MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Wildlife rescuers say three sea lions that washed ashore in Malibu earlier this month died of gunshot wounds.
Jonsie Ross with the California Wildfire Center tells KCBS-TV (http://cbsloc.al/1ajbiEX ) that sea lion shootings happen every year in October when squid fishing season begins.
Lights that fishermen use to attract squid also attract sea lions. Fishermen are allowed to use nonlethal means to scare away the sea lions.
From what once was a simple tradition of children trick-or-treating for a pumpkin full of confectionary delights wearing their favorite ghoulish costumes, Halloween has exploded into a multi-billion-dollar, global, annual celebration for all ages, surpassing every holiday except Christmas. The Halloween industry has grown 100% in the past ten years in the U.S. alone. According to the National Retail Federation, around 158 million Americans will be partaking in the frenzy this year, slightly down from last year’s peak of 170 million, with a total spending on festivities to reach $6.9 billion. Even pets are in the act, as consumers will spend over $330 million on their costumes in 2013.
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By Kathy Finn
NEW ORLEANS, Oct 24 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday delayed for three months the corruption trial of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who led the city during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Nagin, 57, a former cable TV executive best known for his fiery denunciation of the federal government’s response in the hurricane aftermath, was scheduled to go on trial next week on 21 counts of corruption. Charges include bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and filing false tax returns.
U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan said she agreed to the delay to give defense lawyers more time to prepare a rebuttal of the sweeping allegations, which involve six co-conspirators and a large volume of documents.
The charges, which Nagin has denied, span his tenure as mayor from 2002 to 2010. Nagin’s trial now is scheduled to begin Jan. 27, 2014.
During a long federal investigation, a string of Nagin’s former associates signed agreements with the government and are expected to testify against him.
A grand jury indictment returned in January said Nagin accepted gifts that included more than $200,000 in cash and wire transfers, free vacations for him and his family, and free shipments of granite delivered to a countertop installation company owned by Nagin and his two sons.
Nagin, who now resides in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas, has filed a series of motions in recent weeks asking that the trial be delayed or the charges dismissed.
His attorney, Robert Jenkins, filed one request for a delay based on misconduct by prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans that led another judge to call for a new trial in a separate case. Berrigan denied that request for a delay on Sept. 27.
A New Orleans legal expert said Nagin has a difficult task disputing the allegations leveled by former associates.
“You have these businessmen who pled guilty to giving the mayor gifts and cash in return for something,” said Tania Tetlow, a Tulane University law professor and former assistant U.S. attorney who has followed the case. “They have more credibility than the typical cooperating witness.”
(Editing by Karen Brooks and Gunna Dickson)
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Earlier today we reported that Twitter IPO price range will be unveiled soon, and the company has finally filed a new document with the SEC that details exactly how much it wants for the shares its willing to sell. According to the document, Twitter is going sell 70 million shares in the price range between $17 and $20. The microblogging network will raise nearly $1.4 billion dollars if we go by these figures, becoming the second biggest tech IPO since Facebook last year with the company itself valued at $10.9 billion.
IPO is now set to price on November 6th and some expect the IPO to be conducted prior to Thanksgiving. Twitter hasn’t said as yet exactly when we can expect its shares to be listed for open market trading. Twitter has already picked a exchange it wants to be listed on, the iconic New York Stock Exchange or the NYSE. The company didn’t go for Nasdaq, where Facebook is listed. One of Twitter’s biggest challenges is going to be convincing investors that it can generate money off of the tweets of its more than 200 million global users, Twitter may have doubled its annual revenue, but it is yet to turn a profit. We’ll have to wait and see what Twitter intends to do in the future in order to generate more revenue and value for shareholders.
Twitter To Sell 70 Million Shares At $17 To $20 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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FALL RIVER, Mass. — FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A cousin of Aaron Hernandez has been granted bail with conditions as she faces charges in connection with the murder case against the former New England Patriots player.
On Thursday, a judge set $15,000 cash bail for Tanya Singleton. She has been held without bail since pleading not guilty to criminal contempt and conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact. Singleton’s attorney said she would not immediately post bail.
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From birdcages to carousel rides, baby Wengenn goes on more adventures in his sleep than most people do in their lifestimes — and it’s all thanks to his mom, Queenie Liao.
She takes gorgeous photos of her son with carefully crafted scenery around him on the floor, while the little guy sleeps. (Clearly she never got the “sleep when the baby sleeps” memo.) Watch the video she posted to Youtube, called “Wengenn in Wonderland” to see some of these incredible creations, and head over to Bored Panda for more.
If Wegnenn is looking for companions on his dreamtime journeys, we suggest starting with baby Nuno and a slightly perkier baby Ethan.
By Toni Clarke
WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended tighter restrictions on products that contain hydrocodone, an opioid painkiller present in commonly prescribed, potentially addictive drugs such as Vicodin.
Until now, Vicodin and other products that contain less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone have been classified as Schedule III controlled substances. The FDA recommends reclassifying them more restrictively — potentially as Schedule II products, in line with opioid pain-killers such as oxycodone and morphine.
Reclassifying the products would make them harder to obtain, both by addicts and by legitimate pain patients. Physicians are not allowed to call in a prescription for a Schedule II product to a pharmacy. Instead, patients must present a written prescription.
In addition, patients would not be allowed as many refills before returning to see their doctors, potentially representing a hardship for patients in chronic pain.
The proposed change was urged by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is battling a rising tide of prescription drug abuse. The change must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and the DEA, which will make a final scheduling decision.
Opponents of the rule change, including many physicians, have argued for years that restricting pain products further could cause hardship to pain patients, especially the elderly.
Proponents argue that the death toll from abuse is unacceptably high.
Nearly three of four prescription drug overdoses are caused by opioid pain-killers, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regulators are trying to tackle the problem from a variety of angles. In an attempt to restrict supply, the DEA has been putting pressure on wholesale suppliers of prescription drugs to police their customers better.
Several companies, including Pfizer Inc and Endo Health Solutions, have been working to develop tamper resistant opioids that cannot be easily crushed or dissolved by addicts looking to get a full dose of the drug quickly.
The misuse of prescription pain-killers was responsible for more than 475,000 emergency department visits in 2009, a number that nearly doubled in just five years, according to the CDC.
In January a panel of outside medical experts voted 19 to 10 to reclassify the products. The vote followed two days of discussions.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s pharmaceuticals division, said in a statement that the agency has, over the past few years, been “challenged with determining how to balance the need to ensure continued access to those patients who rely on continuous pain relief while addressing the ongoing concerns about abuse and misuse.”
In the end, she said, the level of opioid abuse and the “tremendous amount of public interest” in the matter led the agency to recommend a change.
Videos of half a dozen mentally ill prisoners being heavily pepper-sprayed — even while naked and screaming for help — have forced change in California’s prison policy.
The California official in charge of adult prisons said Wednesday he sought the changes in part because of the disturbing videos, the Los Angeles Times reports. The videotapes are being used as evidence in a lawsuit filed by prisoners’ lawyers when asking a federal judge to require psychiatric hospitalization for the most mentally ill prisoners on death row and to ban the use of pepper spray on mentally ill inmates. The court hearings surrounding the lawsuit began at the start of October.
The state said in court documents that guards regularly use canisters of pepper spray the size of a fire extinguisher on inmates when a much smaller quantity could be used, the Associated Press reports.
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The first act of the Oscar season is playing out like an episode of “Survivor.”
Several anticipated films planned to be released in the heart of awards season have picked up stakes and moved to 2014. Changes often happen in the highly contentious fall movie season, but rarely has there been an exodus like this.
Note to would-be robbers of Buddhist centers: Not only is it undoubtedly awful for your karma, but the odds are awfully small that you’ll outwit the Monks, who have spent years practicing mindfulness.
Such is the case for an unnamed man in North Carolina, who attempted to rob 58-year-old Somsak Sambib, a monk at the Greensboro Buddhist Center. The man entered the building just after 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, then threatened Sambib with a gun and demanded money, reports local Fox affiliate WGHP.
Being a monk, Sambib wasn’t exactly flush with cash, nor did he have any other valuables on him. Still, facing continued threats, the monk told area news outlet WXII that he convinced the robber he could find some cash upstairs and led the way.
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