a Mideast peace plan Thursday, taking time off from a busy political schedule to drop in to a West Bank restaurant for some regional specialties.

Eating gluten free

spreecast.com — Spreecast on 2013-05-23 14:00:00 -0400 created by L.A. Times - L.A. Times's Channel -

USCCB Chair Applauds Passage of Immigration Reform Bill Out of Committee; Urges Full Senate to Begin Debate As Soon As Possible

usccb.org — Committee process and vote show strong bipartisan supportU.S. bishops will try to improve bill as process moves onPath to citizenship, family immigration remain strong priorities WASHINGTON-Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Migration, today applauded approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee of S.

Global Voices: The six personalities of Russia's Putin

latimes.com — Vladimir Putin emerged from the obscurity of a secret agent’s life when called to Moscow in 1997 by power-hungry oligarchs in search of a pliable accomplice to plant in the Kremlin. In little more than two years, Putin was president of Russia and embarked on a mission to tame the wealthy cabal that hired him and to reinvigorate the debilitated nation.

Israelis, Palestinians say chances low for Kerry's peace effort

latimes.com — JERUSALEM -- Wrapping up his fourth Holy Land trip in three months, Secretary of State John F. Kerry voiced optimism Thursday that his low-profile campaign to relaunch U.S.-brokered peace talks is making headway. But while the top American diplomat is winning praise for persistence, Israeli and Palestinian officials privately say chances of success remain low and that Kerry's effort has yielded no tangible results so far.

Obama administration says fourth American was killed by U.S. drone

latimes.com — WASHINGTON - A day before President Obama is set to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that it had killed four U.S. citizens - one more than previously known - with drone missile strikes in Yemen and Pakistan .

Hipsters driving up price of beer, researcher says

latimes.com — Sub-premium beers such as Pabst Blue Ribbon are leading a surge in beer prices at U.S. bars and restaurants, researcher says. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times) Here's another reason to be annoyed at hipsters: They're driving up the price of beer.

Pope Francis says atheists can be good

guardian.co.uk — Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good, Pope Francis has said in his latest urging that people of all religions, and none, work together. The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics made his comments in the homily of his morning mass at his residence, a daily event at which he speaks without prepared comments.