iPhone 5 Event: Apple Invites Press To San Francisco Gathering On September 12

Put on your party hats: Apple has sent out invitations for an event to be held on September 12 in San Francisco, where the long-awaited "iPhone 5" will likely be unveiled.

After weeks of speculation and leaks, Apple confirmed that it would indeed be introducing some new products on Wednesday, September 12th. The new iPhone is highly suspected to be the star of the event, and the rumorsphere says to expect a redesigned device -- taller, thinner, with a 4.0-inch screen (up from 3.5 inches) and equipped with 4G LTE capability.

Here's the event invitation, via TechCrunch's Peter Ha on Twitter; in the rendered shadow of the invite's graphics, you can make out the number 5, a play on the fact that tech writers and bloggers have been calling this device the "iPhone 5" for about 18 months:

Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian Shaw (1905–1994) was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Shaw was born and raised in Holt, Norfolk, and made his acting debut at age eight at a London theatre. He studied acting at Gresham's School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Although he worked primarily on the London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he played one of the two murderers in Rope's End. He appeared in his first film, Caste, in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in films. Shaw was particularly known for his performances in William Shakespeareproductions, which were considered daring and ahead of their time. In 1966, he joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company, where he remained for a decade and delivered some of his most acclaimed performances. He also wrote several poems and a novel, The Christening, in 1975. He is also known for his brief but important performance in Return of the Jedi, the original third installment in the Star Wars franchise, in which he portrayed an unmaskedDarth Vader and as Anakin Skywalker's ghost in the original version of the film. (more...)

Recently featured: 1740 Batavia massacre – Authentic Science Fiction – Augustine of Canterbury, Sebastian Shaw

First night of convention paints Obama as champion of middle class

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Democrats opened their convention Tuesday night with two simple messages for voters: Mitt Romney does not get it, and President Barack Obama does

Lakers to honor Shaquille O'Neal, Jamaal Wilkes

The Lakers announced Thursday they will retire the No. 34 jersey of former center Shaquille O'Neal on April 2 when they host the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.

O'Neal, who won three NBA championships and one regular-season most-valuable-player award during his eight seasons with the team, last played for the Lakers in 2004. He also won an NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2006.

O'Neal, 40, retired in 2011 after playing one season with Boston.

The Lakers also said they will retire the uniform number of former forward Jamaal Wilkes, who was a member of three NBA championship teams during the Lakers' Showtime Era in the 1980s. Wilkes, who was nicknamed "Silk," will have his No. 52 jersey retired Dec. 28 at Staples Center at halftime when the Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers.

And the Lakers formally announced Nov. 16 as the date for the unveiling of a statue of Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at Staples Center's Star Plaza.

Wilkes is part of the class that will be inducted Sept. 8 into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass. O'Neal won't be eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2016.

—Mark Medina

ETC.

Chivas GM likely to be fired

Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara, who took control of soccer team Chivas USA on Wednesday, has already begun to restructure the club's front office, although a team spokesman said late Thursday no high-ranking officials have been dismissed yet.

"There will be changes coming, for sure," he said.

Among the first expected to leave is General Manager Jose Domene, who spent part of his day showing Vergara confidant Jose Luis Real, a former Mexican league coach, around the Chivas USA offices. Domene could remain with the team during the transition, although the decision to let him go has reportedly been made, with Real a possible successor.

Domene did not return calls seeking clarification of his position, and Vergara's spokeswoman in Guadalajara did not respond to a similar email.

Jorge VergaraJose Domene 

Robin Fraser

Jose Luis Real

—Kevin Baxter

The most important session in the talks between the NHL and the NHL Players' Assn. could unfold Friday, three days after the league submitted its latest proposal to the players. There was no counterproposal from the union Thursday, but such a move could come Friday in New York.

Against this labor-dominated backdrop, the league Thursday released its national television schedule for the upcoming season. The Kings are scheduled to be on NBC Sports Network for their regular-season opener on Oct. 12 at Staples Center against the New York Rangers, which will feature the raising of the 2012 Stanley Cup championship banner.

—Lisa Dillman

The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Jordan Eberle to a six-year, $36-million contract extension.

Gregory Bourdy of France shot an eight-under-par 63 to lead the European Masters by two strokes after the rainy first round at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Fredrik Andersson Hed of Sweden and Oliver Fisher of England shot 65s late in the afternoon to trail by two strokes.

Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake of Jamaica set Weltklasse meet records despite rain and cold wind at the Diamond League event at Zurich, Switzerland.

Bolt ran the 200 meters in 19.66 seconds. Blake won the 100 meters in 9.76.

Bolt did not run the 100 meters.

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

Wolves not endangered in Rockies? Activists arm for fight

SEATTLE -- Wolves are finally poised to be taken off the Endangered Species list in the Northern Rockies, with the federal government recently approving Wyoming’s plan for managing its own wolves.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the wolf population in Wyoming is officially “recovered,” the same pronouncement that's been made about wolf populations in Idaho and Montana. That decision -- when it takes effect at the end of September -- marks the end of a wolf-recovery process that began in the region nearly 17 years ago.

But the fate of the once nearly extinct predator is far from settled. Wolf advocates fear that the animals could be beaten back out of the Northern Rockies by state laws that have gradually expanded the hunting and trapping of wolves nearly everywhere except in national parks.

New lawsuits are expected to be filed soon in Montana, where conservationists argue that newly authorized wolf traps could catch threatened Canada lynx. Legal...

Michael Clarke Duncan died of natural causes after heart troubles

"Green Mile" actor Michael Clarke Duncan died of natural causes and a doctor has signed his death certificate, officials said.

Duncan, 54, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his publicist, Joy Fehily. He had suffered a heart attack in July and did not recover.

Craig Harvey of the coroner's office said Tuesday that there was nothing to suggest officials need to review the case. Officials noted Duncan had heart problems and was under medical care.

PHOTOS: Michael Clarke Duncan | 1957-2012

In such cases, it is normal for the doctor to sign the death certificate without any review by the coroner.

A former ditch digger for a natural gas company in his native Chicago, Duncan began his Hollywood saga as a celebrity bodyguard in the mid-1990s, according to his Times obituary. He received his first big acting break playing a member of the drilling team sent into space to blow up an asteroid heading to Earth in the big-budget 1998 movie "Armageddon," starring Bruce Willis.

PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2012

But it was "The Green Mile," starring Tom Hanks as a death row prison guard in a Louisiana penitentiary during the Depression, that thrust the 6-foot-5, 300-plus-pound Duncan into the limelight. He portrayed John Coffey, a gentle giant with supernatural powers who has been sentenced to death for the murder of two young white girls.

"There was something about him that I just couldn't ignore," writer-director Frank Darabont said of Duncan in a 2000 Daily Variety interview. "After his first reading, he kept haunting me. Given that he was a fairly inexperienced actor at that point, obviously there was a concern about 'Gee, how would this guy do?'

 

"But once we put him on film, it became apparent that he was up to the task."

Duncan was born Dec. 10, 1957, and grew up on Chicago's South Side. His father left the family when he was 6, and he and his sister were raised by their mother, who steered him clear of gangs, drugs and alcohol.

Growing up, he harbored dreams of becoming an actor.

"Of course, people told me, 'Mikey, you will never be an actor. You don't have the look. You're ugly,'" he recalled in a 2003 Chicago Sun-Times interview.

Besides his mother, Jean, and his sister, Judith, he is survived by his fiancee, actress Omarosa Manigault.

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Franciscan manzanita added to U.S. endangered list

Cause of Southern California forest fire still a mystery

Inmate-guard sex presumed to be harassment, court says

-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Michael Clarke Duncan. Credit: Warner Bros.

Fact check: Opening night of the DNC

CHARLOTTE, NC - We heard a number of dubious or misleading claims on the first night of the Democratic National Convention: •The keynote speaker and others claimed the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, would raise taxes on the "middle class ...