Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals has been the focus of 57 disqualification requests from prosecutors since February 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Christopher Goffard
March 13, 2015

For years, Thomas Goethals has weighed the fates of some of Orange County’s most violent criminals. But since the judge began presiding over heated hearings probing the misuse of jailhouse informants, dozens of prosecutors have steered criminal cases away from his courtroom.

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Conservative radio personality Hugh Hewitt in his California studio. (Slav Zatoka)

Why Hugh Hewitt is suddenly the Republican establishment’s go-to pundit.
By Shane Goldmacher
March 14, 2015

Before Hugh Hewitt would answer my questions, he had a condition: Through the producer of The Hugh Hewitt Show—his 15-year-old radio program that touts 2 million weekly listeners—he informed me that I would need to first answer his questions, on air.

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By Jim Puzzanghera
March 13, 2015

The Treasury Department has started taking steps to extend the federal government’s borrowing ability as the U.S. hits its debt limit again Monday, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew told lawmakers Friday.

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