Wholesale prices fell by the largest amount in more than two years in May helping to ease

Wholesale prices fell by the largest amount in more than two years in May, helping to ease concerns that a spike in energy costs earlier in the year might spell inflation troubles.Meanwhile, May retail sales tumbled by the largest amount in nine months, a decline that was blamed on unusually cool weather during the month and was not seen as evidence that consumer spending, the engine that drives the economy, was threatening to sputter out.The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices fell 0.6% last month, with three-fourths of the drop attributed to falling energy prices. Subcommittee members said that Gertmenian and Matrix had been renting office space in Monrovia for $47,000 a year, and charging the guild $96,000 for the same space.Gertmenian did not respond to phone messages left at his home and at the guild office."You've testified today that you've been overwhelmed with the jockeys' problems," Rep Michael C Burgess (R-Texas) said to Gertmenian. There's a hot party happening at Staples Center and everyone is welcome, though the hosts have been rude to some.Opposing teams haven't had much fun during a Clipper bash that raged on Saturday night in a 101-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns.The Clippers cooled off the game's hottest team in a showdown for first place in the Pacific Division, ending the Suns' NBA-best winning streak at nine games while improving to 9-1 at Staples Center in their second consecutive game without injured forward Corey Maggette.Forward Elton Brand scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 13th double-double, guard Cuttino Mobley scored 25, point guard Sam Cassell had 24 and center Chris Kaman contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Clippers took charge with defense in the second half to go 3-0 on a four-game homestand that ends tonight against the Detroit Pistons.The game's highest-scoring team scored only 34 points after halftime (15 in the fourth quarter) and shot 42.2%. Butler's first creation in the world of science fiction was herself.Before anybody told her that black girls do not grow up to write about futuristic worlds, Butler, the daughter of a shoeshine man and a maid, was already fashioning a place for herself in a white-dominated universe.By remaining dedicated to her craft, sweeping floors and working as a telemarketer to pay the bills; by suffering the indignities that come with being among the first; and eventually winning a MacArthur Foundation grant, Butler carved a place for herself -- and helped write a new world into existence.Butler, whose 12 stunning, thought-provoking novels of science fiction inspired new readers and writers to explore the genre, died Saturday.

Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to pay $150,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit by two brothers who claimed they were beaten by sheriff's deputies.In a memo to supervisors, county lawyers said Albino and Elias Acosta resisted arrest but also noted that their family and a neighbor disputed that. A fully locked knee can cause injury, and bending it much more than 10 degrees reduces efficiency.* Straddling your cycle while standing flat-footed, you should have about an inch of clearance between your crotch and the frame for a road bike and about two inches for a mountain bike. A look at a few, who nominated them, how many years they served on the court, and what they did before being chosen for the highest court in the land.William H. Here are the locations:* El Monte: 9350 Flair Drive* Long Beach: 501 W Ocean Blvd.* Los Angeles: 300 N. That one is just way out of proportion to the rest of the neighborhood."Nowhere, however, are the issues of style and scale more evident than at the Coconut House. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia Like the elephants that roam the East African savannas, this region's Big Men once looked like an endangered species.Some leaders were toppled by coups d'etat, others by democratic revolutions or international pressure.

An angry mob then beat him to death.Natan-Zada had been living off and on for several months in the remote West Bank settlement of Tapuah. It's really poorly designed."*Times staff writer Megan Garvey contributed to this report."It's not the bus that's creating the problem; it's the motorists who are running red lights," said Councilman Dennis Zine. A male passenger was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center with head injuries, severe lung bruising and a broken collarbone, Fullerton police said.Wise was speeding west in the 1500 block of West Commonwealth Avenue, police said. He enriches brandade with creme fraiche and adds minced smoked salmon A topping of breadcrumbs comes next Then into the oven it goes, so the top gets crunchy It's served with crostini.* Brandade, $8 8108 W.

"We traipsed up Bunker Hill, down to Figueroa, over to the Fashion District, all over town, and when we landed here I fell in love with this building."Bob Buckles, asset manager for Holualoa Cos., which owns Pacific Center, succumbed to Shohet's enthusiasm. 7, is largely lost in the televised din surrounding the governor's contest and several initiative battles, the job of insurance commissioner is especially important to millions of Californians with auto, health, homeowner and earthquake insurance.The two candidates have engaged in little debate over the issues and appear to agree on major challenges that the next commissioner will face.Both say they back new regulations by Garamendi that prohibit auto insurers from basing rates mainly on a policyholder's residential ZIP Code, rather than his or her driving record.They also promise to push for lower premiums, reduce costly fraud and stop insurers from canceling policies if a homeowner files a claim.The commissioner, a partisan officeholder elected to a four-year term, has plenty of resources to do his job. By adding "Los Angeles" to the elements already in the name -- Anaheim and Angels -- he may surf on the presumed benefits of attaching to a larger metropolitan area, with a presumably more lucrative media profile.The official team position on the new name is that it reflects the large radius from which it draws fans. Barton, who, as director of the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, tracks events in Afghanistan and Iraq. SEOUL North Korea loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and moved about 10 fuel tanks to a launch site in preparation for test-firing a long-range missile that could reach as far as the U.S. None of the brokerages admitted or denied wrongdoing.NASD has brought 20 actions for similar violations, including a June case against 15 brokerages that were fined $34 million for pushing certain funds.

No, the staging will premiere in London's Covent Garden, danced by England's Royal Ballet, currently Kobborg's home company -- tutu much.Royal Opera House, starting Oct 6. Kobe, the son, imploded himself."Bryant, who in a recent interview said he would "roll with it" if Jackson were rehired by the Lakers, made headlines during the 2004 All-Star break by saying he respected Jackson as a coach but did not like him as a person. There were crowds and lines everywhere -- at all the museums, on the subways, in Grand Central Station and the library and especially on the sidewalks.But being from L.A has many benefits, travel-wise For one thing, we don't mind weather so much. Garcia said she had an inside joke with the governor about being a "hotblooded Latina," and this is likely to be good news for her El Centro and Cathedral City district.It's only a matter of time, I'm betting, before we see massive state investment out there, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a new Puerto Rican (or Cuban) museum before the end of the year.Newsmakers in this state never disappoint, do they? The same week that Arnold makes the nightly news, Paris Hilton gets pulled over in Hollywood on suspicion of drunk driving and says she was cruising for an In-N-Out Burger because she "had not ate all day."Not too smooth, but throw her in with Mel Gibson and Schwarzenegger in the celebrity faux pas derby and she's the one who comes off like the sophisticate.But getting back to Arnold, am I the only one who wondered whether the governor meant something other than hot-blooded, as in temperamental? Is it possible he simply meant hot? He is who he is, after all."I mean, they are all very hot," he said at one point in the recording.Hard to say exactly what he might have had in mind. But that is just fairness talking.Forbes figures that almost everybody would pay less under his proposal than under the current system. military official said.Bassim Abbas, 27, who was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, said he would return to the recruitment center for a job after he healed. of Japan and its French partner, Renault.GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, the architect of the company's current turnaround plan, will head the review team.