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 Barack
Obama -  Homeless
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- Los
Angeles - California
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-  Wash
-  Fla
"U.S. cities deal with a surge in shanty towns." ... "Like a dozen or so other cities across the nation, Fresno [California] is dealing with an unhappy déjà vu: the arrival of modern-day Hoovervilles, illegal encampments of homeless people that are reminiscent, on a far smaller scale, of Depression-era shantytowns. At his news conference on Tuesday night, [Democratic] President Obama was asked directly about the tent cities and responded by saying that it was "not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours."" ... "While encampments and street living have always been a part of the landscape in big cities like Los Angeles [California] and New York, these new tent cities have taken root — or grown from smaller enclaves of the homeless as more people lose jobs and housing — in such disparate places as Nashville [Tennessee's capital], Olympia, Wash. [Washington's capital], and St. Petersburg, Fla. [Florida.]" ... "The problem in Fresno is different in that it is both chronic and largely outside the national limelight. Homelessness here has long been fed by the ups and downs in seasonal and subsistence jobs in agriculture, but now the recession has cast a wider net and drawn in hundreds of the newly homeless — from hitchhikers to truck drivers to electricians." ... ""These are able-bodied folks that did day labor, at minimum wage or better, who were previously able to house themselves based on their income," said Michael Stoops, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy group based in Washington." (1, 2) -By Jesse Mckinley -IHT.com 
 Sarah
Palin -  John
McCain -  Hillary
Clinton -  Women
- Politics
-  Alaska
- Los
Angeles -California
-  Arizona
-  New
York -2008
Election
"Palin: Hillary Clinton's "Whining" Turned Me Off." ... "When Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin arrived backstage for our NEWSWEEK Women & Leadership Event in Los Angeles [California] last March, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain had just wrapped up the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] nomination. Palin had yet to endorse McCain--she liked [former 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney--and as we waited in the green room, I urged her to "feel free" to make some news on stage. She grinned broadly--looking back, I guess it was a grin of the Cheshire Cat variety--and thanked me for the offer." ... "Once onstage, together with Arizona [Democratic Governor] Gov. Janet Napolitano, Palin talked about what women expect from women leaders; how she took charge in Alaska during a political scandal that threatened to unseat the state's entire Republican power structure, and her feelings about [former 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton. (She said she felt kind of bad she couldn't support a woman, but she didn't like Clinton's "whining.")" -By Karen Breslau -Newsweek /article via -HuffingtonPost.com 
Homes
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Angeles - San
Diego - San
Francisco - California
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"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch 
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China
- 
Environmental
- 
Health
- Politics
- 
Air
- 
Land
- 
Water
- 
Coal
- 
Weather
- 
Science
- 
Industrial
- 
History
- 
International
- 
South
Korea - 
Japan
- 
USA
- California
- Los
Angeles - 
EU
- Sports
- Children
- "As
China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes."
... "No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without
creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take decades and big
dollops of public wealth to undo." ... "But just as the speed and scale
of China’s rise as an economic power have no clear parallel in history,
so its pollution problem has shattered all precedents. Environmental degradation
is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions,
that pollution poses not only a major long-term burden on the Chinese public
but also an acute political challenge to the ruling Communist Party. And
it is not clear that China can rein in its own economic juggernaut." ...
"Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause
of death, the Ministry of Health says. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed
for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Nearly 500 million people
lack access to safe drinking water." ... "Chinese cities often seem wrapped
in a toxic gray shroud. Only 1 percent of the country’s 560 million city
dwellers breathe air considered safe by the European Union. Beijing [China's
capital] is frantically searching for a magic formula, a meteorological
deus ex machina, to clear its skies for the 2008 Olympics." ... "Environmental
woes that might be considered catastrophic in some countries can seem commonplace
in China: industrial cities where people rarely see the sun; children killed
or sickened by lead poisoning or other types of local pollution; a coastline
so swamped by algal red tides that large sections of the ocean no longer
sustain marine life." ... "China is choking on its own success. The economy
is on a historic run, posting a succession of double-digit growth rates.
But the growth derives, now more than at any time in the recent past, from
a staggering expansion of heavy industry and urbanization that requires
colossal inputs of energy, almost all from coal, the most readily available,
and dirtiest, source." ... "China’s problem has become the world’s problem.
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides spewed by China’s coal-fired power plants
fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea [capital], and Tokyo [Japan's capital].
Much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles [California, USA] originates
in China, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research." (1, 2,
3,
4,
5,
6)
-By Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley
-NYTimes
US
American - 
Mexico
- Los
Angeles - Calif
- US
Immigration - Civil
Liberties - Law
- "Deported
in Error, Missing and Months Later Home." ... "An
American missing in Mexico for nearly three months after being wrongfully
deported has been found and reunited with his family here [Los Angeles,
California]." ... "The man, Pedro Guzman, 29, was taken into custody on
Sunday at the border crossing in Calexico, Calif., as he tried to enter
the United States, said Mark D. Rosenbaum, legal director of the American
Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which has represented the
family." -By Randal C. Archibold
-NYTimes
Hacking
- 2008
Election - 
Electronic
- Voting
Machines - Los
Angeles - California
- Politics
- "39
counties' vote systems in question: [Los Angeles,
California] L.A.'s InkaVote method may be recertified, but others face
starting from scratch with a primary [2008] election looming." ... "County
election officials scrambled on Saturday to develop contingency plans for
the February presidential primary election after California's secretary
of state imposed broad restrictions on electronic voting machines that
she said are susceptible to hacking." ... "Secretary of State Debra Bowen
decertified the voting machines used in 39 counties, including Los Angeles
County's InkaVote system." ... "The decision places California at the center
of the national debate on electronic voting machines. And with Bowen's
action, the state now has some of the nation's strictest regulations governing
their use." ... "Last week, Bowen's office released its audit of the electronic
voting machines used in California that found some could be manipulated
either by breaking into the hardware or by hacking into the software."
... "The hardest-hit counties were the 39 using machines manufactured by
Diebold Election Systems or Sequoia Voting Systems. Bowen ruled that those
machines could be used only in special circumstances." ... "During the
March 2004 primary in California, touch-screen voting terminals by Diebold
malfunctioned, and state election officials discovered that the machines
contained uncertified software." (1, 2,
3)
-By Hector Becerra and Jordan Rau
-LAtimes
Hacking
- 2008
Elections - Electronic
- Voting
Machines - Politics
- Los
Angeles - California
- "State
decides to secure electronic voting machines: [California]
Secretary of State orders more precautions be taken against tampering,
and withdraws support of the InkaVote Plus machines used in Southern California."
... "Expressing concern that several brands of electronic voting machines
used in California were vulnerable to tampering, Secretary of State Debra
Bowen late Friday ordered new security protections be added and limited
the use of two types of machines that were to be used in next year's [2008]
elections in several Southern California counties." ... "Bowen also withdrew
state approval of the InkaVote Plus machines used in Los Angeles County
[California], saying that the machines' maker, Election Systems and Software,
had failed to submit its equipment to her office in time to analyze its
vulnerability to hacking." ... "Bowen ordered that some machines made by
Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems be limited to one per
polling place to limit the chances that they could be tampered with." ...
"The security requirements Bowen imposed include: reinstalling the software
before the Feb. 5. election to ensure it has not already been tampered
with; placing special seals at vulnerable parts of the machines to reveal
tampering; securing each machines at the close of each day of early voting;
assigning a specific election monitor to safeguard each machine; and conducting
a complete manual count of all votes cast." ... "Alan Dechert, president
of Open Voting Consortium, and group that is critical of the electronic
voting machines, said many activists would be critical that Bowen did not
completely decertify those machines. "She's not asking for changes to hardware
or software," he said. "This is not really doing much for transparency.""
(1, 2)
-By Jordan Rau and Hector Becerra
-LAtimes
Government
- Workers
- California
- Los
Angeles - Environment
- "Forest
Service Short of Firefighters." ... "Weeks into a
wildfire season that has already burned parts of Catalina Island, Los Angeles
and Lake Tahoe, swaths of California's flammable national forests are some
days protected by nothing more than luck." ... "On any given day, about
40 of 271 U.S. Forest Service engines remain in firehouses rather than
on patrol, idled by a shortage of supervisors. Meanwhile, the combined
effects of sustained drought, last winter's freeze and a searing heat wave
has dramatically raised fire danger levels this season." ... "An exodus
of highly trained mid- and upper-level firefighters from the career ranks
of the federal agency is at least partly to blame for the fact that 13
percent of the service's 3,600 full-time positions in California are vacant."
... "Nationally, fire planners from all five federal agencies that handle
firefighting are dealing with the departure of a generation of top managers
hired during a firefighting expansion in the late 1970s. That has left
behind too few career firefighters qualified to run engines, oversee forests
or command large fire operations." -ByAllison Hoffman
-AP via
-TIME.com
California
- Air
- Environment
- Business
- Politics
- Los
Angeles - "Schwarzenegger
pressured air-quality board, Democrats charge." ...
"[California Democratic] Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu`ñez on Monday
called for an investigation into whether the [California Republican Governor
Arnold] Schwarzenegger administration has wrongly interfered with the state's
air resources board as it begins to develop new air emission standards."
... "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has traveled around the globe touting the
state's unprecedented emissions law, AB 32, which was passed amid worldwide
fanfare last year as he sought re-election. But critics now contend that
the governor may have pressured the board to slow down implementing the
new rules to appease business interests." ... ""The administration is interfering
with CARB's [California Air Resources Board] ability to implement the laws
of California, and to say I'm troubled is an understatement," said Nu`ñez,
a Los Angeles Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation. "We're going to
get to the bottom of this. We want to know if CARB was being manipulated
by the administration . . . and to what extent those left in charge of
the air resources board are committed to fully implementing AB 32 to the
letter of the law."" -By Steven Harmon
-MercuryNews
Emergency
- LA
- California
- "Woman
dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help: Tapes show
operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital." ... "A woman
who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital
died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance
to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency
calls reveal." ... "In the recordings of two 911 calls that day, first
obtained by the Los Angeles Times under a California Public Records Act
request, callers pleaded for help for Rodriguez but were referred to hospital
staff instead." ... "“I’m in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the
nurses don’t want to help her out,” Rodriguez’s boyfriend, Jose Prado,
is heard saying in Spanish through an interpreter on the tapes." ... "“They’re
watching her there and they’re not doing anything. They’re just watching
her,” Prado said." -AP
via -MSNBC
Cunningham
- 
Renzi
- 
Gibbons
- 
Jerry
Lewis - 
Miers
- Sampson
- 
Griffin
- 
Rove
- Noteworthy
- Secret
- US
Attorneys - Law
- Money
- Politics
- Los
Angeles - California
- Arizona
- Nevada
- 
Arkansas
- "The
U.S. Attorney, the G.O.P. Congressman and the Timely Job Offer."
... "There is yet another United States attorney whose abrupt departure
from office is raising questions: Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles [California]."
... "Carol Lam, the United States attorney in San Diego [California], was
fired after she put [California Republican Representative] Randy Cunningham,
known as Duke, in prison. Paul Charlton, in Arizona, was dismissed while
he was investigating [Arizona Republican Representative] Rick Renzi. Dan
Bogden, in Nevada, was fired while he was reportedly investigating [Republican]
Jim Gibbons, a congressman who was elected [Nevada] governor last year."
... "Ms. Yang was investigating [California Republican Representative]
Jerry Lewis, who was chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee."
... "Ms. Yang says she left for personal reasons, but there is growing
evidence that the White House was intent on removing her. Kyle Sampson,
the Justice Department staff member in charge of the firings, told investigators
last month in still-secret testimony that Harriet Miers, the White House
counsel at the time, had asked him more than once about Ms. Yang. He testified,
according to Congressional sources, that as late as mid-September, Ms.
Miers wanted to know whether Ms. Yang could be made to resign. Mr. Sampson
reportedly recalled that Ms. Miers was focused on just two United States
attorneys: Ms. Yang and Bud Cummins, the Arkansas prosecutor who was later
fired to make room for Tim Griffin, a Republican political operative and
Karl Rove protégé." ... "Press reports say she [Ms. Yang]
got a $1.5 million signing bonus to become a partner in Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher, a firm with strong Republican ties." ... "Gibson, Dunn was defending
Mr. Lewis in Ms. Yang’s investigation." -By Adam Cohen
-NYTimes
Los
Angeles - California
- US
Immigration - Children
- People
- Civil
Righs - Free
Speech - TV
- 
Radio
- Photo
- 
Journalist
- Censorship
- "Cop
Tactics At Immigration Rally Draw Ire: L.A. Police
Seen Firing Rubber Bullets Into Crowds That Included Children. " ... "Police
Chief William J. Bratton said Wednesday some of the police tactics to clear
immigration protesters from a park were "inappropriate," as numerous news
videos showed officers striking people with batons and firing rubber bullets
into crowds that included children." ... "After a peaceful day of immigration
marches, Los Angeles police say a small group in a downtown park pelted
them with rocks and bottles, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.
Police responded with force." ... "The Radio and Television News Association
of Southern California called for an investigation." ... ""There is evidence
that officers knocked reporters to the ground, used batons on photographers
and damaged cameras, possibly motivated by anger over journalists photographing
efforts by officers to control the movements of marchers," the group said
in a statement." -AP
via -CBSNews
California
- Air
- Law
- Climate
- Politics
- LA
- "Calif
Legislature passes bill to cut greenhouse gases."
... "The California Assembly on Thursday approved, as expected, a bill
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020."
... "The state Senate earlier in the day approved the measure, which was
forged by a compromise reached Wednesday between the legislature's Democratic
Party leadership and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger." ... "Only
one Republican assemblymember, Shirley Horton of San Diego, voted for the
measure, which passed 46-31. Not one Republican in the state Senate voted
for Assembly Bill 32, which was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez,
D-Los Angeles." -By Mark Golden
-MarketWatch
Government
- Employees
- Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- Samuel
Alito
- John
Roberts
- Antonin
Scalia
- "Justices
Set Limits on Public Employees' Speech Rights." ...
"The Supreme Court declared today, in a ruling affecting millions of government
employees, that the Constitution does not always protect their free-speech
rights for what they say on the job." ... "In a 5-to-4 decision, the court
held that public employees' free-speech rights are protected when they
speak out as citizens on matters of public concern, but not when they speak
out in the course of their official duties." ... "Today's ruling, involving
a deputy Los Angeles [California] district attorney who contended that
he had been denied a promotion for challenging the legitimacy of a search
warrant, came in a case that has been closely watched not just by public
workers but by those who have worried that it could discourage internal
whistle-blowers from speaking up about government misconduct and inefficiency."
... ""We hold that when public employees make statements pursuant to their
official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment
purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from
employer discipline," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court."
... "The court's newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., was in the majority
as were Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas." -By David Stout
-NYTimes
US
Immigration - Law
- Politics
- Language
- Los
Angeles - California
- Media
- "How
DJs Put 500,000 Marchers in Motion." ... "He's one
of the hottest Spanish-language radio personalities in the nation. So when
Los Angeles deejay Eddie Sotelo joined hands with his radio rivals to urge
listeners to turn out for a pro-immigrant rally in downtown Los Angeles
[California] on Saturday, organizers hoped for a big turnout." ... "But
many said Monday that they were stunned by how many responded to the call
to march against federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented
immigrants and penalize those who assist them." ... "As a result, what
was initially expected to draw fewer than 20,000 ballooned into a massive
march that police estimated at 500,000 and said was one of the largest
demonstrations in Los Angeles' history." ... "The deejays did more than
publicize the march. Working with the organizers, they also helped develop
some ground rules: Marchers had to be peaceful and clean up after themselves."
... "They were also encouraged to wave American flags." (1, 2)
-By Teresa Watanabe and Hector Becerra with contributions
by Scott Martelle -LAtimes
US
Immigration - Labor
- Religious
- Civil
Righs - Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- "500,000
Pack Streets to Protest Immigration Bills: The rally,
part of a massive mobilization of immigrants and their supporters, may
be the largest L.A. has seen." ... "A crowd estimated by police at more
than 500,000 boisterously marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest
federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented immigrants, penalize
those who help them and build a security wall along the U.S.' southern
border." ... "Spirited but peaceful marchers — ordinary immigrants alongside
labor, religious and civil rights groups — stretched more than 20 blocks
along Spring Street, Broadway and Main Street to City Hall, tooting kazoos,
waving American flags and chanting, "Sí se puede!" (Yes we can!)."
... "At a time when Congress prepares to crack down further on illegal
immigration and self-appointed militias patrol the U.S. border to stem
the flow, Saturday's rally represented a massive response, part of what
immigration advocates are calling an unprecedented effort to mobilize immigrants
and their supporters nationwide." (1, 2)
-By Teresa Watanabe and Hector Becerra
-LAtimes
Science
- California
- Los
Angeles - 
Hawaii
- "Man-Made
"Star" Illuminates Milky Way's Mysterious Center."
... "[...] even on the clearest night, the earth's atmosphere obscures
the true brilliance of our galaxy and astronomers have long struggled with
images blurred by its mix of gases and turbulence. Now researchers have
used a new laser-generated star to obtain the clearest pictures yet of
the Milky Way's center. " ... "Astronomer Andrea Ghez of the University
of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues used the 10-meter Keck 2
telescope in Hawaii, which has a laser attached to it, to observe our galaxy.
The skywatchers employed the 14-watt laser to generate a fake star. By
continuously imaging this false star along with the real ones, they could
correct any fuzziness or other distortions introduced by the earth's atmosphere."
-By David Biello -ScientificAmerican
California
- Los
Angeles - History
- Politics
- "Stanley
Tookie Williams executed: Crips gang co-founder put
to death for 4 murders." ... "Stanley Tookie Williams -- the cofounder
of the violent Crips street gang who became an anti-gang crusader while
on death-row -- died by lethal injection early Tuesday for the 1979 killings
of four people in two Los Angles [California] robberies." ... "Williams'
case set off intense debates over the death penalty and redemption, with
celebrities, activists and anti-death penalty advocates saying his initiatives
and anti-gang message from behind bars had proven his life was worth saving.
He had even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize
in Literature by an array of college professors, a Swiss lawmaker and others."
... "Before Williams went to the execution chamber, the stepmother of one
of the men Williams was convicted of killing said she felt "justice is
going to be done tonight."" ... "[...] Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic
nun and a prominent death penalty opponent, compared the death penalty
to "gang justice."" ... ""Gang justice is, if you kill a member of our
gang, we kill you -- and don't tell me anything about how you changed your
life or what you're going to do," she said. "You kill, and we kill you.
And that's what the United States of America is doing with this."" -With
contributions by Ted Rowlands, Kareen Wynter, and Bill Mears
-CNN
California
- Los
Angeles - Law
- History
- "Gov.
Schwarzenegger Denies Clemency for Crips Co-Founder."
... "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he would not grant
clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams, whose bid to avoid being put to death
shortly after midnight tonight has gained wide attention." ... "Governor
Schwarzenegger's decision not to halt Mr. Williams' execution by injection
at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday is his third rejection of a petition for a stay of
execution or clemency since he took office in 2003. Clemency has not been
granted to a death row inmate in California since 1967." ... "Mr. Williams,
51, is the co-founder of the Crips gang of Los Angeles and has been on
death row since 1981, following his conviction for murdering four people
in 1979." -By Sarah Kershaw and Shadi Rahimi .NYTimes
Halloween
- Business
- Florida
- Los
Angeles - California
- "Halloween
turning into monthlong holiday: Theme parks putting
on a show for fall visitors." ... "Not so long ago, Halloween was merely
a one-day holiday, observed primarily by kids dressed in fake blood, plastic
teeth, ballerina tutus or superhero costumes, who traipsed from door-to-neighborhood
door dragging pillowcases full of candy." ... "Not anymore. Over the past
five years or so, the nation's $11 billion amusement park industry has
appropriated the holiday as its own, helping transform Halloween into a
monthlong celebration." ... "Halloween gave the regional parks an extra
incentive to extend the season longer and offered the year-round destination
parks in Orlando [Florida] and Los Angeles [California] a marketing tool
to get people through their gates during what traditionally was a slow
period." -AP
via -CNN
California
- Los
Angeles - "Wildfire
near L.A. 65 percent contained: Blaze expected to
be fully under control Monday." ... "Firefighters battling a wildfire that
has charred more than 24,000 acres northwest of Los Angeles [California]
have contained about two-thirds of the blaze and expect to have it fully
under control Monday, according to fire officials." ... "The "Topanga"
blaze, which once included Chatsworth in its name, has destroyed 13 buildings,
three of them residences, and damaged 10 others, including one home. Forty
vehicles were consumed by the fire." -With contributions
by Irving Last -CNN
CA
- Los
Angeles - "Los
Angeles Power Restored After Line Overload Causes Blackout."
... "A power failure in Los Angeles, the second-largest U.S. city, darkened
downtown and several nearby cities, trapping people in elevators, disrupting
refineries and snarling traffic." ... "The blackout started around 12:35
p.m. local time, and almost all who lost power had it restored by 2 p.m.,
said Kim Hughes, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water
and Power, the nation's largest municipal utility." ... "Power was lost
in an area with about 2 million people after a worker with the utility
accidentally overloaded a transmission line, tripping circuit protectors,
Hughes said. Overloading the line caused an automatic shutdown of other
lines to prevent damage to equipment." -By Greg Chang
with contributions by Sonja Franklin, Ian McKinnon, Bruce Blythe, Christopher
Martin, Alex Armitage, Greg Baumann, Daniel Taub, Richard Schwartz and
Jim Polson -Bloomberg
CA
- Los
Angeles - 
- "UPDATE
2-Major power outage hits Los Angeles." ... "A major
power outage hit Los Angeles area on Monday, knocking out electricity to
thousands of customers as officials scrambled to determine the cause and
police declared a state of emergency." ... ""The city is on a tactical
alert and obviously traffic is going to be impacted," Los Angeles Police
spokesman Kevin Maiberger said." ... "Maiberger described a tactical alert
as "what happens when the city goes into a state of emergency. Police officers
will only be responding to calls where there is a threat to life.""
-Reuters
- 
- CA
- Sacramento
- 
-
- 
- Religion
- "Four
indicted in alleged terrorist plot against LA-area targets."
... "The head of a militant Islamic prison gang and three others were indicted
Wednesday on federal charges of planning terrorist attacks against National
Guard facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other Los Angeles-area targets."
... "Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by [Levar Haley] Washington,
[Gregory Vernon] Patterson and [Hammad Riaz] Samana at the behest of [Kevin]
James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical
group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS. Washington converted to Islam
while serving three years in the prison for a previous robbery conviction."
-By Jeremiah Marquez -AP
via -MercuryNews
- CA
- 
-
- "Terrorism
charges expected in California probe: Sources: One
state prisoner involved in alleged plot." ... "Federal prosecutors are
expected to seek terrorism-related charges Wednesday against four men in
connection with an alleged plot in the Los Angeles, California, area, three
sources told CNN." ... "The charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism are
expected to be announced Wednesday after a federal grand jury returns an
indictment." ... "Three of the four men are in custody on separate charges.
One of the men is Hammad Samana, a Pakistan native who was taken into custody
earlier this month on charges that remain under seal." -By
Kelli Arena and Dree DeClamecy -CNN
Florida
- CA
- TX- Tom
DeLay -
- "Figure
in DeLay investigation appears in LA federal court."
... "Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a major figure in investigations involving
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, appeared in [Los Angeles, California]
federal court Friday and was released to return to Florida to face an indictment
alleging fraud in the purchase of casino boats from a businessman who was
later shot to death." ... "Abramoff is also under investigation for his
lobbying activities on behalf of Indian tribes and for his role in paying
for overseas trips for DeLay. The Texas Republican has denied knowing Abramoff
paid the expenses." -By Jeremiah Marquez -Knight
Ridder via -MercuryNews
CA
- TX
- Tom
DeLay -
- "Lobbyist
Tied to DeLay Indicted: Jack Abramoff and an associate
are accused of using a counterfeit wire transfer to get financing. He surrenders
to the FBI in L.A. [Los Angeles, California] and is jailed." ... "Washington
lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted Thursday on federal fraud charges accusing
him and an associate of using a counterfeit $23-million wire transfer to
get financing to buy a fleet of casino boats five years ago." ... "Abramoff,
formerly a powerful and highly paid lobbyist who boasted of his ties to
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and others, also is under investigation
by a separate federal grand jury in Washington for his dealings with Indian
tribes. DeLay once described Abramoff as a close friend." -By
John-Thor Dahlburg with contributions by Chuck Neubauer and David Rosenzweig
-LAtimes
-
- "Los
Angeles Mayor Candidate Villaraigosa Claims Win (Update1)."
... "Los Angeles candidate for mayor Antonio Villaraigosa claimed victory
against incumbent James Hahn, giving the city its first Hispanic mayor
since 1872." ... "Villaraigosa had 59 percent of the votes compared with
Hahn's 41 percent at 11:48 p.m., after 70 percent of Los Angeles precincts
had reported results, according to the Los Angeles City Clerk's Web site."
-By Joyzelle Davis -Bloomberg
- Autos
- "Investors
Betting on Kerkorian's General Motors Bid." ... "Investors
were betting Wednesday that 87-year-old Los Angeles [California] billionaire
Kirk Kerkorian's surprise proposal to acquire a large stake in struggling
General Motors Corp. could be a catalyst for a turnaround at the world's
largest automaker. Kerkorian, who shook up Chrysler Corp. with a hostile
takeover bid a decade ago, said Wednesday that his Tracinda Corp. plans
to spend $868 million to double its previously undisclosed GM stake to
8.8 percent. The announcement drove up GM's stock 18 percent, its biggest
one-day gain in decades." ... "Kerkorian's involvement comes as GM Chief
Executive Rick Wagoner is trying to end a prolonged slump that led to the
company's smallest U.S. market share in almost 80 years. GM, which last
month reported a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss, is trying to shore up
its finances in part by winning large health-care concessions from union
workers." -By John O'Dell and Tom Petruno with contributions
by Thomas S. Mulligan-LAtimes
-
- 
-
- "UCLA
Denies Role in Cadaver Case: Probe Targets Director
of Willed-Body Program, Suspected Middleman." ... "The University of California
at Los Angeles denied involvement Monday in the sale of cadaver body parts
for profit after the arrest of the head of its medical school's cadaver
program and a second man over the weekend. Authorities are investigating
whether about 800 bodies donated to the program over the past six years
were illegally sawed into pieces and sold to medical research companies."
... "Henry Reid, 54, director of the university's program that makes donated
bodies available for medical education, was arrested Saturday for investigation
of grand theft for allegedly selling corpses and body parts. Ernest Nelson,
the suspected middleman, was arrested at his home in Alta Loma, Calif.,
on Sunday night on suspicion of receiving stolen property." -By
Kimberly Edds -WashingtonPost
Water
- "Freak
storm drops 5 inches of rain, hail on SoCal commuters."
... ""It was just unbelievable," said National Weather Service meteorologist
Curt Kaplan. He said five inches of rain was recorded in just two hours
in southern Los Angeles [Wednesday night, 20031112],
nearing the previous record for the area of 5.9 inches "but that
was in an entire day." Skies mostly cleared overnight."
-AP via -USATODAY
