Opening Day for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club means the start of the horse racing season and a sea of outrageous and fabulous hats. Check out the millinery delights in our photo gallery.

The 71st racing season at the Del Mar racetrack is off and running, and everyone has a theory on how to pick a winner.

The Justice Department has wrapped up its investigation into the Bush Administration's firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. No charges will be filed. San Diego's Carol Lam was among the U.S. attorneys ousted.

This is the extraordinary and untold story of how the Beatles punctured the Iron Curtain. In August 1962, award-winning director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film, in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, with a raw and unrecorded group of unknown rockers — the Beatles. Twenty-five years later, while making a series of films in Russia, Woodhead learned just how powerful Beatlemania was in the Soviet Union.

A San Diego City Council committee today sought a change to the city's code, so that police, firefighters and lifeguards won't have to pay for disability retirement benefits.

"Carrier" is a character-driven, edge-of-your-seat, nonfiction drama and a once-in-a-lifetime total immersion in the high-stakes world of a nuclear aircraft carrier. Mentoring and camaraderie are what hold the ship together. But life on deployment is stressful for everyone aboard, and there can be considerable friction between enlisted personnel and their superiors. Port calls allow sailors to blow off steam, but they don't relieve all the pressure.

Talk of a potential sales tax increase is continuing at San Diego City Hall. A council committee voted to forward the issue.

Cutbacks in the city's emergency-services staffing may have played a role in the death of a toddler who choked on a gumball at his Mira Mesa home, Fire Chief Javier Mainar acknowledged today.

A lightning strike sparked a small, slow-moving brush fire on rugged sloping terrain in the East County highlands today. The blaze caused no injuries or structural damage.

The number of San Diego County homes slipping toward foreclosure dropped by 44.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, a real estate information service reported today.

San Diego officials are reacting to the Governor's proposal to keep more low-level felons out of state prisons. The idea may bring a big increase to San Diego County's jail population.

How do you know if your pet is eating a nutritious diet? What should you learn if you are considering a raw food diet for your pet? We speak to a local veterinarian and the owner of a health food store for pets.

Hear the surprising stories behind ideas that shaped the world, as compiled by a San Diego author.

A veteran Comic-Con attendee offers some sage advice for surviving four days of the pop culture extravaganza in downtown San Diego.

Call them what you will - unauthorized , illegal, or undocumented - the three million immigrants in California who either entered the U.S. illegally or overstayed their visas have an impact on the state's economy and a polarizing effect on its politics. We explore the costs of illegal immigration on business, government, and the children of those who are deported, and we look at why illegal immigrants continue to find their way north in spite of formidable obstacles.

Tijuana filmmaker Aaron Soto loves Comic-Con. Maybe even as much as I do so when he gave me a video postcard of last year's Con, I just had to share it. Hope it gets you revved up for this year's show.

Industry insiders and a lucky few will get a taste of what's in store at this year's Comic-Con International convention tonight during Preview Night. Attendees at Comic-Con's Preview night will experience special programming, screenings and get the first look at the main exhibit hall at the San Diego Convention Center.

Wednesday, President Obama will sign into law a sweeping new package of Wall Street regulations. It's a big win for Democrats, but it comes at a price: The majority party has taken a pummeling from the GOP in that time. Polls show the Democrats have largely fallen out of favor with independent voters.

The national immigration debate largely focuses on adults. But there are more than five million children living in the U.S. whose parents are here illegally. When those parents are deported, many of those young people are left to fend for themselves.

Comic-Con kicks off tonight. But the event has gotten so big that not everything is at the convention center any more and many groups are holding unofficial tie-in to Comic-Con events, like the Saturday screening of "Repo! The Genetic Opera" with creator Terrance Zdunich and director Darren Lynn Bousman in attendance.