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LAPD officer arrested for allegedly committing lewd acts on 2 girls under 10 years old

AP — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:11:14 -0700

; Credit: Photo by Harvey K via Flickr Creative Commons

A Los Angeles police officer has been arrested for allegedly committing lewd acts on two girls under 10 years old while off duty.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials say the two girls told detectives that on Saturday morning 28-year-old Miguel Schiappapietra lured them into his home in Castaic and committed lewd acts. Sheriff's Department Sgt. Brian Hudson did not elaborate.

Los Angeles police Det. Gus Villanueva says Schiappapietra has been with the department for six years. He will remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the sheriff's criminal investigation and an LAPD internal affairs investigation.

According to the Sheriff's Department, Schiappapietra remained in custody Monday on $100,000 bail. Hudson says he'll likely be arraigned Tuesday.

Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau is handling the case.

3 indicted in fake-bomb bank heist at LA-area Bank of America

Bianca Ramirez — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:41:43 -0700

A federal grand jury has indicted three Los Angeles men in connection with a bank robbery in Huntington Park last year. ; Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

A federal grand jury has indicted three Los Angeles men in connection with a bank robbery in Huntington Park last year that involved a fake bomb.

Ray Vega, Bryan Perez, and Richard Menchaca are the three men included in the indictment. Vega allegedly orchestrated the heist, which took place at a Bank of America. He allegedly strapped an explosive device on his girlfriend — who worked at the bank as assistant manager — and allegedly demanded she turn over the bank's cash.

A bomb squad later determined the device was bogus.

Authorities haven't yet determined — or haven't yet disclosed — whether they believe Vega's girlfriend was a victim or accomplice in the heist, though FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said they may name additional accomplices.

"We do believe that that there may be additional members of the group that participated in the robbery or the planning, or who may have information about where the stolen money might be," she said. "A large amount of money was stolen. That money has not been recovered. "

Eimiller would not say to what extent Vega's girlfriend was involved in the alleged crime, or if she would be charged.

Bank of America is offering a $10,000 reward of up to for anyone who has information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any additional suspects.

Senate committee to take up family visa issue

Kitty Felde — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:40:17 -0700

The policy over the issuing of visas is a key component of new immigration laws that are being debated in Congress.

The Senate Judiciary Committee continues debating more than 300 amendments to a comprehensive immigration bill. One big issue is still to come: the sticky topic of family visas.

Currently, about two-thirds of legal immigrants are family members of legal U.S. residents.

The Senate bill makes employment visas a higher priority and creates a point system making it more difficult to obtain family visas. It would completely eliminate sibling visas 18 months after the bill's passage. There would be no visas offered to children who are married and over the age of 31.

Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono has introduced several amendments to ease family visa restrictions. They are expected to be taken up Tuesday or Wednesday. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont says the committee could finish its work on amendments by the end of the week.

Over on the House side, the so-called "Gang of Eight" isn't expected to unveil its version of immigration reform until Congress returns to work after the Memorial Day recess.

Senate committee votes on immigrant detention amendments

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:36:20 -0700

An Orange County Sheriff's deputy keeps watch over a group of immigrant detainees at the Theo Lacy Facility, where the federal government contracts detention space. Immigrant detention is among the issues being weighed by a Senate committee as it debates amendments to an immigration reform bill.; Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP

The Senate Judiciary Committee is still moving toward its much-anticipated showdown over immigrant visas and a path to legal status as it weighs a comprehensive immigration reform bill. But Monday, one highlight of the committee hearing was immigrant detention.

Committee members voted on amendments into the evening. But a handful of those addressed during the session concerned the solitary confinement of detainees, the fate of children of detained parents, and transparency:

An amendment approved by voice vote from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) would restrict the use of solitary confinement in detention centers, among other guideleines prohibiting its use among minors under 18, and strictly limiting its use when detainees have mental health problems. The New York Times reported recently that as many as 300 detainees are held in solitary confinement around the country on any given day, many well past the 15 days that experts say could lead to psychological harm.
An amendment approved 18-0 from a bipartisan group led by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) would allow immigrant parents held in detention centers to make necessary phone calls to arrange for their children's care, and to remain informed of what steps agencies take to care for their children if no one else can. It would also require government agencies to be trained to deal with these cases. The idea is to prevent the separations that have taken place in many cases when detained children enter the foster care system; an investigation in 2011 found that more than 5,000 detained immigrants' children were in foster care. Some have been adopted, resulting in bitter custody battles.
An amendment approved by voice vote from Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) would require more transparency and record-keeping in the detention system. Federal agencies responsible for detaining immigrants would have to keep comprehensive records and produce periodic reports on detainees, including how long people are held. These reports would be available to the public without the need to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Other detention-related amendments being considered include one from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that would strike a provision in the Senate bill calling for an expansion of detention alternatives, such as electronic monitoring.

The federal immigrant detention system, much of which is operated by private contractors, has continued to face problems in spite of an overhaul announced in 2009. Over the past several years, scandals have erupted over the incarceration of families with children, the solitary confinement of detainees, and deaths in custody. Just recently, two detainees committed suicide within three days in a contracted detention center in Arizona.

See a complete list of today's amendments voted on here.

At least 51 dead as tornado rips through Oklahoma City suburbs (Live Video)

Eyder Peralta, NPR and Tim Talley, AP | NPR/AP — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:02:00 -0700

This photo provided by KFOR-TV shows homes flattened outside Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. A monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school. ; Credit: KFOR-TV/AP

Update at 6:09 p.m. PST. Death toll rises to at least 51:

At least 51 people have been killed, spokesperson Amy Elliot of the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office, tells NPR. Elliot said the death toll is expected to rise.

Scott Coppenbarger, a spokesman for OU Medical Center, says the hospital has admitted 20 people for treatment due to tornado-related injuries — 12 adults and eight children.

Live video coverage from NBC:

NPR Social Media Editor Andy Carvin has highlighted a few of the salient social media posts from the ground.

Warning: Some of the language below on Andy's Storify page could be offensive to some of our readers.

[View the story "Tweets from the Moore, OK Tornado" on Storify]

Update 5:53 p.m. PST: At least 37 killed

A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 37 people were killed, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, south of the city. Block after block of the community lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.

Authorities expected the death toll to rise as emergency crews moved deeper into the hardest-hit areas. More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 70 children.

Rescuers mounted a desperate rescue effort at the school, pulling children from heaps of debris and carrying them to a triage center.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with search-and-rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers.

Fallin also spoke with President Barack Obama, who offered the nation's help and gave Fallin a direct line to his office.

Many land lines to stricken areas were down and cellphone traffic was congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, the governor said.

In video of the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of wood, pieces of insulation, awnings, shingles and glass all over the streets.

Volunteers and first responders raced to search the debris for survivors.

At Plaza Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.

Several children were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage center in the parking lot.

James Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the approaching tornado and ran to the school, where his 5-year-old foster son, Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.

"About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he said.

The students were placed in the restroom.

Douglas Sherman drove two blocks from his home to help rescue survivors.

"Just having those kids trapped in that school, that really turns the table on a lot of things," he said.

Tiffany Thronesberry said she got an alarming call from her mother, Barbara Jarrell, after the tornado.

"I got a phone call from her screaming, 'Help, help! I can't breathe. My house is on top of me!'" Thronesberry said.

Thronesberry hurried to her mother's house, where first responders had already pulled her out. Her mother was hospitalized for treatment for cuts and bruises.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a risk in the aftermath of the system.

Monday's powerful tornado loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.

The weather service estimated that the storm that Monday's tornado was at least a half-mile wide. The 1999 storm had winds clocked at 300 mph.

Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Mo., said it's unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path.

Monday's devastation in Oklahoma came almost exactly two years after an enormous twister ripped through the city of Joplin, Mo., killing 158 people and injuring hundreds more.

That May 22, 2011, tornado was the deadliest in the United States since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before Joplin, the deadliest modern tornado was June 1953 in Flint, Mich., when 116 people died.

The National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma is tweeting updates. At 1:22 p.m. PST. they tweeted:

"the tornado is so large you may not realize it's a tornado. If you are in Moore, go to shelter NOW!"

KFOR is streaming its live coverage.

Update at 1:44 p.m. PST. Devastated Neighborhoods:

Helicopter images of Moore, Oklahoma from KFOR show tracts of devastated neighborhoods. The images show homes missing their roofs, some of them completely leveled.

The reporter on the helicopter said one school was razed by a mile-wide tornado. KFOR showed people walking listlessly through the streets, surveying the damage and reuniting with their families.

Update at 1:38 p.m. PST. Reminiscent Of 1999 Tornado:

Kurt Gwartney of NPR member station KGOU in Oklahoma City said one of the issues with today's tornadoes is that people are at work and school.

"What we're seeing from helicopter coverage," Gwartney tells our Newscast unit, "is very reminiscent of the May 1999 tornado that killed lots of people especially in the Moore area of the Oklahoma City metro.

A report from USA Today at time, put that 1999 tornado's top winds at 318 mph.

Judge: Some workers not allowed to strike against UCLA, UC Irvine medical centers (PDF)

Stephanie O'Neill — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:48:05 -0700

UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) Medical Center.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

A Sacramento Superior court judge has issued an injunction that limits how many health workers can take to the picket lines this week at the five University of California medical centers. Read the full ruling below.

Superior Court Judge David Brown agreed with the state Public Employee Relations Board that an “imminent threat to public health or safety” would exist if certain workers were able to walk off the job.

The ruling bars about 450 workers from joining the strike, including respiratory therapists, pharmacists, clinical lab scientists and radiologists who provide essential patient care at UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC San Francisco.

Those workers expected to participate in the walkout include: vocational nurses; technicians responsible for operating equipment such as ultrasounds, X-ray, MRI and CT scans; pharmacy technicians who deliver medication to patients and some respiratory therapists, among others.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 13,000 workers, called the strike, in part, to protest increased worker contributions to pension plans, scheduled to start July 1.

On Monday, UC officials said that the increase in worker contributions applies across the board to all UC workers – executives included – and that it’s necessary to shore-up the pension system which is under funded by $24 billion.

The union is also calling for increased wages and staffing.

As many as 12,000 workers are expected to strike from 4 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Thursday. UC officials say emergency rooms will be open during the walk out, which they estimate will cost the UC System $20 million.

Afscme-upte Strike Injunction 052013-1

California Senate passes bill to clear up state laws on medical pot

Julie Small — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:44:09 -0700

Cody Blake, an employee at Perennial Holisitic Wellness Center in Studio City, displays one of the dispensary's popular marijuana strains. The state legislature is seeking to put current guidelines for dispensaries into law.; Credit: Bear Guerra/KPCC

California’s Senate passed a bill Monday that would shield pot collectives and their employees from prosecution for possession or sale of medical marijuana.

"We want to create more certainty where little or none exists now," said Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who wrote the bill. Steinberg hoped it would at least provide “a vehicle for some sort of understanding with the federal government.”

The federal government does not recognize state laws that allow the sale or possession of medical marijuana. The U.S. Justice Department periodically targets clinics, especially those it believes are operating as commercial businesses.

Senate Bill 439 would put into statute a set of guidelines California’s Attorney General issued in 2008 that defines the kind of operations allowed under Prop 215 — California’s Compassionate Use Act.

While that won't prevent the federal government from prosecuting pot dispensaries, Steinberg thinks it might discourage them. Steinberg insisted that local governments would retain their authority to ban pot shops or regulate their operations — a right California’s Supreme Court reaffirmed just this month.

Republican Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) doubted that local jurisdictions will retain that authority. He said SB 439 would legalize for-profit sales of medical pot — not what Californians voted for when they voted to allow limited medical use in 1996.

Neilson blamed the proliferation of medical pot sales for “huge problems in our communities."

The California Narcotics Officers' Association and the California Police Chiefs Association opposed Steinberg’s bill. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Alliance supported it.

Senators voted 22-12 to pass Steinberg’s bill, mostly along party lines.

The bill now heads to the Assembly.

Crews stamp out brush near Burbank golf course

Eric Zassenhaus and Bianca Ramirez with KPCC staff — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:44:00 -0700

; Credit: Courtesy City of Burbank

Update 5:34 p.m.: Fire out, crew mopping up area

A one-acre brush fire that had been burning near a Burbank golf course is now fully contained, city of Burbank spokesman Todd Wilson said Monday afternoon. Crews are on hand to clean up hot spots in the area and make sure they don't reignite.

"We have full containment at this time," Wilson said. "We're going to keep a firewatch on it overnight to make sure that no embers rekindle and start another event.

About 100 firefighters from Burbank, L.A. County and L.A. city fire agencies were on hand to help extinguish the fire Monday. The cause is still being investigated.

Update 3:43 p.m.: Fire burns in hills near golf course

A one-acre brush fire burned Monday afternoon on a hillside near the DeBell Golf Course in the Burbank area.

The fire was reported shortly after 12:15 p.m., according to Drew Sugars, spokesman for the city of Burbank.

Firefighters responded to the scene along with two water-dropping helicopters, Sugars said.

“We had Burbank firefighters attack it from the ground, but this fire started going to go up the hill. So we have help from L.A. City Fire. We had two helicopters dropping water on it," Sugars said. "We also received three ground crews from L.A. County to assist in the ground fight. And we have some backup from Glendale and Pasadena as well.”

Sugars said that the golf course has not been evacuated, but that officials have closed the back entrance to the course as a precaution. No homes are threatened, and firefighters hope to have the blaze contained by Monday evening.

"It’s very hilly back here in the Verdugo Mountains," said Sugars. "The brush is very dry this time of year. But between the experienced hand crews that we have and the attack from the air from L.A. City, it seems to be going very well.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

View Larger Map

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the fire was 20 acres. We regret the error.

Calif. bill would strip secrecy from health agency

Michael R. Blood | AP — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:02:09 -0700

Nurse Allison Miller (L) checks the blood pressure of Keri Anderson as nurses and physicians give free basic health screenings and call attention to what they say is the ongoing healthcare emergency despite the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act, on July 10, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Two lawmakers are pushing legislation to strip broad secrecy provisions from the state agency overseeing health care reforms in California that could shield from the public how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent, officials said Monday.

The bill by Republican Sen. Bill Emmerson and Democratic Sen. Mark DeSaulnier was introduced in the state Senate less than two weeks after The Associated Press reported the degree of privacy granted Covered California appears unique among states attempting to establish their own health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's signature law.

"It should all be transparent," Emmerson said in an interview. The California agency was given authority "to do things no one else could do. There was no sunlight on it."

An AP review of the 16 other states that opted for state-run marketplaces found the California agency was given powers that are the most restrictive in what information is required to be made public, and that explicit exclusions from open-records laws might run afoul of the state constitution.

The bipartisan bill, if passed in the Legislature, would take effect immediately "in order to ensure that public resources are managed efficiently," according to the text. Only narrower, temporary exemptions would be allowed, consistent with long-standing state law.

In August 2010, when California was sprinting to become the first state to embrace the most extensive health care changes since Medicare, state lawmakers gave the new agency the authority to keep all contracts private for a year and the amounts paid secret indefinitely.

According to agency documents, Covered California plans to spend nearly $458 million on outside vendors by the end of 2014, covering lawyers, consultants, public relations advisers and other functions.

By reversing the law, the bill, SB 332, would make public meeting minutes and records that reveal recommendations, research or strategy of the board or its staff, or those that provide instructions, advice or training to employees.

The indefinite ban on releasing rates of pay to companies and individuals receiving contracts would be scrapped. That provision goes beyond exemptions for other state healthprograms, such as Healthy Families, which withholds rates of pay from disclosure for up to several years, but not permanently.

The new law would mirror Healthy Families, providing a one-year delay in release of contracts only with large health plans and a three-year delay for rates of pay with only those firms, which are intended to promote fair competition.

However, those contracts would be open for inspection — at any time — by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

All other contracts would be pulled under state open-records laws, rather than exempted from them. It's routine in government to keep bids secret until contracts are awarded, so one vendor does not get an unfair advantage over others. After a bid is awarded, contracts generally become fully public.

DeSaulnier's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Currently, it's not clear how many contracts the agency has executed, for how much or with whom.

In Massachusetts, the state that served as the model for Obama's health overhaul, theHealth Connector program is specifically covered by open-records laws. The same is true in Idaho, where its exchange was established as a private, nonprofit corporation, and in New Mexico.

The Maryland Legislature subjected its exchange to the state's public information act, but protected some types of commercial and financial information.

UC schools draw record application numbers; UCLA as exclusive as Tufts — for state students

William Celis — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:50:29 -0700

Lucky UCLA students sit around the Bruin Bear statue during lunchtime. The school has become as competitive as Tufts and Cornell, according to a recent article.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The University of California system remains a popular destination for incoming freshmen – and getting into UCLA is now as hard as getting into Tufts and Cornell, at least for California students.

The 10-campus U.C. system drew nearly 140,000 applications for the undergraduate class, according to Ralph Becker, a columnist for College Counseling. He said UCLA led all UC campuses with 99,000 applications, which include community college transfers. Berkeley came in second place, with a record 67,600 applications, and UCSD followed with 67,400.

UCLA reported an in-state admission rate of 17.4 percent, Becker said, a level comparable to Cornell and Tufts, two of the nation’s most selective universities. Overall, the 10 campuses accepted 82,850 freshman, for an average acceptance rate of 59 percent. Berkeley and San Diego campuses were more exclusive than the average.

The numbers show that despite the rising expense and increasingly competitive nature of college admissions, many Americans clearly still consider higher education a calling card they can’t do without.

But the prestigious public U.C. system is changing in one profound way: out-of-state students increasingly make up more of its enrollment. About a third of the 14,100 freshmen admitted at Berkeley, for instance, come from a state other than California.

These out-of-state students pay premium tuition for being nonresidents. At current tuition rates, they would bring in $112 million for UC coffers, Becker wrote. As college tuition increases for in-state students slow, many public university systems, including the UC system, will continue to see out of state admits as a revenue source.

According to the American Council on Education, tuition growth last year was 4.8 percent, the lowest increase in more than a decade.

LA Unified candidates Monica Ratliff, Antonio Sanchez square off

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:28:33 -0700

(L) District 6 School Board Candidate, Monica Ratliff, in her classroom at San Pedro Street Elementary. (R) District 6 School Board Candidate Antonio Sanchez.; Credit: Rebecca Hill/KPCC

With less than a day before elections the candidates for the pivotal L.A. Unified school board district 6 race squared off on key classroom policies on KPCC’s Airtalk. The candidates tried to highlight policy differences -- but they didn't appear as wide as each candidate contends.

Former lawyer and current elementary school teacher Monica Ratliff is a union representative with United Teachers Los Angeles. But she said that doesn’t mean she would be in lock step if elected to the seven-member board of education.

“I don’t think that’s actually been indicated by my record so far,” she said.

Ratliff said seniority-based layoffs have hurt schools in poor areas that have high proportions of junior teachers -- so she thinks seniority should be less of a factor when the school district carries out layoffs.

Urban planner Antonio Sanchez, who’s never held elective office but has worked on political campaigns, agreed with Ratliff.

Both candidates, which are vying to represent the east San Fernando Valley, said teacher evaluations should include student standardized test scores.

“I value experience,” Sanchez said “but at the end of the day we should consider experience and effectiveness in the classroom.”

Support for current L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy and his policies has become a sort of litmus test for candidates. And here’s where a difference of opinion was in evidence.

“I support his policies,” Sanchez said unequivocally.

“I don’t agree with him on everything,” Ratliff said.

United Teachers Los Angeles endorsed both candidates for the primary elections in March and has stood by its endorsements.

The big money in this school board runoff is coming from independent expenditure committees funded by people who strongly support the idea of keeping Deasy as Superintendent.

UTLA’s criticism of Deasy has been consistent since the Superintendent was hired by a majority of the school board two years ago. The teachers’ union independent expenditure committee has spent no money in the race.

“I would love it if these big donations went directly to the schools because we could buy so much for each school with each of these large donations,” Ratliff said.

Over the weekend, independent expenditure committees supporting Sanchez continued to file with city officials tallies of how they're spending their donations. The most recent filings show more than $2 million spent by independent committees in the primary and runoff elections.

Elephant meat for Fresno, protected reptile handbags and one dead primate at LAX

Lisa Brenner — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:01:43 -0700

May 6 - May 12, 2013: LOS ANGELES - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted and seized nearly half a pound of elephant meat and a dead primate at the International Mail Facility. They also seized 387 snake, lizard and crocodile skin handbags from a passenger arriving from Nigeria at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).; Credit: Jaime Ruiz/U.S. Customs and Border Protection via Flickr

Officials seized a dead primate; 387 snake, lizard and crocodile skin handbags; and nearly half a pound of elephant meat over the course of a few days earlier this month at Los Angeles International Airport, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

May 6 - Reptile handbags seized during baggage inspection of 31-year-old man arriving on a flight from Nigeria.
May 9 - Elephant meat seized at the International Mail Facility.
May 10 - Primate seized at the International Mail Facility.

Jill Birchell, special agent in charge for Fish and Wildlife in California and Nevada told the Press-Telegram that "several of these were endangered species and under the highest level of protection."

The Asian elephant meat originated in Thailand and was bound for Fresno. It was found tucked inside plant material.

"It's a highly endangered animal" Birchell said. "There's no international trade whatsoever with that animal."

The primate, headed to Florida from Indonesia, had been declared a "gift."

"It appears that the primate, since it was stuffed, was either going to be displayed by someone in their home or it might have been intended for some scientific purpose," Birchell said. "It did have the appearance of a scientific specimen. It was preserved. "

CBS LA reports that the handbags were made out of protected animal skins including:

98 of African rock pythons
19 of monitor lizards
85 of dwarf crocodiles
179 of cobras
6 puff adder snakes

All of the items were turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Yahoo's other billion-dollar bets: Where are they now?

Elise Hu | NPR — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:27:47 -0700

GeoCities employees pose for a picture in 1999 after the Yahoo acquisition was announced. Yahoo quietly shut down GeoCities a decade later.; Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP

Yahoo's $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr could be considered a bargain compared with its other big-dollar bets. The company's history is dotted with pricey purchases of once-hot Web properties that had more promise than eventual purpose. A look back:

GeoCities, 1999: $3.7 Billion

When Yahoo! bought GeoCities for $3.7 billion in 1999, CNN Money called it a move that would "solidify Yahoo!'s position as a front-runner in the online popularity contest." History shows us otherwise. Back then, GeoCities was the third most visited "site" on the Web. But it really served as a platform for online communities and for users to create their own homepages on the Internet — much like what Tumblr does today.

Geocities never quite figured out monetization and scale.

"Sometimes it's market forces, sometimes the fire just gets snuffed out," said Scott Appleby, a tech industry analyst who was bullish on the GeoCities acquisition in 1999. "There was a thought then that everyone would have their own Web page, and they realized we don't really need that."

By the time Yahoo closed down the service, users had defected so widely to blogs, Twitter and, frankly, Tumblr, that the term "Geocities" became a verb for taking your website back in time to the way they looked in the late 1990s. (No, really. There is a Geocities-izer in which "you can give any site on the Web that straight-out-of-1998 look and feel.")

Yahoo has not yet responded to requests for an interview on the GeoCities history, or its other previous acquisitions.

Broadcast.com, 1999: $5.7 Billion

The search giant purchased the Internet video streaming service for $5.7 billion. It promised to "integrate multimedia services throughout the Yahoo! network." Today, it's no more. After the acquisition, Yahoo! split the services previously offered by Broadcast.com into separate music and video services — Launchcast and Platinum — but both have quietly folded. Key in broadcast.com today and it is a redirect to the main Yahoo site.

But the legacy of Broadcast.com can be considered long, depending on how you look at it. The sale helped make co-founder Mark Cuban $1 billion richer — and famous. He wound up buying the NBA's Dallas Mavericks for $307 million, investing in ventures like HDNet, and getting a whole storyline on HBO's Entourage.

Overture, 2003: $1.63 Billion

Overture is credited as a pioneer in the sale of advertising linked to online search results, but Yahoo struggled to absorb the once-thriving company into its larger culture. Overture's patent for a system to sell advertising displayed next to Web searches was at issue in a years-long legal battle against Google that ended in a settlement in which Yahoo received $365 million in Google shares. But in the decade following the settlement, Google went on to capitalize on paid search and become an industry behemoth while Yahoo has seen its users and its revenue sources dwindle.

Explaining the quiet shutdowns of once-thriving companies acquired by Yahoo, Appleby said, "Sometimes it's hard for these companies to grow and survive and thrive in a larger hierarchical company ... The only way for these [acquisitions] to make sense for larger companies is for the large company to continue to grow and make money."

Flickr, 2005: $30 Million

The $30 million acquisition of what was then a leading photo sharing service seems paltry, but the history of what happened after the acquisition sounds similar to the bigger dollar purchases. Tech site Pando Daily writes:

"For the first couple of years, things were fine. [Flickr co-founder Caterina] Fake told Gizmodo that 'Yahoo was a good fit initially' and 'in the subsequent two years after the acquisition, Flickr blossomed.' Then Yahoo's Corporate Development department began to bleed Flickr dry, denying it resources because it didn't generate sufficient revenue. 'The money goes to the cash cows, not the cash calf,' as one anonymous Yahoo employee told Gizmodo. Instead of constantly innovating, Flickr management found itself in meetings defending the product."

History As A Teacher?

While Yahoo's historically large purchases didn't pan out, it could benefit from lessons of a rocky past. "Unlike 1999, when Yahoo didn't necessarily need to do a deal like Geocities, 2013 seems to present itself as a time when a Yahoo/Tumblr tie-up would make sense," writes Tristan Lewis in Forbes. "Yahoo and Tumblr may be looking at the Facebook/Instagram blueprint and hoping for the same magic."

And Yahoo is not the same company it was in 1999, or even 2011.

Still, when CEO Marissa Mayer, who joined the company last year from Google, held a conference call Monday morning to explain the decision, Wall Street analysts had lots of questions about how Tumblr would pay for itself.

"Tumblr is now at a point...where they do know what it is, and it makes sense to monetize it, if it is very tasteful and seamless," Mayer said.

She's following a path tread by many other tech companies: First, attract huge audiences; and only after hundreds of millions of users are engaged with the service do you begin to think about how to make money from it. Mayer said Tumblr is now ready for that final step.

"Tumblr is at the point where they do know what it is, and it makes sense to monetize it in a way that is very tasteful and seamless," Mayer said.

The inclusion of Tumblr into its numbers could bump Yahoo's traffic by 50 percent a year, Mayer estimated. If advertising can be married with users of that scale, the deal could be profitable.

"It's too early to say, 'Hey, she paid too much for this company,' " Appleby said. She's made a lot of changes, and many of which for the good of the culture."

One thing the Tumblr acquisition does have in common with all its predecessors: It's making the original founders and investors boatloads of cash, and the people behind the acquired companies seem thrilled about it. Tumblr CEO David Karp wrote that he's "elated" and "couldn't be more excited."

NPR's Steve Henn contributed to this story.

President Clinton robocalls for Wendy Greuel on eve of election

Alice Walton — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:59:31 -0700

Los Angeles voters may hear a familiar voice on the phone today -- it's former President Bill Clinton placing a robocall for Wendy Greuel.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Ring, ring -- it's Bill Clinton -- and he's calling for you.

Los Angeles voters may hear a familiar voice on the phone today as a robocall from former President Bill Clinton makes the rounds on behalf of Wendy Greuel. Clinton endorsed Greuel early in the race and last month appeared with her at a town hall at Langer's Deli.

On the call, Clinton tells voters:

Los Angeles needs a proven, creative problem solver. Who will work with everybody to get the job done as mayor. Wendy Greuel will get the job done. She won’t just be the first woman mayor of LA – she’ll be the best mayor.

Greuel worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration. Following the endorsement, a poll from USC and the Los Angeles Times found more than half of voters would be inclined to vote for a candidate supported by Clinton. The most recent USC/Los Angeles Times poll found 3 percent of Greuel supporters identified the Clinton endorsement as the main reason to vote for her.

Listen to the robocall here.

Election Day is tomorrow.

Older, sicker men should consider avoiding treatment for prostate cancer: UCLA study

Stephanie O'Neill — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:41:03 -0700

Dr. Katsuto Shinohara (L) and Dr. I-Chow Hsu review images of a cancerous prostate before performing bracytherapy on a man with prostate cancer at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center.; Credit: (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A UCLA-led study published Monday may help doctors identify which prostate cancer patients should not undergo treatments that cause debilitating side effects. It confirms that men in their 60's and older afflicted with other serious illnesses are more likely to die from one of those illnesses than from the prostate cancer.

The National Urological Association already recommends that men who are not expected to live more than ten years beyond diagnosis of slow growing prostate cancer consider going without surgery, external radiation, or radioactive seed implants. That's because those treatments carry with them the risk of erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence and bowel problems.

But identifying which patients fall into that category isn't easy for doctors.

"It's been difficult to predict who is and who isn’t going to live for ten years," says Dr. Timothy Daskivich, a UCLA Robert Wood Johnson fellow who led the multi-university research. "We found doctors actually do a poor job of predicting this. As a result many older and sicker men currently are getting overtreated for low-to intermediate-risk prostate cancer."

Daskivich and his colleagues, including researchers from the Department of Preventative Medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, explored the long-term survival rates of 3,183 men with prostate cancer.

The researchers found that men in their 60s and older with slower-growing forms of the cancer and with three or more other serious illnesses -- such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension -- are far more likely to die from one of those illnesses than from their prostate cancer.

For those men, an "active surveillance" approach to the cancer may prove to be a better choice than aggressive treatment, Daskivich says.

By contrast, he says older patients with high-risk, aggressive forms of prostate cancers may do best to choose surgery or radiation.

Daskivich says he hopes the study, published in the online edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, will help doctors and their patients make better choices when assessing the risks and benefits of prostate cancer treatments.

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