L.A. councilman seeks ban on large-capacity gun magazines









Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian wants the city to explore the feasibility of banning the possession of high-capacity gun magazines, the first step toward instituting stricter city gun and ammunition laws.

Although the California penal code now prohibits the manufacture and sale of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets, Krekorian said in a council motion Tuesday that a ban on the possession of the magazines within city limits could further improve public safety.

"The element missing from the state prohibition on high-capacity magazines is possession," Krekorian said in an interview with The Times



FOR THE RECORD:
High-capacity gun magazines: An earlier online version of this article, and its headline, incorrectly stated that Councilman Paul Krekorian has asked the city to consider banning ammunition for high-capacity gun magazines. Krekorian has requested that the city research a ban on the high-capacity magazines themselves, not their ammunition.



Although gun rights advocates frequently describe high-capacity magazine bans as "feel-good" steps, Krekorian said prohibiting their possession would give police a way to stop potential mass shooters before a tragedy can take place.

"I'm not interested in doing something that will have no effect," Krekorian said. "I'm interested in doing something that will prevent the kinds of slaughters we experience too often -- whether it's school shootings, shootouts with the police or drive-bys by gangbangers."

Krekorian's motion cited the 1997 North Hollywood shootout -- during which two bank robbers fired thousands of automatic weapon rounds at responding officers -- as well as the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn.

The motion asks that the Los Angeles Police Department, the city attorney and the city legislative analyst look into the feasibility, effectiveness and benefits of such a ban.

It marks the first formal request by a council member to look into a potential ban, according to Krekorian's spokesperson.

Second Amendment advocates have widely decried city, state and federal high-capacity magazine bans. Representatives from both the Gun Owners of America and National Rifle Assn. have previously said the bans restrict the ability of law-abiding gun owners from defending themselves.

"If the city of Los Angeles is looking to find new ways to waste taxpayer money, a proposal along the lines of banning the possession of instruments currently legal to own would certainly be one way to do it," said Brandon Combs, executive director of Calguns Foundation, a California-based 2nd Amendment advocacy group.

Although Combs said it's reasonable to consider bans on "true high-capacity magazines" holding more than 30 bullets, bans on 10- to 20-bullet magazines being pushed into law across the country are infringing on the rights of gun owners to protect themselves.

Meanwhile, a ban would do nothing to curb the behavior of criminals, who probably will continue to use high-capacity magazines even where they are illegal, he said.

"These criminals who commit mass shootings are not interested in listening to the Los Angeles City Council," Combs said. "I'd like to see some evidence that suggests a ban on high-capacity magazines has any effect on crime at all."

He noted that other California cities -- including San Francisco and San Jose -- have also pushed new gun and ammunition restrictions in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.

While other Los Angeles City Council members have supported a national ban on assault weapons and called for city investment funds to sell any stock they might hold in companies that make or sell such guns, the request for this report is the first step toward curbing high-capacity magazine possession at the city level since the mass shooting in Connecticut.

The December shooting in Newtown, which left 27 dead, including 20 children and the gunman, and last week's shooting at Taft Union High School in Kern County have re-energized discussions of gun control measures among Los Angeles politicians.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck bumped up the annual gun buyback program and have increased the police presence in schools. The mayor has also scheduled a news conference Wednesday to further address gun violence.

Meanwhile, all four mayoral hopefuls -- including current council members Jan Perry and Eric Garcetti -- have called for the renewal of the federal assault weapons ban.

Combs said if there was going to be a renewed conversation about gun control, he hopes the politicians who have added gun safety measures to their platforms and stump speeches open the discussion to 2nd Amendment advocates.

"Are these city officials going to invite us to the table? Or is this just going to be them passing restrictive gun laws they've already decided they want to see pass?" Combs said. "Hopefully, our elected officials are reaching out to gun rights organizations if they're truly interested in having a conversation."


wesley.lowery@latimes.com





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The Lede Blog: Video of Aleppo University Bombing

Video posted online by Syrian opposition activists appeared to show the moment one in a series of deadly explosions struck the campus of Aleppo University on Tuesday.

Video said to capture an explosion on the campus of Aleppo University in Syria on Tuesday, uploaded to the Web by opposition activists.

The brief clip, uploaded to the YouTube channel of the ANA New Media Association (formerly the Syrian Activists News Association), begins with a view of smoke rising from a university building as students mill about. Moments later, following a very loud explosion close to the camera, students run for cover and a much larger plume can be seen above the building.

A description of the video posted on YouTube by ANA, which is run from Cairo by the British-Syrian activist Rami Jarrah, said that the video was filmed by an activist just after the university was hit by a missile fired from a Syrian Air Force MIG fighter jet, and captured the impact of a second airstrike.

Another video clip, uploaded to the Web earlier in the day, appeared to offer a more distant view of the plumes of smoke above the campus. Mr. Jarrah, who blogs as Alexander Page, suggested that one part of the video showed the fighter jet’s contrail in the sky over the damaged buildings.

While opposition activists insisted that the blasts, which killed at least 50 people, were the result of airstrikes by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, state-controlled television channels claimed that “terrorists” had fired rockets at the campus.

The pro-Assad satellite channel al-Ikhbaria broadcast video of the aftermath, showing extensive damage to the campus and victims being rushed from the scene as on-screen text blamed the attack on rebel forces.

Video from the pro-government Syrian satellite channel al-Ikhbaria showed the aftermath of bombings at Aleppo University on Tuesday

A blogger in Aleppo who supported peaceful protests against the Assad government but has been fiercely critical of the armed rebellion, Edward Dark, described the carnage as a result of an air attack that was “probably a mistake, not an intentional bombing.”

Restrictions on independent reporting in Syria make it hard to confirm who was responsible for the explosions, but the university is in a government-controlled area of the city and large anti-Assad demonstrations there last May were harshly dealt with by the security forces, despite the presence of United Nations observers.

Another series of video clips, posted on YouTube shortly after the bombings, showed extensive damage to what was described as the university’s architecture, and dazed students making their way through shattered glass, carrying a wounded man on a table.

Video said to show the badly damaged Aleppo University on Tuesday.

Video of a wounded man being evacuated from a damaged building at Aleppo University on Tuesday.

Another pro-Assad satellite channel, Addounia, broadcast a report blaming “a terrorist group” for the bombings — which was uploaded, with English subtitles, to YouTube.

A video report on bombings at Aleppo University from Addounia, a pro-Assad satellite channel.

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Apple supplier sees big Q4 boost, likely a good sign for iPhone 5 demand






Shares of Apple (AAPL) have been hit hard over the last few days. Investors continue to worry about the company’s profit margins, demand for its popular line of smartphones and tablets, and its future endeavors. With upcoming competition from Research in Motion (RIMM) and Microsoft (MSFT), and an ongoing battle with Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, analysts fear that Apple’s mobile dominance may be a thing of the past. While we won’t officially know anything until the company reports its holiday earnings on January 23rd, a small German company has painted a calming picture for Apple shareholders.


[More from BGR: HTC One SV review]






Dialog Semiconductor announced last week that it expects to report a significant increase in sales for its December quarter. The company noted that the increase was due to “a stronger than anticipated end of year, underpinned by a strong late surge in demand for smartphone and tablet products.” Dialog Semiconductor now expects to report revenues of $ 268 million, an increase from between $ 215 million and $ 235 million.


[More from BGR: Extensive BlackBerry Z10 demo video posted by German website [video]]


The important thing to note is that, as of this past fall, Apple is Dialog’s largest customer and accounts for 60% of its total revenue.


Logic dictates that solid demand for Apple’s iPhone and iPad during the holidays helped boost Dialog’s performance. This could also mean that the iPhone-maker will report not only a strong December quarter, but a better-than-expected March quarter as well.


It looks like all this talk about customers losing interest in Apple may indeed be premature.


This article was originally published on BGR.com


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Tears & Outrage: Adamari López's Shocking Tell-All Explained in 5 Clicks





The Puerto Rican TV star accuses her ex, singer Luis Fonsi, of betrayal while she battled breast cancer








Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Wireimage



Updated: Monday Jan 14, 2013 | 06:00 AM EST




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Experts: Proposed NY gun law might hinder therapy


NEW YORK (AP) — Mental health experts say a new tougher New York state gun control law might interfere with treatment of potentially dangerous people and even discourage them from seeking help.


The law would require therapists, doctors, nurses and social workers to tell government authorities if they believe a patient is likely to harm himself or others. That could lead to revoking the patient's gun permit and seizing any guns.


In interviews Tuesday, one expert called the new law meaningless and said he expects mental health providers to ignore it, while others said they worry about its impact on patients.


Dr. Paul Appelbaum at Columbia University said the prospect of being reported to local mental health authorities and maybe the police might discourage people from revealing thoughts of harm to a therapist, or even from seeking treatment at all.


"The people who arguably most need to be in treatment and most need to feel free to talk about these disturbing impulses, may be the ones we make least likely to do so," said the director of law, ethics and psychiatry at Columbia. "They will either simply not come, or not report the thoughts that they have."


"If people with suicidal or homicidal impulses avoid treatment for fear of being reported in this way, they may be more likely to act on those impulses," he said.


Currently a mental health professional has a duty to protect potential victims of a patient, but there are several ways to do that, he said. The patient can be committed to an institution, voluntarily or not, or his medication can be changed to reduce the risk, or the intended victim can be warned, he said.


The patient's family can be asked to lock up any guns in the house, or to keep an eye on the patient to see if he's doing something that could bring on violence, like drinking or skipping his medications, Appelbaum said. The family could then notify the mental health professional.


This flexibility allows a therapist to deal with a risk of violence without breaching confidentiality in all cases, he said. And even if those steps are enough to blunt the danger, the proposed law would still require that the patient be reported to mental health authorities, he noted.


"It undercuts the clinical approach to treating these impulses, and instead turns it into a public safety issue," Appelbaum said.


He also noted that in many mass shootings in the past, the gunman had not been under treatment and so would not have been deterred by a law like the proposed measure.


Dr. Steven Dubovsky, chairman of the psychiatry department at the University at Buffalo, called the new measure meaningless. "It's pure political posturing" and a deceptive attempt to reassure the public, he said.


The intent seems to be to turn mental health professionals into detectives and policemen, he said, but "no patient is going to tell you anything if they think you're going to report them."


A therapist who took the measure seriously would have to warn patients about revealing anything incriminating, which would destroy the doctor-patient relationship, he said.


At the same time, he said the law can't be taken seriously because therapists won't be held liable if they don't report a patient they think is dangerous.


He thinks most therapists will ignore the law and continue to handle cases as they do now.


Dr. Mark Olfson, a psychiatry professor at Columbia, said that if the new law is "crudely applied," it could "erode patient trust in mental health care professionals," essential for effective care. Yet, he said, "if the law is implemented in a clinically well-informed manner, it holds the promise of helping to protect patients and the general public."


Eric Neblung, president of the New York State Psychological Association and a psychologist in Nyack, NY, called the new measure "a helpful step" but said it doesn't address a more fundamental need — improved access to mental health services.


---


Medical writer Lindsey Tanner reported from Chicago.


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Man kills wife, leave her body in casino, police allege

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Leon Panetta Says U.S. Has Pledged to Help France in Mali





LISBON — In a move that could draw the United States into another conflict in North Africa, the Obama administration has pledged to help the French in their fight against Islamist militants in Mali, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Monday. He said the assistance could include air and other logistical support.







Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta boards a plane bound for Portugal on Monday.






The United States was already sharing intelligence with the French when their warplanes struck camps, depots and other militant positions deep inside Islamist-held territory in northern Mali on Sunday. Defense officials said that no decisions had been made about whether the United States would also offer help with midflight refueling planes and air transport, but that those options were under review.


Defense officials would not rule out the possibility that American military transport planes might land in Mali, where the United States has been conducting an ambitious counterterrorism program for years. The officials would not discuss whether the United States has deployed drone aircraft, either armed or unarmed, over Mali.


Mr. Panetta, who spoke to reporters on his plane en route to Portugal for a weeklong trip in Europe, said that the chaos in Mali was of deep concern to the administration, and he praised the French for their actions. He also said “what we have promised them is that we would work with them, to cooperate with them, to provide whatever assistance we can to try to help them in that effort.”


Mr. Panetta said that the Obama administration was deeply worried about the two extremist groups that hold large swaths of territory in northern Mali, Ansar Dine and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. “We’re concerned that any time Al Qaeda establishes a base of operations, while they might not have any immediate plans for attacks in the United States and in Europe, that ultimately that still remains their objective,” he said.


For that reason, he said, “we have to take steps now to make sure that AQIM does not get that kind of traction.”


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Facebook shares rise in buildup to mystery event, earnings






SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s stock opened on Monday above $ 32 for the first time since July as anticipation about upcoming products and financial results underscored Wall Street’s renewed confidence in the online social network.


Facebook will on Tuesday host its first major press event at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, since its troubled initial public offering in May, triggering a guessing game among technology observers and online blogs about what it could unveil – everything from a smartphone to a search engine.






“There’s a lot of speculation. Nothing to me seems to be that certain,” Jefferies & Co analyst Brian Pitz said.


“If I were to bet, I’d think it was something that was ad-platform related. I’m not convinced on the phone,” said Pitz, citing previous comments by Facebook’s leaders including CEO Mark Zuckerberg that making a smartphone would be the “wrong strategy” for Facebook.


In an email to reporters last week, Facebook invited the media to “come and see what we’re building” without providing details.


Some analysts said the stock’s recent gains – shares are up roughly 17 percent since the start of the year – may have more to do with the company’s upcoming fourth-quarter financial results, slated for January 30.


“The stock is up because they have driven a dramatic increase in the ad load of their mobile app which is giving investors hope that they exceeded expectations,” BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said.


Shares were down about 1.3 percent to $ 31.30 in mid-afternoon trading.


The world’s No.1 social network with 1 billion users, Facebook became the first U.S. company to debut on stock markets with a value of more than $ 100 billion. Its value subsequently plunged by more than 50 percent on mounting concerns about slowing revenue growth and the challenges of making money as users shift from personal computers to mobile devices.


Facebook surprised Wall Street in the third quarter by announcing that mobile ads accounted for 14 percent of its total ad revenue. Some analysts expect the company to report further growth in its nascent mobile ad business for the fourth quarter.


Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, has said that mobile is the “most misunderstood aspect” of Facebook. But he has repeatedly poured cold water on rumors that Facebook would build its own smartphone to compete against Apple Inc’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google Inc’s Android operating system.


During an on-stage interview at a conference in September, Zuckerberg said that he believed search could be a ripe area of growth for Facebook.


“Facebook is really uniquely positioned to answer a lot of the questions that people have,” Zuckerberg said, such as finding a good restaurant or learning more about a job opportunity.


Still, many technology observers believe that Facebook is more likely to improve the search capabilities within Facebook than to develop a full-fledged search engine that indexes all the Web’s content and competes head-on with search leader Google.


Among the other items that technology blogs and analysts speculate might be unveiled on Tuesday were new standalone apps for Apple’s iPad tablet, new features to display video ads and even a new wing of corporate headquarters.


Some cautioned that expectations of a game-changing new product were likely to cause disappointment.


“There’s no way they’re announcing anything that has financial impact, or they wouldn’t do it now, they’d wait two weeks,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, citing Facebook’s upcoming earnings.


“Why would you announce something that has a financial impact during the quiet period?,” he said.


(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Paul Simao)


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Justin Timberlake's New 'Suit & Tie:' Review















01/14/2013 at 02:45 PM EST








Inset:Joe Scarnici/Wireimage


At last Justin Timberlake is back to music, with Jay-Z in tow, on "Suit & Tie," his first new song since 2006 – and it sure is good to hear that falsetto croon again.

After the spacey beats of his last album, the multiplatinum FutureSex/LoveSounds, JT goes for a more retro vibe on this suave single, which previews his much-anticipated third solo album, The 20/20 Experience, due out later this year. With its smooth, horn-kissed lushness, it recalls the '70s R&B of Marvin Gaye as well as Robin Thicke's modern-day take on old-school soul.

While "Suit & Tie" does bring sexy back again, the lyrics find Timberlake, 32 this month, ready to sweep you – or perhaps his new wife, Jessica Biel – off your feet with old-fashioned romance.

"Let me show you a few things, show you a few things about love," he coos. Then, when Jay-Z swoops in for his rap, it's clear that wedded bliss is in the air: "Tell your mother that I love her cause I love you/ Tell your father we go farther as a couple/ They ain't lose a daughter, got a son."

Although the track once again finds Timberlake collaborating with producer Timbaland, it represents a sonic departure from previous hits like "Cry Me a River," "My Love" and "What Goes Around ... Comes Around."

"Suit & Tie" doesn't pack the same wallop as those songs, but it shows a more sophisticated side to the former boy-band member – all grown up now as a thirty-something married man.

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas


NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.


The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest flu seasons in recent memory.


The latest numbers do show that the flu surpassed an "epidemic" threshold last week. That is based on deaths from pneumonia and influenza in 122 U.S. cities. However, it's not unusual — the epidemic level varies at different times of the year, and it was breached earlier this flu season, in October and November.


And there's a hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots, like in the South. Still, officials there and elsewhere are bracing for more sickness


In Ohio, administrators at Miami University are anxious that a bug that hit employees will spread to students when they return to the Oxford campus next week.


"Everybody's been sick. It's miserable," said Ritter Hoy, a spokeswoman for the 17,000-student school.


Despite the early start, health officials say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The vaccine is considered a good — though not perfect — protection against getting really sick from the flu.


Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The only states without widespread flu were California, Mississippi and Hawaii.


The number of hard-hit states fell to 24 from 29, where larger numbers of people were treated for flu-like illness. Now off that list: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.


Recent flu reports included holiday weeks when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to get a better picture, CDC officials said Friday. Experts say so far say the season looks moderate.


"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Friday in a teleconference with reporters.


The government doesn't keep a running tally of adult deaths from the flu, but estimates that it kills about 24,000 people in an average year. Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu this season.


Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Since the swine flu epidemic in 2009, vaccination rates have increased in the U.S., but more than half of Americans haven't gotten this year's vaccine.


Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, officials said.


To find a shot, "you may have to call a couple places," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, who tracks the flu in Iowa.


In midtown Manhattan, Hyrmete Sciuto got a flu shot Friday at a drugstore. She skipped it in recent years, but news reports about the flu this week worried her.


During her commute from Edgewater, N.J., by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."


The vaccine is no guarantee, though, that you won't get sick. On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that sends them to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine. That's in line with other years.


The vaccine is reformulated annually, and this year's is a good match to the viruses going around.


The flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in flu-like illnesses caused by other bugs, including a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." Those illnesses likely are part of the heavy traffic in hospital and clinic waiting rooms, CDC officials said.


Europeans also are suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo have also reported increasing flu.


Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.


Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.


Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.


___


Associated Press writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati, Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.


___


Online:


CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm


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