Henry's Tacos stands down









Janis Hood got her start at Henry's Tacos when she was 10.


Her mother allowed her to fasten caps on the hot sauce and serve RC Cola to customers.


Through 51 years, the family business served ground beef tacos and burritos to customers. But on Saturday, the Studio City neighborhood treasure — a favorite of actor Elijah Wood and comedian George Lopez — closed its doors.





The shutting of Henry's Tacos, named for Hood's grandfather, Henry Comstock, came after a yearlong saga with the landlord that Hood said began when she applied for a historic designation. She said the application sparked conflict, and the landlord refused to renew her lease.


"It's a very emotional day for me," Hood said Saturday.


In recent weeks, news of the closure prompted thousands of fans to sign an online petition to save the restaurant and inspired a Twitter hashtag (#SaveHenrysTacos).


At one point, a financial consultant and a TV writer were in talks to purchase the restaurant to keep it open. "It all just took us back to our childhood," said Matt Pyken, a Studio City TV writer who grew up eating at the stand, explaining why he sought to buy it with his former middle-school buddy. "We wanted it to be the same place."


But in the end, Hood decided to work with longtime employee Omar Vega, who wants to relocate the shop but keep the name. Hood said she plans to eventually sell the business to Vega. A preservation group has offered to store the stand's signage, she said.


On Saturday, customers formed a line down the sidewalk for a last meal, and Hood said the stand would keep serving them until the food ran out. Cathy McCroskey, a longtime customer, posed for a picture in front of the stand and pantomimed wiping away a tear. "This is a neighborhood icon," she said.


McCroskey and her husband, Steve, both 55, have lived in the Tujunga Village area since the late 1980s and came to pay one last visit to the stand they'd enjoyed for years. They took photos and, of course, ordered a bean and cheese burrito. They said the stand's Googie-style architectural design and history made it a neighborhood gem.


Near them, a large sheet of paper had been taped to a wall of the stand for people to jot their goodbyes.


"Sacred ground. We have been coming for four generations. It was the first food I ate and my kids ate. It saved my sister ... it was all she would eat when she was sick. Please prevail," wrote Kathryn Vanderveen.


"Henry, please keep the sign and stay in Studio City, we love you," another message said.


Vega, a 21-year veteran of the stand, said he hopes to do just that. He would like to retain the old location's ambience by using the old sign and menu and even hopes to replicate the colorful lettering on the stand's outside wall that spells "Henry's Tacos."


"I hope everything goes well," Vega said.


For Hood, the closure is the end of an era. She said the restaurant is where she grew up and recalled going to elementary school blocks away. After school, she'd walk to the stand to see her mother and linger there.


"A lot of the customers took me under their wing and were helpful to me," she said.


After Hood's mother, LeVonne Eloff, died in 2009 at 82, longtime customers shared stories with Hood, some of which she said she had never known. They told her, for example, that her mother and stepfather had sometimes used the honor system with customers.


Now, Hood said she's acting in the same vein, "paying it forward" by helping Vega get his start running the business, a move she sees as continuing her family's legacy.


nicole.santacruz@latimes.com


ruben.vives@latimes.com





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Rovio has more monthly active users than Twitter







Rovio announced today it hit 263 million monthly active users in December 2012. This happened precisely three years after the first Angry Birds game debuted at the end of 2009. Incidentally, the somewhat better-known Twitter hit the 200 million monthly active user mark in December 2012. And since Twitter was launched in the summer of 2006, Rovio’s user growth has been notably brisker.


[More from BGR: Samsung cancels Windows RT plans in U.S.]






Rovio has recently been able to demonstrate it is a tad more than a flash in the pan. Angry Birds Star Wars has now remained the #1 paid iPhone app in America for 65 days. Angry Birds Space still clings to #6 slot nearly 300 days after its debut. And Bad Piggies is at #9 more than three months after the game was launched.


[More from BGR: LG reportedly halts Nexus 4 production to make way for new Nexus device]


Rovio thus holds three of the top 10 positions in the United States iPhone chart. Disney’s hottest title, the heavily promoted Where’s My Water has slumped to #24 after having a strong year in 2012. Three years in, Rovio has pulled off a remarkable fete: It’s been able to avoid boring consumers even as it saturation-bombs them with cutesy animals.


This article was originally published on BGR.com


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Brooklyn resident wins Miss America crown


LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 23-year-old blonde from Brooklyn, N.Y., won the Miss America crown Saturday night after responding to a question about armed guards in schools, saying she opposed fighting violence with violence.


En route to her victory in the Las Vegas pageant, Mallory Hagan also tap danced to James Brown's "Get Up Off of That Thing," strutted down the runway in an asymmetrical white gown, and donned a revealing black string bikini.


She defeated Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who took second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third.


She wins a $50,000 college scholarship and gets the crown for one year. Her platform, the issue she will promote during her reign, is fighting child sexual abuse. She said the issue is close to her heart because the women in her family themselves grappled with sexual abuse.


The aspiring cosmetic company executive has been competing in beauty pageants for a decade, starting as a teen in the Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen contest. She competed for Miss New York in 2010 and 2011 before winning last year.


She is the first Miss America from Brooklyn and the fourth from New York state. The previous winner from that state was actress Vanessa Williams, who became the first black winner when she took the crown in 1984.


Hagan said she moved to New York from Alabama with less than $1,000 in her pocket. She lives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and studies communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology.


She was good enough during preliminary Miss Universe contests to be chosen as one of 16 semifinalists who moved on to compete in the main show. Her bid lasted through swimsuit, evening wear, and talent competitions that saw cuts after each round.


Moments before she won, "Good Morning America" weatherman Sam Champion asked her if schools should hire armed guards in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting.


"I don't think the proper was to fight violence is with violence," she replied. "I think the proper way is to educate people on guns and the ways we can use them properly. We can lock them up, we can have gun safety classes, we can have a longer waiting period."


Hagan defeated several competitors who grabbed headlines this year because of their backstories.


Miss District of Columbia plans to undergo a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer, which killed her mother and grandmother.


Miss Montana was the pageant's first autistic contestant. Miss Iowa has Tourette's syndrome. And Miss Maine lost more than 50 pounds before winning her state crown.


During the opening number, when all the queens gave short quips about their states, Hagan referenced last year's superstorm, saying, "Sandy may have been swept away our shores but never our spirit."


She is expected to spend her title reign on a nationwide speaking tour and raising money for the Children's Miracle Network, the organization's official charity.


The 92nd Miss America annual show held this year at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip is the culmination of a week of preliminary competitions and months of preparations for the titleholders from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


The pageant, which started as little more than an Atlantic City bathing suit revue, broke viewership records in its heyday and bills itself as one of the world's largest scholarships programs for women.


But like other pageants, the show has struggled to stay relevant as national attitudes regarding women's rights and civil rights have changed.


More recently, the rise of reality television has provided a superabundance of options for Americans interested in seeing attractive young people in competitive pursuits.


___


Hannah Dreier can be reached at http://twitter.com/hannahdreier


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City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.

“We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.

Under the order, pharmacists will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunizations to children.

While children and older people tend to be the most likely to become seriously ill from the flu, Mr. Cuomo urged all New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that deaths from the flu had reached epidemic levels, with at least 20 children having died nationwide. Officials cautioned that deaths from pneumonia and the flu typically reach epidemic levels for a week or two every year. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by how long the death toll remains high or if it climbs higher.

There was some evidence that caseloads may be peaking, federal officials said on Friday.

In New York City, public health officials announced on Thursday that flu-related illnesses had reached epidemic levels, and they joined the chorus of authorities urging people to get vaccinated.

“It’s a bad year,” the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu. Our message for any people who are listening to this is it’s still not too late to get your flu shot.”

There has been a spike in the number of people going to emergency rooms over the past two weeks with flulike symptoms – including fever, fatigue and coughing – Dr. Farley said.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mr. Cuomo made a public display of getting shots this past week.

In a briefing with reporters on Friday, officials from the C.D.C. said that this year’s vaccine was effective in 62 percent of cases.

As officials have stepped up their efforts encouraging vaccinations, there have been scattered reports of shortages. But officials said plenty of the vaccine was available.

According to the C.D.C., makers of the flu vaccine produced about 135 million doses for this year. As of early this month, 128 million doses had been distributed. While that would not be enough for every American, only 37 percent of the population get a flu shot each year.

Federal health officials said they would be happy if that number rose to 50 percent, which would mean that there would be more than enough vaccine for anyone who wanted to be immunized.

Two other diseases – norovirus and whooping cough – are also widespread this winter and are contributing to the number of people getting sick.

The flu can resemble a cold, though the symptoms come on more rapidly and are more severe.

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Aaron Swartz dies at 26; Internet folk hero founded Reddit









Aaron Swartz, who co-founded Reddit and became an Internet folk hero for fighting to make online content free to the public, committed suicide Friday. He was 26.


Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, said a statement released by his family and his girlfriend.


"Aaron's commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life," the statement said. "He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place."





On his blog, Swartz had written of his history of depression.


He was a Harvard University fellow studying ethics when he was charged in 2011 with stealing nearly 5 million articles from a computer archive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


He faced 13 felony charges, including wire fraud, computer fraud and unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer. Prosecutors said he intended to distribute the articles on file-sharing websites.


Swartz pleaded not guilty, and his trial in federal court was scheduled to begin next month. If convicted, he could have faced decades in prison and steep fines.


On Saturday, his family and girlfriend called his death "the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach" and blamed decisions by the Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office and MIT for contributing to his death.


Some legal experts believe the charges are unfounded since Swartz had been a university fellow, which gave him the right to access the articles.


In 2011, Carmen M. Ortiz, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, defended the charges, telling the New York Times: "Stealing is stealing, whether you use a computer command or a crowbar, and whether you take documents, data or dollars."


The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights group, called him "an extraordinary hacker and activist."


"Aaron did more than almost anyone to make the Internet a thriving ecosystem for open knowledge, and to keep it that way," the foundation said in a tribute on its website.


On Saturday, American historian Rick Perlstein, who was a friend, called Swartz a philosopher as well as an activist. Swartz had also co-founded the political action group Demand Progress, which campaigns against Internet censorship.


"He had this feeling for data and what it could do, how to master it instead of letting it master us," Perlstein told The Times. "He just insisted on and struggled to live a life of maximal authenticity and integrity."


Born in 1986 in Chicago, Swartz created his first Web application — an online encyclopedia that operated much like Wikipedia — when he was 13.


High school bored him, he later said. After his freshman year, he studied at home and took community college classes that included logic and number theory.


At 14, he helped develop the software behind RSS feeds, which distribute content over the Internet.


He was soon working on such major projects as creating universal ways to exchange information through a group founded by Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist considered the father of the World Wide Web.


As a freshman at Stanford University, he studied sociology but left after a year because "I didn't find it a very intellectual atmosphere," he later said.


Swartz moved to Cambridge, where he began to work on a project that in 2005 turned into the social news website Reddit, which taps "the wisdom of the crowds" by letting users submit and rank news and other online content.


Conde Nast purchased Reddit the next year for a figure insiders put at less than $5 million, Forbes reported in November.


In a 2007 speech called "How to Get a Job Like Mine," given at a computer conference, Swartz gave such advice as "be curious," "say yes to everything" and "assume nobody else has any idea what they're doing either."


Swartz is survived by his parents, Robert and Susan Swartz; his younger brothers, Noah and Ben; and his partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman.


Times staff writer Jessica Guynn contributed to this report.


valerie.nelson@latimes.com





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S.F. mourns a twin with a passion for fashion









SAN FRANCISCO — They were known simply as the San Francisco Twins.


At 5-foot-1 and about 100 pounds apiece, the fashion enthusiasts were an integral part of the city fabric for four decades. With matching furs, hats and high-end purses, they completed one another's sentences, posed for countless tourist snapshots and modeled for the likes of Reebok, Joe Boxer and IBM.


Now one is gone.





Vivian Brown, 85, who had Alzheimer's, died in her sleep Wednesday, leaving behind Marian, who was eight minutes younger. The illness, and news of the twins' financial distress, brought an outpouring of support from city residents in recent months.


Donations managed by Jewish Family and Children Services helped Vivian move into an elegant assisted living facility in Lower Pacific Heights and provided for a car service so Marian could visit "as much as she wanted to," Development Director Barbara Farber said. "The community really responded.…It's been a beautiful thing."


At a benefit concert for the twins in August, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin and other musicians honored Marian. Cash flowed in to cover her meals at Uncle Vito's Pizza on Nob Hill, long one of the ladies' regular haunts.


On Friday, fans offered collective condolences as they swallowed some bitter medicine: The sightings that brought joy to many — of the twins in leopard-print cowboy hats parading up and down Powell Street and window shopping at Union Square — are forever a thing of the past.


In saying goodbye to Vivian, the city has ushered out an era of style.


"All of that has gone, and that's true of all cities," said Ann Moller Caen, the widow of Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco columnist Herb Caen, who wrote often about the twins. "They've lost the elegant few."


Mayor Ed Lee echoed residents' grief in online postings throughout the day, saying that "San Francisco is heartbroken" over Vivian's passing and was "fortunate to have called her a true friend."


The twins, who were born in Kalamazoo, Mich., and held degrees in business administration, moved to San Francisco in 1973, lured by Vivian's chronic bronchial condition. Once on the West Coast, Vivian became a legal secretary and Marian worked at a bank.


But fashion was their passion, and they cut a striking double image.


There were the fitted white suit jackets with pleated skirts, veiled hats and white fur coats; the red wool Ellen Tracy suits with black felt hats and black gloves.


"When you first came to the city and saw them, you might think it was a little joke. But it really wasn't," Caen said Friday. "They were very warm and very pleasant to everyone, and they just loved Herb. And he loved them."


Evelyn Adler recalled that her father, who sold shoes at the Emporium on San Francisco's Market Street in the 1970s, had regularly waited on "the girls," as he called them.


"They were always at the very height of sometimes ridiculous fashion," said Adler, 82. Her father, she said, had talked of how years of wearing pointy shoes left the twins with overlapping toes. (They later embraced lower heels that were "much more suited to their feet," Adler said.)


As a volunteer for Jewish Family Services, Adler recently shopped for a new wardrobe for Vivian — and was taken aback by the sight of the twins in separate outfits. About a quarter-century ago, the twins admitted to an interviewer that after a six-month attempt to dress differently in their 20s, they had abandoned the project forever. Even their lingerie matched.


They had their regular haunts, which Marian now frequents solo.


David Dubiner, owner of Uncle Vito's Pizza, said the sisters began coming in nearly two decades ago. They always sat at the table by the window, chatting with tourists for so long that their food had to be reheated.


Vivian often did more talking, Dubiner said, but Marian now holds court for two


On Thursday evening, Marian arrived alone at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Union Square to "have a glass of champagne and toast her sister goodbye," said Tom Sweeney, chief doorman at the hotel who for the last 37 years watched the twins descend the four blocks from their Nob Hill apartment.


"They're quite the personalities of San Francisco," Sweeney said. "We'll definitely miss Vivian."


lee.romney@latimes.com





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Britney Spears and fiance end yearlong engagement


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears announced Friday that she has ended her yearlong engagement, capping a week of changes that included her leaving "The X Factor" and promising fans she was returning her focus to music.


Within hours of confirming her departure from the Fox reality series, Spears also announced that her relationship with talent agent Jason Trawick had ended.


"Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement," Spears said in the statement. "I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends."


Spears' publicist Jeff Raymond said the breakup was a difficult decision made by "two mature adults."


"I love and cherish her and her boys, and we will be close forever," Trawick said in a joint statement that was first reported by People magazine.


Trawick also resigned his role Friday as a Spears' co-conservator, with Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz approving his departure from the case.


Spears and Trawick got engaged in December 2011 and he was added as her co-conservator in April.


Spears, 31, has been under a court-supervised conservatorship since February 2008, with her father and another co-conservator, Andrew Wallet, having control over numerous aspects of her personal life. The case was opened after several incidents of erratic behavior by the pop singer and a pair of hospitalizations, but Spears has recovered and she appeared weekly on "X Factor."


She said in a statement that judging young talent made her miss performing. "I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love most," she said in a statement.


Her father Jamie Spears met with Goetz for about an hour on Friday but left before a hearing where Trawick's resignation was announced.


Trawick has served as Spears' agent and the pair started dating in 2009.


Trawick did not have authority over Spears' finances, which have rebounded since her public meltdown. Goetz recently reviewed and approved of an accounting that showed Spears ended 2010 with more than $27.5 million in assets, including nearly $15 million in cash.


Attorneys handling the case are expected to file updated financial statements in the coming months.


___


Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .


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Former Lab Technician Denies Faulty DNA Work in Rape Cases





A former New York City laboratory technician whose work on rape cases is now being scrutinized for serious mistakes said on Friday that she had been unaware there were problems in her work and, disputing an earlier report, denied she had resigned under pressure.




The former lab technician, Serrita Mitchell, said any problems must have been someone else’s.


“My work?” Ms. Mitchell said. “No, no, no, not my work.”


Earlier, the city medical examiner’s office, where Ms. Mitchell said she was employed from 2000 to 2011, said it was reviewing 843 rape cases handled by a lab technician who might have missed critical evidence.


So far, it has finished looking over about half the cases, and found 26 in which the technician had missed biological evidence and 19 in which evidence was commingled with evidence from other cases. In seven cases where evidence was missed, the medical examiner’s office was able to extract a DNA profile, raising the possibility that detectives could have caught some suspects sooner.


The office declined to identify the technician. Documents said she quit in November 2011 after the office moved to fire her, once supervisors had begun to discover deficiencies in her work. A city official who declined to be identified said Ms. Mitchell was the technician.


However, Ms. Mitchell, reached at her home in the Bronx on Friday, said she had never been told there were problems. “It couldn’t be me because your work gets checked,” she said. “You have supervisors.”


She also said that she had resigned because of a rotator cuff injury that impeded her movement. “I loved the job so much that I stayed a little longer,” she said, explaining that she had not expected to stay with the medical examiner’s office so long. “Then it was time to leave.”


Also on Friday, the Legal Aid Society, which provides criminal defense lawyers for most of the city’s poor defendants, said it was demanding that the city turn over information about the cases under review.


If needed, Legal Aid will sue the city to gain access to identifying information about the cases, its chief lawyer, Steven Banks, said, noting that New York was one of only 14 states that did not require routine disclosure of criminal evidence before trial.


Disclosure of the faulty examination of the evidence is prompting questions about outside review of the medical examiner’s office. The City Council on Friday announced plans for an emergency oversight committee, and its members spoke with outrage about the likelihood that missed semen stains and “false negatives” might have enabled rapists to go unpunished.


“The mishandling of rape cases is making double victims of women who have already suffered an indescribably horrific event,” said Christine C. Quinn, the Council speaker.


A few more details emerged Friday about a 2001 case involving the rape of a minor in Brooklyn, in which the technician missed biological evidence, the review found. The victim accused an 18-year-old acquaintance of forcing himself on her, and he was questioned by the police but not charged, according to a law enforcement official.


Unrelated to the rape, he pleaded guilty in 2005 to third-degree robbery and served two years in prison. The DNA sample he gave in the robbery case was matched with the one belatedly developed from evidence the technician had overlooked in the 2001 rape, law enforcement officials said. He was recently indicted in the 2001 rape.


Especially alarming to defense lawyers was the possibility that DNA samples were cross-contaminated and led to false convictions, or could do so in the future.


“Up to this point,” Mr. Banks said, “they have not made information available to us, as the primary defender in New York City, to determine whether there’s an injustice that’s been done in past cases, pending cases, or allowing us to be on the lookout in future cases.” He added, “If it could happen with one analyst, how does anyone know that it stops there?”


The medical examiner’s office has said that the risk of cross-contamination was extremely low and that it does not appear that anyone was wrongly convicted in the cases that have been reviewed so far. And officials in at least two of the city’s district attorneys’ offices — for Brooklyn and Manhattan — said they had not found any erroneous convictions.


But Mr. Banks said the authorities needed to do more, and that their statements thus far were the equivalent of “trust us.”


“Given what’s happened,” he said, “that’s cold comfort.”


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Boeing Dreamliner to undergo federal safety review









Plagued by one mishap after another, Boeing Co.'s much-heralded 787 Dreamliner passenger jet for the 21st century is feeling new heat from federal regulators.


Days after one of the planes caught fire while parked in Boston and another experienced a fuel leak, the Federal Aviation Administration has launched an unusual "comprehensive safety review of Boeing 787 critical systems." This includes a sweeping evaluation of the way Boeing designs, manufactures and assembles the aircraft.


The review — just 17 months after the FAA gave the go-ahead to the new $200-million-plus plane — does not ground the 50 Dreamliners currently being flown by eight airlines around the globe.





Since the inception of its next-generation passenger jet, Boeing has touted the revolutionary way the Dreamliner is made and the way it operates. But those novel technologies will now attract greater scrutiny from U.S. regulators after recent events have raised questions about Dreamliner safety.


New planes, in general, have "teething" issues as they are introduced. But, industry analysts said, the type of review the Dreamliner is undergoing is rare, and passenger jets haven't been subject to this sort of sweeping government review for decades.


Boeing said it will participate in the review with the FAA and believes the process will underscore customers' and the traveling public's confidence in the reliability of the aircraft.


U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA chief Michael Huerta launched the effort Friday at a news conference in Washington, revealing plans for a "comprehensive safety review of Boeing 787 critical systems." This includes a complete evaluation of the aircraft, including an assessment of the way Boeing designs, manufactures and assembles the aircraft.


The move comes despite the "unprecedented" certification process in which FAA technical experts logged 200,000 hours of work over nearly two years and flew on numerous test flights, Huerta said. There were more than a dozen new special conditions developed during the certification process because of the Dreamliner's innovative design.


"The purpose of the review is to validate the work that we've done," Huerta said, "and to look at the quality and other processes to ensure that effective oversight is being done."


Certification of the Dreamliner was completed Aug. 25, 2010, and the first plane was delivered to All Nippon Airways a month later. It was more than three years late because of design problems and supplier issues.


The Dreamliner, a twin-aisle aircraft that can seat 210 to 290 passengers, is the first large commercial jet with more than half its structure made of composite materials (carbon fibers meshed together with epoxy) rather than aluminum sheets. Another innovative application is the changeover from hydraulically actuated systems typically found on passenger jets to electrically powered systems involving lithium ion batteries.


For instance, Boeing has said electric brakes "significantly reduce the mechanical complexity of the braking system and eliminate the potential for delays associated with leaking brake hydraulic fluid, leaking valves and other hydraulic failures." Because of these technologies, Boeing says, the new plane burns 20% less fuel than other jetliners of a similar size.


But the use of such extensive electronic systems was called into question when a smoldering fire was discovered Monday on the underbelly of a Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines Co. after the 173 passengers and 11 crew members had deplaned at the gate.


The incident prompted the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate.


"We don't know the cause of the fire, but it's a serious issue," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant and managing director of Leeham Co. in Issaquah, Wash. "Did the FAA miss something? Did Boeing have an oversight in the design process? Was there a problem in the supply chain? These are questions we don't have answers to."


In December, the FAA ordered inspections of fuel line connectors because of risks of leaks and fires.


On the same day, a United Airlines Dreamliner flight from Houston to Newark, N.J., was diverted to New Orleans after an electrical problem popped up mid-flight. Qatar Airways, which had accepted delivery of a Dreamliner just a month earlier, grounded the aircraft for the same problem that United experienced.


Still, both LaHood and Huerta insist the Dreamliner is safe. Ray Conner, Boeing's chief executive of commercial aircraft, attended the conference and said the company was "fully committed to resolving any issue related to the safety" of the Dreamliner.


The Chicago company has taken 848 orders for Dreamliners from airlines and aircraft leasing firms around the world. The price ranges from $206.8 million to $243.6 million per jet, depending on the version ordered.


Major parts for the plane are assembled at various locations worldwide — including Southern California, Russia, Japan and Italy — and then shipped to Boeing's facilities in Everett, Wash., where they are "snapped together" in three days once production hits full speed, compared with a month the conventional way.


Boeing currently is making five Dreamliners a month. The company plans to reach 10 a month late this year.


Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with Teal Group Corp., a Virginia research firm, said the review will be beneficial for the Dreamliner program in the long run.


"There's no showstopper here; it's a short-term embarrassment for the company," he said. "Then again, this program is full of short-term embarrassments."


william.hennigan@latimes.com





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Lawsuit filed on behalf of 4 victims in Jenni Rivera plane crash









A company owned by the late Mexican American singer Jenni Rivera was named in a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of the four members of her entourage who were killed along with her in a Dec. 9 plane crash.


The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks punitive damages against the current owners of the jet, as well as the previous owner, which sold the plane last year.


The negligence suit names Starwood Management, Rodatz Financial Group Inc., McOco Inc. and Jenni Rivera Enterprises Inc.





Attorneys named Rivera's company because of its role in choosing to use the 43-year-old Learjet 25.


The plane took off from Monterrey, Mexico, and crashed into mountainous terrain after nose-diving 28,000 feet in 30 seconds. Rivera, the four other passengers and the two pilots were killed.


"We cast a wide net to find out exactly who is responsible, and it may be that they're not," attorney Paul Kiesel said. "We have named Rivera Enterprises, who likely arranged the charter of this plane — in hindsight a very bad decision."


The lawsuit seeks punitive damages against current owners Starwood and Rodatz, as well as previous owner McOco, which sold the plane last June. The attorneys said they were not seeking punitive damages against the singer's company.


The suit was filed on behalf of the estates of publicist Arturo Rivera, makeup artist Jacobo Yebale, attorney Mario Macias and hairstylist Jorge "Gigi" Sanchez.


Pedro Rivera Jr., the singer's brother, said he was unaware of the lawsuit and doubted his sister's company would be found at fault.


"That will more likely have to do with the airplane itself," he said in Spanish via telephone. "Everyone has a right to file a lawsuit. They all had families."


Executives with Starwood told The Times shortly after the crash that the jet was perfectly maintained.


According to aviation records, the aircraft suffered "substantial" damage in 2005 when a fuel imbalance caused one wingtip to weigh as much as 300 pounds more than the other. The unnamed pilot lost control and struck a runway distance marker while landing in Amarillo, Texas. Nobody was injured.


The cause of December's fatal crash has not been determined, and it could take more than a year before the National Transportation Safety Board and Mexican authorities wrap up their investigations, Kiesel said, adding that it wasn't necessary to wait for the results before filing the suit.


At a downtown Los Angeles news conference Thursday, attorneys also took issue with the two pilots, 78-year-old Miguel Soto and 20-year-old Alejandro Torres. Although Soto had a lot of flying hours under his belt, he was not licensed to fly at altitudes above 18,000 feet, and Torres was not licensed to fly the jet, the lawsuit alleges.


"Neither pilot was licensed to operate this aircraft at the time and altitude it was flying," Kiesel said. He said the pilots weren't named in the suit because "the company is at fault, not the employees."


Starwood, Rodatz and McOco could not be reached for comment.


adolfo.flores@latimes.com


Times staff writer Scott Gold contributed to this report.





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Three witnesses won’t be charged in Ohio football rape case: documents






(Reuters) – At least three members of a high school football team in Steubenville, Ohio, received word they would not be prosecuted just days before testifying against teammates accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, according to documents obtained by Reuters.


In letters from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office addressed to each student’s lawyer, the state committed to not prosecuting Evan Westlake, Anthony Craig and Mark Cole, three witnesses for the prosecution.






But DeWine said on Thursday his office had made no deal with any of the witnesses involved in the case.


“We have offered nothing, made no promises to any witness in this case. … No deals have been cut with anybody,” DeWine told WTOV television in comments confirmed by his spokesman.


The case has unsettled Steubenville, a city of 19,000 near the Pennsylvania border where football has a powerful influence.


Community leaders have criticized authorities, voicing suspicion they have avoided charging more players who could have been involved in order to protect the school’s beloved football program.


Days after the letters were sent, all three players testified at a pre-trial hearing against teammates Ma’lik Richmond and Trenton Mays, both 16, who were charged with raping a classmate at a party attended by many teammates last August. Richmond and Mays were set to be tried as juveniles in February.


Although evidence in the criminal case showed each player “may not have conducted himself in a responsible or appropriate manner, his behavior did not rise to the level of any criminal conduct,” all three letters say. “Therefore, we will not prosecute your client for his actions on August 11-12, 2012.”


Walter Madison, an attorney who represents one of the students charged with rape, verified the letters’ authenticity, but declined to comment further.


The letters can protect the players from criminal charges, said John Burkoff, a criminal law professor at the University of Pittsburgh.


“If the government says that it won’t prosecute you and then changes its mind, you can argue that it can’t go back on that,” he said. “It’s constitutional estoppel (an impediment).”


The letter to Westlake, dated September 28, was signed by Ohio Associate Attorney General Marianne Hemmeter. The other two letters were signed by Ohio Associate Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Brumby and dated October 9, three days before the trio testified against their teammates. Brumby and Hemmeter conducted the questioning at that hearing.


Attorney General spokesman Dan Tierney said the state decided the students would go uncharged only for the crime of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.


“We would stand by the attorney general’s previous comments,” he told Reuters on Thursday.


The case shot to national prominence last week when the online activist group Anonymous made public a picture of the purported rape victim being carried by her wrists and ankles by two young men. Anonymous also released a video that showed several other young men joking about an assault.


(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Peter Cooney)


Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Affleck, Argo win big at Critics' Choice Awards


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hours after a surprise snub in Academy Award nominations, Ben Affleck won best director and his film "Argo" was named best picture at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.


Affleck, whose film was nominated for seven Oscars including best picture but not best director, accepted the award Thursday night at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 18th annual awards in Los Angeles, joking as he took the trophy that he'd "like to thank the Academy."


Daniel Day-Lewis from "Lincoln" and Jessica Chastain from "Zero Dark Thirty" both added to earlier Oscar nods with Critics' Choice wins in the top acting categories.


Philip Seymour Hoffman won best supporting actor for his role in "The Master" and Anne Hathaway won best supporting actor for "Les Miserables."


The ceremony was broadcast on the CW network.


___


The night's winners:


Best Picture: Argo


Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis


Actress: Jessica Chastain


Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman


Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway


Young Actor/Actress - Quvenzhane Wallis


Acting Ensemble: Silver Linings Playbook


Director: Ben Affleck


Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino


Adapted Screenplay: Tony Kushner


Cinematography: Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)


Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer (Anna Karenina)


Editing: William Goldenberg/Dylan Tichenor (Zero Dark Thirty)


Costume Design: Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina)


Makeup: Cloud Atlas


Visual Effects: Life of Pi


Animated Feature: Wreck-It Ralph


Action Movie: Skyfall


Actor in an Action Movie - Daniel Craig


Actress in an Action Movie - Jennifer Lawrence


Comedy - Silver Linings Playbook


Actor in a Comedy - Bradley Cooper


Actress in a Comedy - Jennifer Lawrence


Sci-Fi/Horror Movie - Looper


Foreign Language Film - Amour


Documentary Feature - Searching for Sugarman


Song - Skyfall


Score - John Williams


___


Online:


www.criticschoice.com


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Parental Consent Rule May Proceed for a Circumcision Ritual, a Judge Says





New York City health officials may proceed temporarily with a plan to require parental consent before an infant may undergo a particular Jewish circumcision ritual, a federal judge ruled Thursday.




City officials say 12 cases of herpes simplex virus have likely resulted from the procedure, known as metzitzah b’peh, since 2000, including one Brooklyn case reported this week. Two infants died, and two suffered permanent brain damage. Most Jews no longer practice metzitzah b’peh, in which the circumciser uses his mouth to suck blood from the wound, but it remains common among some ultra-Orthodox communities.


Citing the risk of infection, health officials in September introduced a regulation that would require parents to provide written consent stating that they were aware of the health risks.


But the Central Rabbinical Congress of the United States and Canada, Agudath Israel of America, and the International Bris Association sued in October to stop the rule from taking effect, calling it an infringement of their constitutional rights. They also denied the procedure posed a risk and asked a federal court to put the rule on hold while the litigation proceeded.


In denying the request for a preliminary injunction, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the United States District Court for the Southern District wrote that the risks were clear.


“In light of the quality of the evidence presented in support of the regulation, we conclude that a continued injunction against enforcement of the regulation would not serve the public interest,” she wrote.


City lawyers said they were gratified by the ruling, but Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for the plaintiffs, said the groups would appeal. “We continue to believe that this case is a wrongful and unnecessary intrusion into the rights of freedom of religion and speech,” he said.


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Herbalife fires back at hedge fund giant









Herbalife Chief Executive Michael Johnson was tired of a powerful hedge fund manager bad-mouthing his company.


So he put on a show Thursday before hundreds of investors at the Four Seasons hotel in Manhattan, rebutting claims that the Los Angeles nutritional supplement company is a pyramid scheme. The presentation accused hedge fund giant Bill Ackman of lies and snobbery, compared Herbalife to the Girl Scouts and featured the company's president entreating that "the world needs more hugs."


Who says Wall Street is more boring these days?





The company's two-hour defense of itself is the latest in a battle since Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management labeled Herbalife as "the best-managed pyramid scheme in the history of the world," during a similar presentation he made late last month. The outspoken fund manager has made a $1-billion bet that the stock would plunge in value.


"Just the very nature of the 'battle' has never been seen in the history of the Earth," said Tim Ramey, an analyst with D.A. Davidson and Co. "This was a very, very orchestrated attack."


Herbalife has hired a battalion of researchers to prove that it has a legitimate and stable business model. Executives held back no punches Thursday before a crowd of investors and analysts, labeling Ackman an elitist who made "false statements," "distortions" and "misrepresentations" about Herbalife and vowing to use "every means available to protect our reputation."


"In recent weeks, there's been a tremendous amount of misinformation about Herbalife," Johnson said. "This misinformation has found its way into the marketplace. Therefore we are sitting with you to correct some of this today."


In addition to outside experts brought in to bolster Herbalife's claims, company executives went through Pershing's presentation last month, disputing individual slides.


To the complaint that Herbalife is not focused on its products, Chief Operating Officer Rich Goudis showed figures indicating that the company spends millions on research and development.


To a Pershing slide that accused Herbalife of having a small distribution network, the company countered with a map of more than 300 company-run distribution points and showing its expansion in Indonesia and South Korea.


To a Pershing slide showing Herbalife products as more expensive than competitors' per 200-calorie servings, the company offered its own slide that compared the prices of the products per unit and showed costs in line with those of its competitors.


"Pershing intentionally used a misleading metric," Goudis said. "They did this to knowingly create a false impression."


They paraded out experts.


Kim Rory, representing Lieberman Research Worldwide, said distributors she surveyed had joined Herbalife because they wanted to get a discount on the products for personal use. Few signed up because they thought they'd make a large amount of money, and about two-thirds would recommend being a distributor to friends, she said.


Anne Coughlan, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management, defended Herbalife's marketing structure and disputed the allegation that it is a pyramid scheme.


"I didn't even see a scintilla of evidence that would suggest to me any hint that this company is running anything but a legitimate multi-level marketing program," she said.


Perhaps the most personal attacks came from Herbalife President Des Walsh, who said he was "highly offended" by Ackman's portrayal of Herbalife's nutrition clubs and defended the company for bringing nutritional products to poor neighborhoods.


After showing a video featuring happy distributors in crowded nutrition clubs, Walsh suggested that Ackman was out of touch with real America.


"This doesn't look like a country club in Westchester, Connecticut, but let me tell you, inside this club is real America," he said. (Earlier in the presentation, Walsh explained that people come to the club for a hug, adding, "the world needs more hugs.")


His comments echo a note sent out last week by D.A. Davidson analyst Ramey, who has a "buy" rating on Herbalife.


"Perhaps where Mr. Ackman lives he never sees a car with the 'Lose weight, ask me how' message across the rear window," he wrote. "I can tell Mr. Ackman that in my hometown, which is not quite Chappaqua, Herbalife is an iconic and widely recognized brand."


Ackman responded quickly Thursday, saying that Herbalife's presentation "distorted, mischaracterized and outright ignored large portions of our presentation," and that he had been contacted by people who provided more information into Herbalife's business practices, which he will soon reveal.


The unusual fight on Wall Street ramped up in December, when Ackman laid out his case against Herbalife in a three-hour, 200-plus slide presentation. He questioned whether the company was focused on recruiting new distributors, who pay to join the company, instead of on selling products. His announcement sent the company's stock down 36% and turned heads when analysts heard he'd sold short 20 million Herbalife shares.


Ackman's biggest beef with Herbalife focused on its so-called multi-level marketing model, which he said led to only those at the top of the company making money. More than 90% of distributors break even or lose money, he said. Ackman even drew UCLA into the controversy, saying Herbalife mentioned a lab at the university multiple times during each investor presentation to lend itself legitimacy.


Herbalife shares recovered some of their losses in the weeks after Ackman's presentation as some investors expressed confidence in the company. Hedge fund Third Point said it was taking an 8.2% stake in Herbalife, betting that the company would survive Ackman's assault.


Analysts at Thursday's meeting seemed supportive of Herbalife, with some expressing their belief in the company during a question-and-answer period after the presentation. One analyst urged the company to fight back against Pershing Square's method of "slandering" the company.


"It was a good, thorough presentation that certainly accomplished the job of defending the legitimacy of their business model," Ramey said.


Still, not all investors were convinced by the presentation. Herbalife's stock closed down 71 cents, or 1.8%, at $39.24. That may be because on Wednesday the Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into Herbalife, according to published reports.


alana.semuels@latimes.com





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Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park









Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending on the beleaguered Orange County Great Park while authorizing an audit of the more than $220 million that so far has been spent on the ambitious project.


A newly elected City Council majority voted 3 to 2 to terminate contracts with two firms that had been paid a combined $1.1 million a year for consulting, lobbying, marketing and public relations. One of those firms — Forde & Mollrich public relations — has been paid $12.4 million since county voters approved the Great Park plan in 2002.


"We need to stop talking about building a Great Park and actually start building a Great Park," council member Jeff Lalloway said.





The council, by the same split vote, also changed the composition of the Great Park's board of directors, shedding four non-elected members and handing control to Irvine's five council members.


The actions mark a significant turning point in the decade-long effort to turn the former El Toro Marine base into a 1,447-acre municipal park with man-made canyons, rivers, forests and gardens that planners hoped would rival New York's Central Park.


The city hoped to finish and maintain the park for years to come with $1.4 billion in state redevelopment funds. But that money vanished last year as part of the cutbacks to deal with California's massive budget deficit.


"We've gone through $220 million, but where has it gone?" council member Christina Shea said of the project's initial funding from developers in exchange for the right to build around the site. "The fact of the matter is the money is almost gone. It can't be business as usual."


The council majority said the changes will bring accountability and efficiencies to a project that critics say has been larded with wasteful spending and no-bid contracts. For all that has been spent, only about 200 acres of the park has been developed and half of that is leased to farmers.


But council members Larry Agran and Beth Krom, who have steered the course of the project since its inception, voted against reconfiguring the Great Park's board of directors and canceling the contracts with the two firms.


Krom has called the move a "witch hunt" against her and Agran. Feuding between liberal and conservative factions on the council has long shaped Irvine politics.


"This is a power play," she said. "There's a new sheriff in town."


The council meeting stretched long into the night, with the final vote coming Wednesday at 1:34 a.m. Tensions were high in the packed chambers with cheering, clapping and heckling coming from the crowd.


At one point council member Lalloway lamented that he "couldn't hear himself think."


During public comments, newly elected Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer chastised the council for "fighting like schoolchildren." Earlier this week he said that if the Irvine's new council majority can't make progress on the Great Park, he would seek a ballot initiative to have the county take over.


And Spitzer angrily told Agran that his stewardship of the project had been a failure.


"You know what?" he said. "It's their vision now. You're in the minority."


mike.anton@latimes.com


rhea.mahbubani@latimes.com





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Three top U.S. wireless carriers to embrace BlackBerry 10






LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Three of the top U.S. cellphone carriers signaled this week that they would support Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 products, the first of which are due to be unveiled Jan 30, offering a hopeful sign for RIM’s comeback effort.


Executives at Verizon Communications , AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA all said they are looking forward to the devices, which will be crucial for RIM’s chances of regaining lost ground from rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics .






“We’re hopeful its going to be a good device,” Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon Communications, majority owner of the biggest U.S. mobile service Verizon Wireless.


“We’ll carry it,” McAdam said in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.


BlackBerry 10 is RIM’s next-generation mobile operating platform and it is preparing to launch new smartphones later this month. Word that major carriers will offer the devices is good news for RIM.


RIM, which once commanded the lead in the smartphone market, has rapidly lost ground to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s line of Galaxy products, especially in North American and European markets, as customers abandon its aging BlackBerry devices.


It has been testing the new BlackBerry 10 devices with carriers so they can assess their compatibility with networks.


No. 4 U.S. mobile provider T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom , also plans to carry the new BlackBerry 10.


“We’re extremely optimistic that it’s going to be a successful product and our business customers are extremely interested in it,” Chief Executive John Legere said.


AT&T has promised to support the BlackBerry 10 platform, according to Chief Marketing Officer David Christopher, but he would not discuss specific devices.


However, AT&T handset executive Jeff Bradley made it clear that the No. 2 U.S. mobile operator would carry the phone.


“It’s logical to expect our current (BlackBerry) customers will have the best BlackBerry devices to choose from in the future,” Bradley said.


(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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'Lincoln,' 'Les Miz' look for big Oscar haul


BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Crusaders for good, old-fashioned Western democracy look to be the key figures vying for this year's Academy Awards.


Best-picture favorites for Thursday morning's Oscar nominations include the history-based "Lincoln," ''Zero Dark Thirty," ''Les Miserables" and "Argo." Among other prospects are "Django Unchained" and "Life of Pi."


This year's nominations come earlier than usual in Hollywood's long awards season, leaving the awards picture a bit murkier. By the time Oscar nominations come out most years, the Golden Globes already have given their trophies, helping to sort out prospective front-runners for show business' biggest night.


The nominations this time precede the Golden Globes ceremony, which follows on Sunday.


Thursday's nominees will be announced at 8:40 a.m. EST by Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane, the host of the Feb. 24 Oscar show.


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Americans Under 50 Fare Poorly on Health Measures, New Report Says





Younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction, according to a new analysis of health and longevity in the United States.




Researchers have known for some time that the United States fares poorly in comparison with other rich countries, a trend established in the 1980s. But most studies have focused on older ages, when the majority of people die.


The findings were stark. Deaths before age 50 accounted for about two-thirds of the difference in life expectancy between males in the United States and their counterparts in 16 other developed countries, and about one-third of the difference for females. The countries in the analysis included Canada, Japan, Australia, France, Germany and Spain.


The 378-page study by a panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council is the first to systematically compare death rates and health measures for people of all ages, including American youths. It went further than other studies in documenting the full range of causes of death, from diseases to accidents to violence. It was based on a broad review of mortality and health studies and statistics.


The panel called the pattern of higher rates of disease and shorter lives “the U.S. health disadvantage,” and said it was responsible for dragging the country to the bottom in terms of life expectancy over the past 30 years. American men ranked last in life expectancy among the 17 countries in the study, and American women ranked second to last.


“Something fundamental is going wrong,” said Dr. Steven Woolf, chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, who led the panel. “This is not the product of a particular administration or political party. Something at the core is causing the U.S. to slip behind these other high-income countries. And it’s getting worse.”


Car accidents, gun violence and drug overdoses were major contributors to years of life lost by Americans before age 50.


The rate of firearm homicides was 20 times higher in the United States than in the other countries, according to the report, which cited a 2011 study of 23 countries. And though suicide rates were lower in the United States, firearm suicide rates were six times higher.


Sixty-nine percent of all American homicide deaths in 2007 involved firearms, compared with an average of 26 percent in other countries, the study said. “The bottom line is that we are not preventing damaging health behaviors,” said Samuel Preston, a demographer and sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who was on the panel. “You can blame that on public health officials, or on the health care system. No one understands where responsibility lies.”


Panelists were surprised at just how consistently Americans ended up at the bottom of the rankings. The United States had the second-highest death rate from the most common form of heart disease, the kind that causes heart attacks, and the second-highest death rate from lung disease, a legacy of high smoking rates in past decades. American adults also have the highest diabetes rates.


Youths fared no better. The United States has the highest infant mortality rate among these countries, and its young people have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and deaths from car crashes. Americans lose more years of life before age 50 to alcohol and drug abuse than people in any of the other countries.


Americans also had the lowest probability over all of surviving to the age of 50. The report’s second chapter details health indicators for youths where the United States ranks near or at the bottom. There are so many that the list takes up four pages. Chronic diseases, including heart disease, also played a role for people under 50.


“We expected to see some bad news and some good news,” Dr. Woolf said. “But the U.S. ranked near and at the bottom in almost every heath indicator. That stunned us.”


There were bright spots. Death rates from cancers that can be detected with tests, like breast cancer, were lower in the United States. Adults had better control over their cholesterol and high blood pressure. And the very oldest Americans — above 75 — tended to outlive their counterparts.


The panel sought to explain the poor performance. It noted the United States has a highly fragmented health care system, with limited primary care resources and a large uninsured population. It has the highest rates of poverty among the countries studied.


Education also played a role. Americans who have not graduated from high school die from diabetes at three times the rate of those with some college, Dr. Woolf said. In the other countries, more generous social safety nets buffer families from the health consequences of poverty, the report said.


Still, even the people most likely to be healthy, like college-educated Americans and those with high incomes, fare worse on many health indicators.


The report also explored less conventional explanations. Could cultural factors like individualism and dislike of government interference play a role? Americans are less likely to wear seat belts and more likely to ride motorcycles without helmets.    


The United States is a bigger, more heterogeneous society with greater levels of economic inequality, and comparing its health outcomes to those in countries like Sweden or France may seem lopsided. But the panelists point out that this country spends more on health care than any other in the survey. And as recently as the 1950s, Americans scored better in life expectancy and disease than many of the other countries in the current study.


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Consumer bureau to unveil new mortgage standards









In sweeping new rules aimed at fixing the home lending market, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday will define a "qualified mortgage" — one a borrower can actually be expected to pay back — while in effect banning a slew of dicey loans at the center of the financial crisis.


The regulations, among the most important handed down yet by the 18-month-old agency, also aim to loosen the choking loan standards that have prevailed since the housing crash. They do so by limiting bankers' liability for prime loans that can be sold to government-backed mortgage giants such as Fannie Mae.


The rules, to be phased in over the coming year, aim to improve access for creditworthy borrowers to today's historically low-interest loans and to create a stable and predictable housing finance system for banks and their customers alike.





Complying with the rules would provide a "safe harbor" shielding lenders from being sued for one of the most frequent and bitter complaints of the subprime era: sticking borrowers with unaffordable loans, then selling off the loans — and the risk.


One leading consumer advocate said the bureau had gone too far out of its way to accommodate bankers, whose loose lending had triggered the foreclosure crisis and the worst economic collapse since the 1930s.


The bureau's action "invites abusive lending and erodes the progress made by Dodd-Frank," the landmark regulatory reform bill passed after the financial crisis, said Alys Cohen, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.


"The safe harbor the bureau has afforded for prime loans provides absolute shelter to lenders who knowingly make unaffordable loans, in direct violation of congressional intent," said Cohen, who was to appear at a home lending forum Thursday in Baltimore with bureau officials.


The safe harbor provision shields lenders only from lawsuits over borrowers' ability to pay. Consumers would still be able to pursue claims that lenders violated other laws, such as those governing deceptive advertising or wrongful foreclosures.


The rules met with relief from mortgage bankers, who had feared Draconian restrictions from the bureau, created by consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren. The former Harvard law professor, newly sworn in as a U.S. senator, was so at odds with the industry and congressional Republicans that President Obama backed away from appointing her to head the agency after tapping her to set it up.


"The goal of this regulation, ensuring that borrowers receive loans that they can repay, is in everyone's best interest. We cannot, and should not, go back to the high-risk lending environment of the early 2000s," Debra W. Still, chairwoman of the Mortgage Bankers Assn., said in a statement.


Consumer bureau Director Richard Cordray, who was scheduled to formally unveil the rules Thursday, said the aim was to achieve "the true essence of 'responsible lending.'"


"The American dream of homeownership was shaken to its foundations," Cordray said in prepared remarks. "But, in the wake of the financial crash, we have been experiencing a housing market that is tough on people in just the opposite way — credit is achingly tight."


The qualified mortgage rules rest on the principle of ability to pay, the goal Congress told the bureau to implement in the regulatory reform law passed after the financial crisis. Senior officials at the consumer agency briefed reporters on it Wednesday.


The rules notably limit a potential borrower's total payments, including those for property taxes, fire insurance and non-housing debt such as credit cards, to 43% of gross income.


During the housing boom, aggressive lenders had set the bar at 50% or higher for mortgage payments alone — disregarding other debt — and then allowed borrowers to qualify by merely stating their incomes, with no documentation.


The rules simultaneously aim to ban mainstream use of the riskiest practices of the housing bubble, such as loans made without checking tax returns and pay stubs; loans with payments so low that the loan balance rises instead of falls; and qualifying borrowers based on low "teaser" rates instead of fully adjusted payments.


Certain subprime loans to borrowers with credit problems could be qualified mortgages, but not the loosely underwritten loans that helped fuel the housing boom and bust.


Lenders would still have to determine that borrowers could afford to repay such loans, which would carry significantly higher interest rates than prime mortgages. They also could be challenged more easily in court — for instance, by borrowers claiming a lender gave them a loan that left them too little money to live on, even though their debt payments were only 43% of their incomes.


Lenders are expected to continue lending outside the guidelines in some cases. For example, jumbo mortgages — those too big for purchase by Fannie and Freddie — are often written to affluent borrowers who for a variety of reasons choose to pay interest only for a period of time. There's no reason that practice should stop, senior consumer bureau officials said.


Lenders will be given a year to phase in compliance with the new rules. Some question certain limits imposed by the regulations, such as limits of 3% on points and fees that borrowers could be charged upfront, and the 43% cap on total debt payments.


The 3% fee limit would be hard to meet in some cases, said the mortgage trade group's Still.


Laguna Beach mortgage broker Richard Cirelli said that the debt ratio could pose problems, especially in expensive real estate markets.


"Capping the debt limit at 43% is going to create some problems," Cirelli said. "Especially for first-time buyers in California. It's still pretty expensive here."


scott.reckard@latimes.com





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Judge rejects bid to shut Oakland pot dispensary









OAKLAND — The nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary won a round in federal court this week, with a judge rejecting efforts by Harborside Health Center's landlords in Oakland and San Jose to immediately shut down operations.


The property owners have been under pressure since federal prosecutors last summer threatened to seize the buildings, arguing that pot sales were in violation of federal law. But in her ruling, Chief Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James said that "any argument about the urgency of stopping Harborside's activity rings hollow" — since the landlords had known for years that it was a medical cannabis dispensary.


Allowing Harborside to stay open while a fuller legal airing of the issues took place, James continued, would not cause the landlords irreparable harm.





In her ruling in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, James also found that the property owners had no legal standing to seek an immediate end to sales at the dispensary by contending they violated the federal Controlled Substances Act.


Harborside — which serves more than 108,000 patients — now will have the opportunity to battle the federal civil forfeiture actions in court.


"We look forward to proving our case in front of a jury, and continue to believe we will prevail," Harborside's executive director, Steve DeAngelo, said in a statement.


The city of Oakland also has sued to prevent the property forfeiture, contending that federal prosecutors had missed a five-year statute of limitations and misled city officials with promises that they would not go after dispensaries complying with state and local laws.


In her ruling, James ordered Oakland's case be coordinated with the forfeiture cases.


Monday's ruling sets the stage for what could be a precedent-setting battle over clashing federal and state marijuana laws.


Cedric Chao, an attorney for Oakland, has argued that closure of the dispensaries would deprive the city of tax revenue and force Harborside's patients into the underground market, driving up crime.


"The city of Oakland could not be more pleased" by James' ruling, Chao said. "The patients can continue to get the medicine. They won't be thrown in the streets. There won't be an immediate public health crisis. There won't be a public safety crisis."


The U.S. attorney's office repeatedly has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Prosecutors have filed a motion to toss Oakland's suit, contending the city has no legal standing to weigh in. That issue will be heard at a hearing on Jan. 31.


lee.romney@latimes.com





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The next CIA’s director’s challenges






qWhat John Brennan faces after confirmation


I see no reason why the Senate won’t confirm John Brennan, President Obama‘s chief counter-terrorism adviser, to be the next director of the CIA. There will be pro forma inquiries into his past entanglements with the NSA’s domestic surveillance program and his knowledge and approval of the CIA’s “Greystone” torture protocols, but he will have ready answers for the questions and he will say plenty in private to sooth the concerns of those whose concerns need to be soothed.






Assuming Brennan becomes the DCIA, as he will thenceforth be acronymed, he’ll inherit a powerful spy agency facing a set of tough questions. Actually, every CIA director since the advent of the age of Al Qaeda has more or less dealt with these same issues. The daily demands of the job require tactical thinking and leave little room for attention to the bigger picture.


SEE MORE: Why Django is better than Lincoln


# Is the CIA a paramilitary force? Should it go back to its roots as a source of intelligence and warning?  You see this question phrased as such a lot, but it ignores virtually all of the CIA’s history, except for a period in the 1990s when the “Peace Dividend” and director John Deutch pulled back significantly on the agency’s ambit. The CIA has always been both and will always be both. From the start, the agency has very broadly and probably (in an affront to the original understanding of the National Security Act of 1947) interpreted its mandate to do stuff to further American interests abroad, even and often to the point of violence, as Adam Elkus reminds us today. The question really is one of authorities and chains of command: how are American resources properly allocated? Are the mechanisms of accountability sufficient? Is there really anything better than an ad hoc framework for determining whether combined CIA-military operations are really CIA operations or military operations?


# There is no such thing as secrecy anymore, at least not in the way that the CIA has understood the term. We live in an era of open source everything, which means that the agency’s crown jewels have very short lifespans and that public interest in what the CIA does is bound to increase exponentially. The agency has to figure out a posture on the New Secrecy that satisfies its mission while accepting the Open Source reality. Younger analysts have different expectations of how to gather and collect information and are less satisfied with the complicated and fairly broken traditional secrecy rules.


# Similarly, it is exceedingly difficult for would-be spies to come to the CIA without significant social media trails, and it is very hard for them to work in the world without leaving electromagnetic detritus for everyone to exploit and discover. How can the CIA’s case officers maintain their cover identities? Is the era of fully-fledged cover identities over? Will the CIA continue to rely (and over-rely) on foreign intelligence services for critical human intelligence operations? 


# The same Open Source world that hinders CIA secrecy also provides the agency with far more data than it ever imagined having. The CIA will never face a problem of not having enough intelligence. It will face the problem of having too much and not knowing what it has or how to use it.


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'Twilight' finale leads Razzies worst-of list


LOS ANGELES (AP) — The "Twilight" finale had better reviews than the franchise's previous four movies, but you'd never know it from the Razzie nominations singling out Hollywood's worst of the year.


"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" led the Razzies lineup late Tuesday with 11 nominations, including worst picture, lead-acting slots for Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and supporting-acting nominations for Taylor Lautner and Ashley Greene.


Other worst-picture nominees are the naval action tale "Battleship," the family flick "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure," Adam Sandler's raunchy dud "That's My Boy" and Eddie Murphy's comedy flop "A Thousand Words."


A spoof of the Academy Awards, the Razzies announcement came a little more than a day before Thursday's Oscar nominations. Winners for the 33rd annual Razzies will be announced Feb. 23, the night before the Oscar show.


The final installment in the supernatural romance involving vampires, werewolves and a moody schoolgirl, "Breaking Dawn — Part 2" also had nominations for worst director for Bill Condon, plus worst sequel, screenplay and screen ensemble. It picked up two nominations for worst screen couple — for Stewart and Pattinson and for Lautner and child co-star Mackenzie Foy.


Stewart's worst-actress nomination came for two performances in 2012, her Bella Swan of "Twilight" and the title role in "Snow White and the Huntsman."


Earlier "Twilight" movies have been regular nominees for the Razzies but have not come away with any key worst-of awards. But the finale seems to be the one Razzies voters have been waiting for, the way Oscar voters were waiting for the last "Lord of the Rings" film, the one that finally won the big prize.


"That's the analogy we're making, that this is the Razzies' flipside," said Razzies founder John Wilson. "This is our equivalent to 'The Lord of the Rings.' It's our members' last chance to razz 'Twilight.'"


Here's how Razzies organizers describe the "Twilight" finale in the nominations announcement: "The ultimate installment of the inexplicably successful series focuses on Shirtless Werewolf Jacob and his creepy relationship with the daughter of Sparkly Vampire Edward and Gloomy Goth Gal Bella. Together, the four face a final showdown that will determine the fate of Romantic-But-Boring Monsters everywhere."


Sandler — whose "Jack and Jill" made Razzies history last season by winning a record 10 awards, sweeping every category — remains a Razzies favorite this time. "That's My Boy" ran second with eight Razzie nominations, among them worst actor for Sandler and supporting actor for both Nick Swardson and Vanilla Ice.


Tyler Perry was nominated for both worst actor ("Alex Cross" and "Good Deeds") and actress ("Madea's Witness Protection," in which he reprised his cross-dressing title character).


Along with Sandler, Pattinson and Perry, worst-actor contenders are Nicolas Cage for "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" and "Seeking Justice"; and Murphy for "A Thousand Words."


Joining Stewart and Perry in the worst-actress lineup are Katherine Heigl for "One for the Money"; Milla Jovovich for "Resident Evil: Retribution"; and Barbra Streisand for "The Guilt Trip."


___


Online:


http://www.razzies.com


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Economic Scene: Health Care and Pursuit of Profit Make a Poor Mix





Thirty years ago, Bonnie Svarstad and Chester Bond of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered an interesting pattern in the use of sedatives at nursing homes in the south of the state.




Patients entering church-affiliated nonprofit homes were prescribed drugs roughly as often as those entering profit-making “proprietary” institutions. But patients in proprietary homes received, on average, more than four times the dose of patients at nonprofits.


Writing about his colleagues’ research in his 1988 book “The Nonprofit Economy,” the economist Burton Weisbrod provided a straightforward explanation: “differences in the pursuit of profit.” Sedatives are cheap, Mr. Weisbrod noted. “Less expensive than, say, giving special attention to more active patients who need to be kept busy.”


This behavior was hardly surprising. Hospitals run for profit are also less likely than nonprofit and government-run institutions to offer services like home health care and psychiatric emergency care, which are not as profitable as open-heart surgery.


A shareholder might even applaud the creativity with which profit-seeking institutions go about seeking profit. But the consequences of this pursuit might not be so great for other stakeholders in the system — patients, for instance. One study found that patients’ mortality rates spiked when nonprofit hospitals switched to become profit-making, and their staff levels declined.


These profit-maximizing tactics point to a troubling conflict of interest that goes beyond the private delivery of health care. They raise a broader, more important question: How much should we rely on the private sector to satisfy broad social needs?


From health to pensions to education, the United States relies on private enterprise more than pretty much every other advanced, industrial nation to provide essential social services. The government pays Medicare Advantage plans to deliver health care to aging Americans. It provides a tax break to encourage employers to cover workers under 65.


Businesses devote almost 6 percent of the nation’s economic output to pay for health insurance for their employees. This amounts to nine times similar private spending on health benefits across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, on average. Private plans cover more than a third of pension benefits. The average for 30 countries in the O.E.C.D. is just over one-fifth.


We let the private sector handle tasks other countries would never dream of moving outside the government’s purview. Consider bail bondsmen and their rugged sidekicks, the bounty hunters.


American TV audiences may reminisce fondly about Lee Majors in “The Fall Guy” chasing bad guys in a souped-up GMC truck — a cheap way to get felons to court. People in most other nations see them as an undue commercial intrusion into the criminal justice system that discriminates against the poor.


Our reliance on private enterprise to provide the most essential services stems, in part, from a more narrow understanding of our collective responsibility to provide social goods. Private American health care has stood out for decades among industrial nations, where public universal coverage has long been considered a right of citizenship. But our faith in private solutions also draws on an ingrained belief that big government serves too many disparate objectives and must cater to too many conflicting interests to deliver services fairly and effectively.


Our trust appears undeserved, however. Our track record suggests that handing over responsibility for social goals to private enterprise is providing us with social goods of lower quality, distributed more inequitably and at a higher cost than if government delivered or paid for them directly.


The government’s most expensive housing support program — it will cost about $140 billion this year — is a tax break for individuals to buy homes on the private market.


According to the Tax Policy Center, this break will benefit only 20 percent of mostly well-to-do taxpayers, and most economists agree that it does nothing to further its purported goal of increasing homeownership. Tax breaks for private pensions also mostly benefit the wealthy. And 401(k) plans are riskier and costlier to administer than Social Security.


From the high administrative costs incurred by health insurers to screen out sick patients to the array of expensive treatments prescribed by doctors who earn more money for every treatment they provide, our private health care industry provides perhaps the clearest illustration of how the profit motive can send incentives astray.


By many objective measures, the mostly private American system delivers worse value for money than every other in the developed world. We spend nearly 18 percent of the nation’s economic output on health care and still manage to leave tens of millions of Americans without adequate access to care.


Britain gets universal coverage for 10 percent of gross domestic product. Germany and France for 12 percent. What’s more, our free market for health services produces no better health than the public health care systems in other advanced nations. On some measures — infant mortality, for instance — it does much worse.


In a way, private delivery of health care misleads Americans about the financial burdens they must bear to lead an adequate existence. If they were to consider the additional private spending on health care as a form of tax — an indispensable cost to live a healthy life — the nation’s tax bill would rise to about 31 percent from 25 percent of the nation’s G.D.P. — much closer to the 34 percent average across the O.E.C.D.


A quarter of a century ago, a belief swept across America that we could reduce the ballooning costs of the government’s health care entitlements just by handing over their management to the private sector. Private companies would have a strong incentive to identify and wipe out wasteful treatment. They could encourage healthy lifestyles among beneficiaries, lowering use of costly care. Competition for government contracts would keep the overall price down.


We now know this didn’t work as advertised. Competition wasn’t as robust as hoped. Health maintenance organizations didn’t keep costs in check, and they spent heavily on administration and screening to enroll only the healthiest, most profitable beneficiaries.


One study of Medicare spending found that the program saved no money by relying on H.M.O.’s. Another found that moving Medicaid recipients into H.M.O.’s increased the average cost per beneficiary by 12 percent with no improvement in the quality of care for the poor. Two years ago, President Obama’s health care law cut almost $150 billion from Medicare simply by reducing payments to private plans that provide similar care to plain vanilla Medicare at a higher cost.


Today, again, entitlements are at the center of the national debate. Our elected officials are consumed by slashing a budget deficit that is expected to balloon over coming decades. With both Democrats and Republicans unwilling to raise taxes on the middle class, the discussion is quickly boiling down to how deeply entitlements must be cut.


We may want to broaden the debate. The relevant question is how best we can serve our social needs at the lowest possible cost. One answer is that we have a lot of room to do better. Improving the delivery of social services like health care and pensions may be possible without increasing the burden on American families, simply by removing the profit motive from the equation.


E-mail: eporter@nytimes.com;


Twitter: @portereduardo



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