Edgar Roa was mostly raised by an immigrant mother without a high school degree, surviving on welfare benefits as his family frequently moved around Southern California in pursuit of affordable housing.

But he is poised to graduate next spring with a degree in a medical field with median earnings of $126,318 five years after graduation, and ...Read more

If there is one thing that will make your heart pound faster than finding out you need cardiac surgery, it’s finding out, mere hours before the operation, that you don’t.

Thus did my supposedly faulty ticker skip several beats when my cardiovascular surgeon called me the day before surgery was scheduled and said, “I have good news and bad...Read more

BOISE, Idaho -- When Michelle Short, 52, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2019, her first thought was about how she’d maintain care for her son.

Then a single mother to a 12-year-old with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, Short made a decision she thought she’d never have to make: She put her son, Riley, in a group home...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When I moved to Los Angeles from New York 20 years ago, I felt like I had landed in an alternate reality — a place where flowers bloomed year-round and a light drizzle was considered a valid reason to cancel plans.

Celebrities of varying sorts dotted the landscape. I spotted Keanu Reeves at the Griddle in West Hollywood and ...Read more

The Garden Guy has always been a tropical plant geek, and not a closet one either. My second book was "Paradise Found: Growing Tropicals In Your Own Backyard." The years I was the host of Mississippi State’s Southern Gardening TV, I was most always decked out in a tropical floral shirt.

So, when Proven Winners announced this year that ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Consider the humble lump of pink Play-Doh.

To a parent, it's a quick toddler playtime activity. But ask an early childhood educator about Play-Doh, and it's a science experiment, an opportunity for sensory exploration, a fine motor skills activity, and an introduction to color mixing, all rolled into one squishy blob.

"We could ...Read more

Florida is moving away from comprehensive sex education in favor of abstinence-only messaging, thanks to recent changes in state law.

It’s an approach we’re likely to see more of, as states curtail or move to eliminate sex ed altogether. The Georgia Senate, for example, is considering a bill that allows school districts to drop sex ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two years after the city of Los Angeles shut down a popular pony ride attraction in Griffith Park, a city-funded survey found that most respondents are in favor of offering pony rides again — a result that has drawn the ire of animal rights activists.

The city-funded public opinion survey, which ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a 34-year-old woman who’s been in a relationship with my boyfriend for almost four years. We’re serious — and lately are talking more and more about marriage. But something from my past has been weighing on me, and I’m struggling with whether or not I should tell him.

About five years ago, in a previous relationship, I...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Nicole Kerr competed with 134 other women to get the attention of her now-fiancé Fran Smythe, a Deptford, New Jersey, finance manager looking for a “fun down-to-earth girl” to settle down with.

That’s because Smythe’s sister-in-law posted his photos to Date Him: Philly, a private Facebook group with over 20,000 members ...Read more

MIAMI -- When Rachel Feinstein thinks of her old life, she thinks of a “dark fairy tale.”

There’s the heavy sway of the banyan trees on Old Cutler Road. Alligator-infested swimming holes. A towering king cobra statue advertising a tragic tourist attraction. Bridesmaids in frilly dresses at her Parrot Jungle wedding. And her parents’ ...Read more

MIAMI — The wait is over. A Cuban woman will once again shine at Miss Universe for the first time in 57 years.

Marienela Ancheta, a businesswoman and model, was crowned at the Milander Center in Hialeah, where the gala took place on Sept. 26. The event brought together politicians, artists and relatives of the contestants. The participants ...Read more

Nearly all of my clients—probably 99%—express a desire for physical intimacy (which, for simplicity, we'll define as sex, however you define that) in their future relationships. For some, it has always been a top priority, while for others, it’s something they felt was lacking in a previous relationship, making it a key focus for the ...Read more

Turns out Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Pennsylvania wasn't just about steel and tax credits — it was also a crash course in pest control.

While disembarking from Air Force Two near Pittsburgh International Airport last Wednesday for a campaign stop at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh — just weeks before the Nov. 5 election — ...Read more

Q. My ex and I have been separated for 6 months. Yesterday my ex refused to drop our kids off at my home because my girlfriend’s car was in the driveway. I think she thinks my girlfriend and I were seeing each other prior to our breakup, but we were not. She was a co-worker and that is against company policy. I was recently transferred to ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I am a fourth-grade teacher who is worried about a situation that I foresee happening this year with adults. Last year was my first year in my building. I quickly found that lunch and recess times were stressful times for both staff and students, as these areas were loud and unruly, and staff spent a lot of time yelling at ...Read more

MIAMI -- It was the artwork that changed Miami forever, and it only lasted two weeks.

Eleven lush green islands wrapped in floating, Barbie-pink fabric dotted Biscayne Bay in 1983. An ambitious public art project years in the making captured the imagination of South Florida and the rest of the world. And suddenly, a troubled city known as “...Read more

It has been 10 years since we bought a new car, which puts us roughly 2,000 light years behind the curve on automobile technology.

Our new car has smart car features, not to be confused with one of those little Smart cars that looks like it fell out of a Cracker Jack box and can be washed in a dishwasher.

We are still learning about all the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- To get to ceramist Raina Lee's tree house, you enter through an iron gate with a dog warning sign and climb a long wooden staircase that creaks beneath your feet. You'll then cross a suspension bridge, and you'll hear, "Be careful, it's very wobbly," before seeing Lee, 48. There, you'll likely find her with a mug in hand, leaning ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Elizabeth French cushioned a sigh with a soft smile as she took a seat on a wooden pew at St. Christina Parish in Chicago's Mount Greenwood neighborhood Sunday. She was there to accept a donation for the nonprofit she began in honor of her daughter, slain Chicago police Officer Ella French, at a Mass recognizing first responders.

“...Read more