At the Smithsonian Art Museum’s Lunder Conservation Lab in Washington, D.C., host Mark L. Walberg and appraiser Nancy Druckman carefully examine fragile miniature portraits from the 18th and 19th centuries normally kept in climate-controlled storage at the neighboring Luce Foundation Center. Highlights include a 1964 Chrysler Turbine model and manual; a circa 1840 temperance banner; and a circa 1925 oil painting by Jessie Willcox Smith, the Philadelphia artist famous for her depictions of children, valued at $75,000.

San Diego Nurses gathered today on the steps of the County Building to demand a financial-transaction tax to stimulate job growth and the struggling economy.

San Diego air travelers will soon have a choice when they want to fly directly to Las Vegas. A new airline will begin flying out of Lindbergh Field.

California budget negotiations appear to be on thin ice once again with the new fiscal year now just a week away.

The Oceanside City Council has narrowly voted to dramatically lower the fees developers must pay if they chose not to build state-mandated affordable housing.

If your weekend plans include boating, you may see more marine law enforcement officers on duty. It’s part of a three-day campaign which starts Friday, cracking down on BUI's boaters under the influence.

San Diego came in sixth on a list of ten "climate-ready" U.S. cities. Also, the face of home ownership is changing in San Diego.

Culture Lust contributor Dave Walters wonders if Okkervil River will survive the stage onslaught of indie rock opener Titus Andronicus at the Belly Up Tavern this weekend.

We'll speak to San Diego congressional representatives Brian Bilbray and Susan Davis about the U.S. mission in Afghanistan now that Osama bin Laden is dead and what the planned withdrawal will mean for Camp Pendleton-based Marines and their families.

The Shakespeare Festival is underway at the Old Globe, a new theater company enters the scene, and an 80s musical just "keeps on keepin' on." We'll talk theater with the U-T's theater critic, Jim Hebert.

Poirot is asked to assist in a murder investigation to determine if a young woman is responsible for the crime. But mounting complications in the case, including multiple frozen clocks, lead the detective to suspect an international political cover-up. Joined by Tom Burke ("Dracula"), David Suchet stars as Hercule Poirot in this adaptation of the novel by Agatha Christie.

David Chang knows ramen noodles. His Momofuku restaurant empire is known for signature ramen dishes. It's appropriate that he focused the first issue of his new food journal, "Lucky Peach," on the Japanese noodle dish. We'll talk with Chang about food, television, and experimentation.

Googling yourself isn't just an act of vanity, it's become a way of protecting your online identity. We'll talk to a local writer who discovered an imposter account on Facebook using her likeness and name to engage in pornographic activity on the popular social media site.

A new Gallup poll finds Americans trust the U.S. military more than any other American institution – namely Congress. According to the survey, 78 percent of those polled say they have a great deal of confidence in the U.S. military.

When Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker, award-winning filmmakers of "The War Room," "Startup.com" and "Don’t Look Back," turn their sights on the competition for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France awards, the country’s Nobel Prize for pastry, you’re in for a treat. In “Kings Of Pastry,” 16 chefs, including Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of Chicago’s French Pastry School, whip up the most gorgeous, delectable, gravity-defying concoctions and edge-of-your-seat drama as they deliver their spun-sugar desserts to the display table. The inevitable disasters and successes prove both poignant and hilarious.

Crews have removed the popular but illegal Surfing Madonna mosaic from the wall of a railroad bridge underpass near San Diego.

James "Whitey" Bulger, the notorious Boston mobster accused of murdering 19 people, is in custody in California after an epic 16-year manhunt that turned him into a global sensation.

Marines on Camp Pendleton say they do not expect the President’s announcement of a drawdown of troops from Afghanistan to affect their planned deployments in the near future.

It could be a billion dollar year for the city of San Diego’s retirement fund. Investment returns have topped 20 percent.

A San Diego State University Finance professor says the federal reserve is acknowledging what many economists have been saying for some time, that there's a lot of uncertainty about a slower than expected economic recovery.

A lawyer, a congressman and a Marine enter a race… it sounds like the set-up for a cheesy joke. But it’s actually the set-up for San Diego’s mayoral election.