LOS ANGELES (AP) — The last time LA’s Little Tokyo tried getting back to its Japanese roots, it was in the early 1980s with the Japanese Village Plaza, a warren of sweets shops, tea stands and trinket stores under sloping glazed-tile roofs.

Read the full story

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s state news agency reported a public appearance by reclusive leader Kim Jong Il for the first time in nearly two months, an absence that prompted speculation he was seriously ill.

Read the full story

DALLAS (AP) — A new requirement that girls as young as 11 be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus before they can become legal U.S. residents is unfair, immigration advocates say.

Read the full story

If ever there were a situation where the phrase “you can’t go home again” would apply, it would be in Many Ly’s second novel for young adults, “Roots and Wings.” Though the phrase should probably be altered to “you can go home again, but prepare to be reminded of why you left.”

Read the full story

His keyboardist Mark Pellizzer plays a mix of chords on a synthesizer for the introduction to “Down in a Cold Dirty Well.” Soon, drummer Alex Tanas and bass player Anthony Lavdanski join in.

Read the full story

On Nov. 4, we will cast our vote in the most important election of this generation — what will be the most important election of our lives. It comes at a critical time, as we bleakly watch our economy freefall, as so many of our neighbors — families — are losing their homes.

Read the full story

With a month left before Election Day, I am reminded of my first voting booth experience. Still in elementary school, I accompanied my mom to our polling site in Brooklyn, N.Y., as her translator.

Read the full story