Robot learns how to flip a pancake. Not the brightest flapjack in the stack.

Cities and states are in terrible shape, and the only solution is help from Washington, the former L.A. mayor tells Bloomberg News.

Not all those days were so great. As Scott McCartney notes in the WSJ, a round-trip coach ticket from L.A. to NY cost $208 in 1958, which in today's dollars is $1,570. Put another way, the average price to fly one mile has fallen from 57 cents in 1949 to 14 cents in 2009. The piston-driven planes of [the 1940s and 1950s], like the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-7, were noisy and often ferociously...

The federal government does not allow Social Security benefits for the surviving spouses of gay and lesbian couples.

What happens when 40 years goes by and the rail advocates are stuck having to say, "Oops"?

Bell officials resign, Dodger Stadium no-shows, Univision scores in ratings, and Pink's comes to LAX.

The group's 2011 conference will be at the Convention Center, and it's a big deal for downtown.

The shame is that this report will be getting a good ride on the wires and on broadcast, based on the Milken name. And it's really just a bunch of hooey.

Nothing like encouraging earnings results from Caterpillar, United Parcel Service and 3M to get Wall Street's attention.

The El Segundo-based toy company was wrongly given ownership of the popular dolls, says the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The SF-San Jose metro area is on top; the L.A. area is 8th highest. Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas is dead last.

The average L.A. household spent $1,622 on travel in 2009, which is slightly higher than the national average, but far lower than households in SF and NY.

As much as two-thirds of the currency in circulation, according to Federal Reserve estimates.

Bankruptcies keep climbing, why BP didn't cap the well sooner, Bell officials are set for life, and TV audiences get older.

99 Cents Only Stores is being taken to court because it has raised the price on some of its goods to 99.99 cents.

Hallelujah - the Senate finally signs off on a $34-billion bill restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans.

In the L.A. area, there are 169 company locations and 64 government locations that are involved in some sort of classified activity.

The Fed chairman tells Congress that "the economic outlook remains uncertain" and that the unemployment rate is likely to stay high.

They're being screened at lower light levels than 2D films - and moviegoers appear to be noticing.

Second-quarter notices of default in L.A. County plunged 47 percent from a year ago and 17.4 percent from the previous three months.

When credit is tight, organized crime will step in and provide investment money for legitimate businesses.

This time it's the Teamsters who could walk off their jobs if a new contract isn't cut in the next couple of weeks.

Good numbers for Wells Fargo, Liz Claiborne closes stores, Oakland approves pot growing, and court ends furlough days.

Lawsuit filed against two Vegas developers has plenty of theatrical flourishes. Case is being handled by an L.A. firm.

Cool video of a simulated ride along the old Pacific Electric right-of-way that's slated to become Phase 2 of the Expo Line.

Did the Calabasas mortgage lender ever consider the words "conflict of interest"?

Republicans are rolling out their tired - and quite inaccurate - claims that tax cuts are the way to prosperity.

Carl Icahn is back with another hostile takeover offer for Lions Gate. He already has a 38% stake in the company.

My weekly business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian looks at the improving jobs picture for Hollywood and Socal's two big ports.

The 87-year-old chairman of Viacom and CBS asks a business writer for the sources on a story about an all-girl group called the Electric Barbarellas.

Workers bearish on Social Security, DVDs get a boost from "Avatar," no action on Bell salaries, and rolling out UltraViolet.

Looks like there are enough votes in the Senate to extend benefits through November for 2.5 million Americans. The two Republican senators from Maine have agreed to support the measure after Democrats agreed to drop unrelated items and trim the bill to $34 billion. From the WSJ: If the extension is approved, unemployed workers in the hardest-hit states would again be able to draw up to 99 weeks of aid. That includes 26 weeks of...

The California State Teachers' Retirement System reported a 12.3 percent return, quite a turnaround from a 25 percent loss in its portfolio in 2009.

Amazon says that second-quarter sales of electronic books on its Kindle outnumbered sales of hardcover books.

In case you had any doubt, a Newsweek poll confirms the obvious: When it comes to getting hired in the first place, 57 percent of managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate will have a harder time getting hired; 68 percent believe that, once hired, looks will continue to affect the way managers rate job performance. It's a view that's reinforced among survey respondents from the general public, a third of whom are either...

Seems to be all the rage among pundits - and indeed there are some eerie similarities.

L.A. office market stays tough, Socal venture deals are up, big increase in small-business bankruptcies, and Schwarzenegger is not making many friends.