Monday, October 3, 2011

Person of interest named in San Diego freeway shootings

Freeway shooting person of interest A 24-year-old man is being sought by police in connection with a series of midmorning freeway shootings in San Diego County on Monday that left one motorist wounded, two cars and an ambulance with bullet holes, and the California Highway Patrol searching for clues on stretches of Interstates 805 and 5.

Late Monday, the CHP identified Enrique Ayon as a person of interest in the shootings, which caused the CHP to shut down stretches of the two freeways in a search for shell casings and other evidence.

Ayon is the owner of a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu identified by witnesses as the gunman's vehicle, the CHP said.

A 26-year-old man was treated at a hospital after being shot in the leg.

The shootings, which one law enforcement spokesman described as “truly bizarre,” appeared to be random and did not fit the usual road rage pattern, authorities said.

ALSO:

Moreno Valley man is suspect in 20-year-old murder

LAPD to pull officers off patrol to deal with influx of offenders

Man held on suspicion of murder after body found in Pasadena fire

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Enrique Ayon Credit: CHP

Tustin broker convicted in $6.9-million real estate fraud

Mark Helsing booking photo
A Tustin broker was convicted Monday of stealing $6.9 million from investors in a real estate fraud scheme, authorities said.

Mark Alan Helsing, 53, pleaded guilty to 55 felony counts of grand theft, seven felony counts of filing false recorded documents and a more than six other felony counts and sentencing enhancements, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Helsing was charged with defrauding 12 people in the scheme between May 2004 and June 2007.

He operated four Orange County-based businesses and served as a "hard-money" lender, or an investor who provides money to borrowers looking for funds from lenders other than financial institutions, the district attorney's office said.

Helsing used funds from new investors to pay off old investors and kept money that should have been used to fund loans, prosecutors said. Helsing is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces up to 15 years in state prison.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Mark Alan Helsing. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office

Magnitude 2.5 earthquake reported near San Fernando

San Fernando earthquake A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck Monday night near San Fernando.

The quake was centered about four miles north of San Fernando, five miles east-southeast of Newhall and nine miles south-southeast of Santa Clarita, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake was reported about 7:36 p.m. There were no immediate reports of damage.

No other details were immediately available.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Image shows area of reported earthquake. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Telephone service restored in Wrightwood area

WrightTelephone service has been restored in the Wrightwood area of San Bernardino County, officials said Monday night.

All phone service, including 911 and cellphone service, had been down for hours in Wrightwood, Canyon Hill, Oak Springs, Cajon, West Cajon Valley, Big Pines and Pinon Hills, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The outage apparently resulted from  a Verizon “microfiber” that was accidentally was cut, officials said. A Verizon crew was working to repair it.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Image: Map shows approximate location of Wrightwood in San Bernardino County. Source: Google Maps

School reportedly not told of threat to student killed on campus

Memorial for student

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said Monday that administrators were never notified about potential danger from a student accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend Friday at South East High in South Gate.

Abraham Lopez, 18, had been arrested Sept. 25 on suspicion of making threats against Cindi Santana, 17, and her family but was released Sept. 27. Three days later, authorities say, Lopez attacked Santana during lunchtime at the high school.

Deasy made his comments to KCBS-TV Channel 2 reporter Dave Lopez. Deasy added that the alleged attacker was not checked into school Friday and apparently sneaked onto campus. No one at the school had been alerted to the earlier arrest, Deasy said, so administrators couldn't have known that Abraham Lopez represented a threat when they saw him with Santana. 

Another student, a dean and a school police officer all went to Santana's aid, and all received non-life-threatening wounds before Lopez was subdued. But they were not able to protect Santana, who died of her injuries later at a hospital.

Lopez is being held on murder charges.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

-- Howard Blume

Photo: A memorial for slain student Cindi Santana at South East High School in South Gate. Credit: Christina House / For The Times

Man who allegedly had 2,600 child porn images is arrested

John Botello A 61-year-old Riverside County man who allegedly possessed more than 2,600 child porn images was arrested Monday, authorities said.

John Fernando Botello of Cathedral City was apprehended on an outstanding warrant charging him with eight counts of possessing child sexual exploitation images, the Riverside County district attorney's office said.

Investigators found child porn on computers and storage drives that allegedly belonged to Botello, authorities said.

Botello is accused of gathering the images using file-sharing software.

Officials said the arrest resulted from a yearlong investigation by a sexual-predator task force of county law enforcement authorities called Spider.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: John Fernando Botello. Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department

Student charged with murder in stabbing at South Gate high school

South East High stabbing
An 18-year-old student who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend at a South Gate high school was charged Monday with murder and other felony counts in connection with the fatal attack.

Abraham Lopez was charged with 10 criminal counts, including fatally stabbing 17-year-old Cindi Santana on Friday at South East High School, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. She was stabbed multiple times.

Officials said that Lopez, who lives in South Gate, is a senior at the school.

The lunchtime attack left a school dean and another student, who had tried to intervene, injured, officials said. Santana was slain after an argument with Lopez, the district attorney's office said.

Lopez is charged with 10 criminal counts that include false imprisonment by violence, assault with a deadly weapon and bringing a weapon on campus. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at the Downey courthouse, officials said.

Lopez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole. He was being held in lieu of $1.2-million bail.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: A South East High School official speaks with parents Friday after the campus was put on lockdown because of the stabbing. Credit: Gina Ferazzi /Los Angeles Times

 

Metrolink holds for Metro Red Line passengers due to L.A. delays

Metro train
Metrolink trains leaving Los Angeles were holding for five minutes Monday evening for Red Line passengers because of delays on the subway in downtown Los Angeles.

Transit officials said the hold would affect all trains except express trains. The Red and Purple lines were experiencing rush-hour delays downtown of at least 20 minutes because of equipment problems, officials said.

Trains were sharing one track between Union Station and the 7th Street Station downtown, transit officials said.

There was no estimate on how long the lines would be affected by the problem.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Metro Red Line train on a recent day at the Hollywood Station. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Rapper Tone Loc pleads no contest to charges

GetprevRapper Tone Loc pleaded no contest Monday to possession of an assault weapon and corporal injury to a spouse in connection with a June domestic violence arrest.

The rapper, whose legal name is Anthony Smith, admitted that he illegally possessed a Colt AR-15 Sporter.

Superior Court Judge Patrick Hegarty immediately sentenced the 45-year-old rapper, known for such hits as "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina," to one day in county jail, three years of formal probation, 30 days of community service and 52 weeks of anger management counseling.

Smith, also an actor, did not negotiate a plea deal and instead pleaded no contest and accepted the judge's sentence, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Stewart said.

The charges stemmed from a domestic violence incident June 18.

During the investigation, Burbank Police Department officers discovered that Smith was in possession of an unregistered assault weapon.

The firearm was not used in the domestic assault.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

-- Richard Winton

twitter.com/lacrimes

Photo: Tone Loc. Credit: Lester Cohen

Rand Corp. to name Michael Rich president, chief executive

Photo: A sculpture called "Chain Reaction," which depicts a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb, is fenced in at its location across from the Rand Corp. headquarters in Santa Monica. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times Rand Corp. plans Tuesday to name Michael D. Rich, a longtime member of the think tank's senior leadership team, as its fifth president and chief executive.

A Los Angeles native, Rich, 58, will succeed James A. Thomson, who has headed the Santa Monica-based nonprofit research institution since 1989. Thomson announced in April that he would be stepping down.

Rich joined Rand as a summer associate in 1975 and became a staff member in 1976 after graduating from UCLA law school.

As the institute's executive vice president since 1993, Rich helped oversee Rand's domestic, national security and international research units and ventures. At the time, the organization was continuing efforts to grow and diversify in the aftermath of the Cold War, during which government-funded defense and aerospace research had been its bread-and-butter.

Rich, the unanimous choice of a search committee, helped direct the establishment of Rand's Middle East practice, including the Rand Qatar Policy Institute, which he co-chairs. He also guided the spin-off of the Council for Aid to Education, once a division of Rand, as a New York-based nonprofit that researches student outcomes and aid to education.

Conrad Murray case: Drug that killed Jackson used only in hospital

Dr. Thao Nguyen
A doctor who worked futilely to save Michael Jackson's life testified at the trial of his personal physician Monday that she had never heard of the surgical anesthetic that killed Jackson being used in a home setting.

Cardiologist Thao Nguyen said the drug, propofol, poses a severe danger to a patient's respiratory system and in her experience is used only in an operating room staffed with nurses, doctors, and heart and lung monitors.

Conrad Murray trial witnesses: Who's who

"Propofol does not have an antidote, so we have to prepare for the worst," Nguyen told jurors at the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

She was part of a 14-member team that tried to revive Jackson at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on June 25, 2009. Murray, who rode in the ambulance with his famous patient, never told the hospital staff he had given Jackson propofol. He told Nguyen and another doctor who testified Monday that he had administered only small doses of a sedative to treat Jackson's exhaustion and dehydration.

Murray, 58, stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and faces a maximum of four years if convicted. He contends that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose when he stepped out of the room.

RELATED:

ER doctor says she never had chance to save Jackson

Michael Jackson fans vie for public seats at Conrad Murray trial

Conrad Murray talking, texting before Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest

-- Harriet Ryan at Los Angeles County Superior Court

Photo: Cardiologist Dr. Thao Nguyen testifies during Dr. Conrad Murray's trial in the death of pop star Michael Jackson. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Pool photo

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 276

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Eat, prey: An orb-weaver spider spins a honeybee into a cocoon in Glendale in this Sept. 28 photo by Kristina Krause.

RELATED:

'Charlotte's Web' spiders proliferating in La Cañada Flintridge

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

L.A. building inspector gets 18-month sentence for taking bribes

Photos: Federal prosecutors say photo shows Raoul Joseph Germain taking a bribe. Credit: FBIA building inspector snared in an undercover FBI investigation into bribe-taking at Los Angeles City Hall was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in prison.

Hugo Gonzalez, 49, was caught on tape accepting $9,000 in bribes for permits involving a handful of construction sites in South L.A. The L.A. resident was recorded demanding payment from both an undercover FBI agent and a confidential informant.

At one point, Gonzalez also said he wanted to kill the employee of a real estate developer with which he was dealing –- and then flee to Mexico, according to an affidavit filed by investigators. “They would never find me,” he said in the secretly recorded conversation.

During another recording, Gonzalez said via phone that he was in Colima, Mexico, and needed a bribe to be deposited directly into his Wells Fargo account. In a third, Gonzalez said he would need to pay off another inspector before he could receive permission to accept a bribe from someone with a project outside his inspection territory, the affidavit said.

Moreno Valley man is suspect in 20-year-old murder

DNA evidence led to the arrest of a Moreno Valley man Monday in a gruesome murder of a Riverside woman, found bound, gagged and slashed with a hay hook, that went unsolved for nearly 20 years, authorities said.

Judith Goodman was found strangled in her apartment on Gould Street in February 1992, her wrists and ankles tied with plastic zip ties and her mouth covered with duct tape. She also had deep cuts on the back of her neck, apparently inflicted by a decorative hay hook inside her home, authorities said.

According to the Riverside County district attorney’s office, detectives with the Riverside Police Department reopened the cold case in 2010, submitting the zip ties, duct tape and victim’s fingernails for DNA testing that was not available at the time of the murder.

Under Goodman’s right-hand fingernails investigators found traces of DNA evidence that linked to a “potential donor”: Leonard Terrance Woods, 53.

Woods lived in the same apartment complex; and, in 1992, witnesses told police they had seen him entering Goodman’s apartment. They also said he had scratches on his face, which investigators also noted.

Texas fire: Chemical plant processes toxics, produces pesticide

A fire broke out Monday morning at the Magnablend chemical plant in Waxahachie, Texas

The Magnablend chemical plant in Waxahatchie, Texas, where a raging fire broke out this morning, processes tons of toxics, and uses large amounts of anhydrous ammonia, which is caustic, hazardous and can cause breathing problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's risk management plan.

The plant, about 30 miles north of Dallas, also is listed as a pesticide producer, and mixes or produces chemicals used in agriculture and the petroleum industry, including fluids for hydraulic fracturing (the most common of which are benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene).

Nearby facilities include two other agricultural chemical plants.

Here is a list of chemicals released or transferred at the plant, in pounds, by year, according to the EPA:

The plant is located in the Upper Trinity watershed, which has reported contaminants in fish tissue, including chlordane, a chemical formerly used in pesticides, and PCBs, according to the EPA.

More information on the Magnablend chemical plant in Texas.

BPA ban passes California state Senate

Pesticide exposure linked to prostate cancer

High levels of toxic PBDE found in pregnant California women

-- Geoff Mohan

Photo: The Magnablend chemical plant in Waxahachie, Texas. Credit: WFAA.com

Yellowstone grizzly bear involved in attacks euthanized

  A grizzly navigates brush in Yellowstone in a 2005 photo
Authorities in Yellowstone National Park have linked a grizzly sow they captured last week to two fatal maulings this summer and killed the bear Sunday, the park announced Monday.

The grizzly's two cubs, which were captured Sept. 29, were placed in a wildlife facility in West Yellowstone, Mont.

Park officials said that adult bears do not adapt well to captivity, whereas cubs may.

Genetic testing indicated that the female bear was responsible for the death of hiker Brian Matayoshi of Torrance on July 6 and that the 250-pound sow was present at the scene of a fatal attack on hiker John Wallace in August.

In the July incident park officials determined that the sow had been defending her cubs when she attacked Matayoshi and his wife on the Wapiti lake Trail. In that case, even if authorities had immediately found the bear they would not have killed it, since it had no history of interaction with humans. 

And, even though the grizzly was one of nine bears in the area where Wallace's body was found, Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said the sow was euthanized to "eliminate the risk of future interaction with Yellowstone visitors and staff."

ALSO:

Yellowstone park releases report on grizzly attack

Decision postponed, again, on Yellowstone snowmobile rule

Yellowstone grizzly bear euthanized for "predatory behaviors"

 -- Julie Cart

Photo: A grizzly navigates brush in Yellowstone in a 2005 photo. Credit: James Peaco / Associated Press

Conrad Murray talking, texting before Jackson’s cardiac arrest

Dr. Conrad Murray
Dr. Conrad Murray was talking on the phone and texting in the hours and minutes leading up to Michael Jackson's cardiac arrest, according to phone records introduced Monday at the doctor's manslaughter trial.

The records presented by prosecutors indicate that two cellphones registered to Murray were in frequent use during a period he was supposed to be tending to the singer. In the hour before Murray discovered Jackson in bed, records show calls totaling 46 minutes, including a half-hour conversation with his office and a social call to a Houston waitress.

Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

That woman testified at a January hearing that Murray abruptly stopped responding to her during the call and that she heard sounds of a disturbance in the background.

Jurors also heard from a second emergency room doctor, Thao Nguyen, who said she tried to get information from Murray as she worked to revive him. Nguyen, a cardiologist, said Murray never mentioned propofol, the anesthetic blamed for Jackson's death, and said he had just administered a sedative to the pop star. She testified that when she pressed him for the time he had given the drug, he said he didn't know.

"He said he did not have a watch," Nguyen said.

Murray, 58, faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison if convicted. He maintains that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose of the anesthetic.

ALSO:

Mythical Doritos taco shells surface in Fresno

Disney, UCLA flash mob marriage proposals go viral

Washington Prep cheerleader remembered as funny, vibrant

-- Harriet Ryan and Victoria Kim at Los Angeles County Superior Court

Photo: Dr. Conrad Murray listens to testimony while seated near his attorney, Nareg Gourjian, on Monday. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Body found in car trunk identified as that of missing Ontario man

A body found in the trunk of a car in Covina has been identified as that of a man reported missing 10 days ago in Ontario.

Victor Eduardo Mardueno, 25, called his girlfriend Sept. 23 to say he was leaving a friend's house to go to her place but never showed up, said Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan.

When he didn't arrive, she called police.

Four days later a body was found in the trunk of the Toyota Camry he had been driving when he disappeared. It was parked in the 1000 block of East Wanamaker Drive in Covina.

Neighbors had called police to report that the car had been sitting there for several days, Buchanan said.

Cheerleader who collapsed during routine remembered as funny, vibrant

Angela Gettis

Those who knew Angela Gettis, the 16-year-old Washington Preparatory cheerleader who collapsed during a football game Friday and later died, said cheering was not just an extracurricular activity for her. It was her life.

“There is nothing in the world she enjoyed more,” Principal Todd Ullah said in a statement Monday, the first day of class after her death.

Classmates said she brought that same vitality to the hallways of the Westmont high school. She was vibrant, funny and always one of the brightest students in class.

She was popular, her classmates say, someone you wanted to be around.

On a number of Facebook pages set up over the weekend, friends offered their memories: Hanging out with her at lunch. A retreat at Lake Arrowhead. The smile always on her face. The spirit she had as a cheerleader.

Airport Pat-Down for Breast Cancer Patient

Tightened security at airports has created new problems for medical patients, who may be subjected to embarrassing public pat-downs after imaging machines detect devices or implants related to their health.

The latest case involves Lori Dorn, a 44-year-old New York woman who learned in March that she had breast cancer. After tests revealed a high genetic risk for cancer, Ms. Dorn underwent a bilateral mastectomy in April as well as a grueling chemotherapy treatment that just ended in September. As part of her breast reconstruction, tissue expanders were implanted to stretch her skin before placement of a permanent breast implant.

But Ms. Dorn says that last week, on her way to San Francisco to visit friends, she was treated with hostility and humiliated after the tissue expanders were detected by a body scanning machine at Kennedy Airport in New York. She said the workers from the Transportation Security Administration would not let her retrieve a medical card explaining the implants, a situation she wrote about on her blog.

I told her that I was not comfortable with having my breasts touched, and that I had a card in my wallet that explains the type of expanders, serial numbers and my doctor’s information and asked to retrieve it. This request was denied. Instead, she called over a female supervisor who told me the exam had to take place. I was again told that I could not retrieve the card and needed to submit to a physical exam in order to be cleared. She then said, “And if we don’t clear you, you don’t fly,” loud enough for other passengers to hear. And they did. And they stared at the bald woman being yelled at by a T.S.A. supervisor.

I have been through emotional and physical hell this past year due to breast cancer…. I understand the need for safety when flying, but there is also a need for those responsible to be compassionate and sensitive to each situation.

Ms. Dorn said she is not opposed to being patted down, but believes she should have been given a chance to explain her medical situation and taken to a private area for the pat-down. She said a private pat-down was never offered.

She also says she still has several painful areas on her chest where her body is still healing. “The areas are very sensitive with or without touch,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Since posting her story this weekend, several Web sites, including her husband’s blog, Laughing Squid, as well as the blog Boing Boing, have picked up her story. She said she has been contacted by T.S.A. officials and plans to speak with them soon.

The T.S.A. e-mailed a statement about the incident, saying that proper screening procedures were followed.

We strive to treat every passenger with dignity and respect. In this case, that may not have happened. During the screening process, if advanced imaging technology detects an anomaly that cannot be cleared, secondary screening is required to ensure the passenger does not have threat items, such as explosives concealed under clothing.

All passengers may request private secondary screening. While an initial review indicates that proper screening procedures were followed, we regret that this passenger did not have a positive experience.

Allowing the passenger to display her medical card should have triggered a more compassionate response from the transportation security officer, such as an offer on our part of private screening.

The federal security director for J.F.K. has personally reached out and phoned the passenger about her experience in hope of gaining a better understanding of what happened and to help ensure a smoother checkpoint experience for passengers in similar circumstances going forward.

T.S.A. works with numerous groups including breast cancer organizations to continuously refine and enhance our procedures to improve the passenger experience while also ensuring the safety of the traveling public.

Ms. Dorn said the screening at the San Francisco airport before her return flight was uneventful, but she walked through a traditional metal detector rather than an imaging machine.

“The embarrassment came from trying to explain my situation to someone who didn’t want to hear it,” she said. “I was not refusing a pat-down if that’s what was necessary, and ultimately I submitted to one. I was objecting to how I was being treated.”

Ms. Dorn joins a long list of passengers with and without medical issues who have complained of mistreatment by T.S.A. screening workers.

Last year, MSNBC.com told the story of a woman who was forced to show her prosthetic breast during an airport screening. Another woman said she was embarrassed when, during the pat-down, a worker manipulated her breast prosthesis from side to side.

Joe Sharkey, a reporter for The New York Times, has also written about what many travelers perceive as attitude problems among screening workers.

Fake health inspector rips off Claremont business, officials say

An accused burglar has been arrested after he allegedly impersonated a health inspector to get into a Claremont business. Officials from the state Board of Equalization warned that other businesses have been targeted by burglars posing as board investigators.

Efren Arceo, 47, of Los Angeles was arrested last week in connection with the Sept. 19 burglary in Claremont. According to a statement released by Board of Equalization officials, he is suspected committing at least 30 similar burglaries.

Arceo remained jailed Monday on $200,000 bail.

Equalization board Chairman Jerome E. Horton, in a statement, warned that Los Angeles-area retailers were being targeted by burglars who gained entry by impersonating Board of Equalization investigators who had been assigned to check the stores' compliance with cigarette licensing requirements and then stole cash, cigarettes, tobacco products and cigarette license information. 

The board has received 14 similar complaints from retailers in Los Angeles, El Monte, Pomona, Chino Hills, Gardena, Whittier, and Arleta. 

While Arceo was accused of impersonating a health inspector, it was unclear whether he'd actually posed as a Board of Equalization inspector.

Business operators who suspect an investigator is an impostor can call the board's hot line at (888) 334-3300 or contact their local Board of Equalization office to verify the representative's identity.

ALSO:

Grief counselors on hand at South East High after stabbing

Gruesome details recounted in case of ex-model who ate husband

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

-- Abby Sewell

Washington Prep cheerleader remembered as funny, vibrant

Angela Gettis

Those who knew Angela Gettis, the 16-year-old Washington Preparatory cheerleader who collapsed during a football game Friday and later died, said cheering was not just an extracurricular activity for her. It was her life.

“There is nothing in the world she enjoyed more,” Principal Todd Ullah said in a statement Monday, the first day of class after her death.

Classmates said she brought that same vitality to the hallways of the Westmont high school. She was vibrant, funny and always one of the brightest students in class.

She was popular, her classmates say, someone you wanted to be around.

On a number of Facebook pages set up over the weekend, friends offered their memories: Hanging out with her at lunch. A retreat at Lake Arrowhead. The smile always on her face. The spirit she had as a cheerleader.

55 indicted in alleged $250-million tax fraud scheme

A federal grand jury has indicted 55 people in San Bernardino County in connection with an alleged tax fraud scheme involving the filing of false income tax returns seeking more than $250 million in bogus refunds, authorities said Monday.

Many of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.

Others are accused of making false claims against the United States, with a maximum sentence of five years.

The IRS investigation centered on two companies: Old Quest Foundation in Fontana and De la Fuente and Ramirez and Associates in Rancho Cucamonga.

Really? The Claim: Yawning Cools the Brain

THE FACTS

The medical literature is rife with explanations for yawning, but one has gained substantial ground in recent years: This mysterious habit may help regulate brain temperature.

The brain operates best within a narrow range of temperatures, and like a car engine, it sometimes needs a way to cool down. To lower the brain’s thermostat, researchers say, the body takes in cooler air fro its surroundings — prompting deep inhalation.

Yawning is contagious. Simply watching someone do it is enough to induce the behavior. But when scientists had people watch yawning videos in a 2007 study, they found that applying cold packs to the subjects’ heads practically eliminated contagious yawning. Nasal breathing, which also promotes brain cooling, had a similar effect.

In a study of 160 people published last month in the journal Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience, yawning was found to vary by season. People were shown to be more likely to yawn in winter than summer, perhaps because an overheated brain gets little relief from taking in air that is warmer than body temperature.

The researchers, who controlled for factors like humidity and the amount of sleep subjects got the night before, also found that the more time a person spent outside in warm temperatures, the less likely they were to yawn. The findings may explain why people yawn when tired: Sleep deprivation raises brain temperature. As for why yawning is contagious, it may have evolved as a way to signal to others in a group to sta alert and ready in case of outside attacks, scientists say.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Growing evidence suggests yawning may be a way for the brain to cool off, though it is still just a theory.

Occupy L.A. keeps economic protest alive outside City Hall

Occupy LA Oct 1 2011

Protesters fed up with Wall Street's practices and influence woke up Monday to their third morning of camping outside Los Angeles City Hall.

Some of the approximately 100 activists planned to head across the street to join the throng outside the courthouse where Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is on trial.

Members of Occupy Los Angeles, as their group is called, said they hoped to attract more media attention to their cause, which draws its inspiration from the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York.

The movement generally takes issue with corporate influence on government.

Police and protesters said the second night of the sleep-in had gone by without incidents or arrests.

Disney, UCLA flash mob marriage proposals go viral

Men in serious relationships, take notice.

Some Southern California Romeos have been setting the bar pretty high for marriage proposals. In recent weeks, two grooms have staged elaborate flash mobs to pop the question. And, judging by the YouTube videos, their hard work is paying off.

The Orange County Register reported Sunday on a Downtown Disney proposal orchestrated by Jamin Love, a Cal State Fullerton graduate. He choreographed a flash mob to propose to his girlfriend Valerie Albania, a nurse a Children's Hospital of Orange County, to Bruno Mars' "Marry You."

Twin girls -- their friends -- began the dance. Albania told the Register, "I thought, 'That's weird, what are the twins doing here dancing?' "

But when Love jumped into the flash mob, then knelt on one knee with a one-carat diamond in hand, it all became clear.

The video, above, has already been viewed more than 600,000 times, and Albania said she's amazed by the outpouring of support.

"But what's more amazing is that I get to marry this man who I love so much."

Not to be outdone, UCLA graduate Nam Tran decided to bring his girlfriend, Trang Vu, back to their alma mater to propose at Bruin Plaza. Tran enlisted 200 people, including friends, family and Vu's parents who live 300 miles away, to participate in the flash mob.

When Vu recognized her loved ones in the group performing to her favorite love song, below, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli -- she realized it was for her, and that Tran was "up to something big," she told UCLA Today.

She, of course, said "yes," but only after pronouncing him "cheesy."

Tran used the company Flash Mob America to help him choreograph his proposaland then started recruiting people.

"Even our dentist showed up," he said. "I just casually mentioned it to him, and he said, 'Oh, you need more dancers?' it was so funny to see him there."

And one last warning for future grooms: These flash mobs are not for the faint of heart. Both men said planning for the big proposal took weeks and weeks. So if you can't even figure out where you're taking her to dinner this weekend, you might want to consider another option.

-- Kimi Yoshino

More suspects sought in Koreatown shooting of two LAPD officers

Koreatown police shooting
Police continued to search Monday for suspects in the shooting of two undercover LAPD officers in Koreatown.

The people being sought are in addition to two teenage boys who already have been booked in connection with the Saturday night shooting that wounded the officers. The names of the arrested boys have not been released because they are juveniles.

The plainclothes officers were shot after they came upon what appeared to be a gang-related shooting of a woman, authorities said.

The officers were shot in the face with small pellets. One officer was hit in an eye. The other officer was released from the hospital with minor injuries.

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-- Abby Sewell

Photo: Scene of Koreatown shooting. Credit: KTLA-TV

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