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Americans spend billions of dollars celebrating Valentine’s Day every year, but inflation is forcing many to rethink how they honor the holiday this year. Nearly half— 46 percent — of Americans say inflation is impacting their Valentine’s Day plans, according to a new WalletHub survey. Findings from the 200-person survey show that 24 percent of Americans don’t expect their significant others to spend any money on a gift this Valentine’s Day. But those who think their Valentine will splurge on a gift do not think they will spend very much. About 30 percent of Americans think their partner will spend...

WASHINGTON (CBS / AP) — Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer asked the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday to initiate a formal investigation into what has caused polio-like paralysis in about 20 children in California over the past 18 months. Boxer said “we need answers” in her letter to CDC Director Thomas Frieden. In particular, she wants the agency to look into whether the illness can be traced to a virus or environmental factors. She also wants to know whether the agency is aware of similar reports of paralysis nationwide...

The death of a homeless man fatally injured during a fight with Fullerton police has captured the attention of the community and affected morale in the department. Kelly Thomas, 37, who was schizophrenic, died July 10, five days after the confrontation with six police officers at the Fullerton Transportation Center. Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said the department has received hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from across California and hundreds turned out to protest Saturday morning at the Fullerton police station. "It's not pleasant to see people in front of the police station calling the officers 'murderers,'" Goodrich said....

This “it’s only 33 wells affected by the moratorium, so it’s no big deal” business is popping up in the wake of the judge lifting President Obama’s drilling moratorium, but here’s the Louisiana blog Bayou Buzz reporting on what’s really going on in the Gulf and the impact on jobs: The social and economic consequences of President Obama’s offshore drilling moratorium are starting to manifest themselves and will rapidly worsen. News spread this week that eight of the 33 deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico had either left or were finalizing their plans to do so. Workers, businesses, lending...

THE changes are quickly taking place on the mayor's Web site. For instance, it no longer displays photos of Villaraigosa with his soon-to-be ex-wife Corina, and their children, Antonio Jr. and Natalie Fe. But such happy-family photos used to be on display, because the mayor made his family life part of his public image during his campaigns for the California state Assembly, Los Angeles City Council, and for mayor of Los Angeles. "I'm a devoted family man," they suggested about Villaraigosa, although photos of his children from earlier relationships were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Web site now shows...

CONCORD, N.C. - When asked about Ford Motor Co.'s announcement that it lost a record $12.7 billion last year, the director of Dodge's racing program cringes as if he just swallowed a swig of motor oil. These aren't the best of times for the U.S. auto industry, and the effects are starting to trickle down to NASCAR. Folks in the race team shops sprinkled throughout suburban Charlotte are worried about tightening their belts _ and not just the ones on their engines. Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge Motorsports and SRT Product Planning, said teams must start finding ways to become...

When Mexican President Vicente Fox stars at an official state dinner in Sacramento on Thursday night -- during a trip that includes a visit with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a speech to the Legislature -- his famous "enchilada completa" still won't be on the menu. That was the recipe for immigration reform that the Mexican president promised to lobby hard to achieve in his six-year administration: a guest worker program; a path to legalization for millions of Mexican immigrants, legal or illegal, in the United States; and agreements from both sides of the border to protect Mexican workers from human...

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