Retired L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca admits he lied to the FBI in the jail abuse scandal

latimes.com – By Joel Rubin, Cindy Chang and Harriet Ryan – In the jail abuse scandal that has roiled the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen officials, one question has remained open: How high did the corruption go? Retired Sheriff Lee Baca admitted in federal court Wednesday that it went all the way to the top.

Baca, who left office two years ago, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and federal prosecutors investigating the beatings of inmates and visitors at the nation’s largest jail system. As part of a surprise plea deal with the U.S. attorney’s office, Baca acknowledged for the first time taking an active role in trying to stymie the federal probe, even allowing a team of deputies to confront one FBI agent at her home.

More… http://www.latimes.com/local/crime/la-me-baca-guilty-20160211-story.html

#101SlowJam: Garcetti tries to ease the pain of a freeway closure with a music video

latimes.com – By Ben Poston – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti summoned his inner crooner and released a music video Thursday to warn drivers of an impending 40-hour traffic headache — the #101SlowJam. Flanked by the Theodore Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, Garcetti sings a tune reminiscent of the “Slow Jam the News” segment on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.” “See we’re bringing down the 6th Street Bridge, making way for something new and the demolition will cause delays,” Garcetti says in the video. “But sometimes, just sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty to build something beautiful.”

More… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-garcetti-music-video-101slowjam-road-closure-20160205-story.html

Let the Whining Begin

motherjones.com – By Kevin Drum – This is such an awesome bit of whining from Donald Trump that I felt I had to share it. I think we need a new word for this. Trump+whining = Twining. Or Trump + griping = Triping. Or something. Maybe figure out a way to add the concept that he’s actually a winner even when he’s objectively a failure. That might take some kind of German construction, though.

More… http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/let-whining-begin 

Most bizarre online ad EVER? Man offers sex with his robot – as long as he can watch

mirror.co.uk – By Jon Livesey – An engineer who claims to have built a robot with women’s private parts is seeking someone to have sex with it in what might be the most bizarre advert ever. What’s more, the man says his offer comes with one creepy condition – whoever has sex with his machine has to let him watch them doing the deed. Describing his AI (Artificial Intelligence) robot, he says it features “a vagina”.

He explains that he can’t have sex with it because, as its creator, he’s “like its dad”.

The ad, titled “Come f*** my robot”, was posted on Craigslist by somebody in Malibu, an upmarket coastal city in Los Angeles, California, yesterday.

It says: “Hi, I am an engineer who has built an AI with a vagina. I need someone to come f*** my robot and let me watch.

“I can’t f*** it because I’m like its dad.”

More… http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/most-bizarre-online-ad-ever-7271112 

Police had to rush forgotten footballs, air gauges to Patriots game

bostonglobe.com – By Travis Andersen – Maybe they wilted under postseason pressure. The referees who worked the NFL playoff game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday at Gillette Stadium forgot to bring a few tools of their trade, namely, the footballs used during kicks and the gauges that measure air pressure in the balls, State Police said.

David Procopio, a State Police spokesman, said the mistake came to light at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, when league officials contacted the Hyatt at Logan International Airport, where the officiating crew had stayed, and alerted the hotel that the items were left behind.

A Hyatt employee recovered the footballs and gauges, and a worker and State Police Detective Lieutenant Thomas Coffey drove the items to Gillette, where they arrived about an hour before the 4:35 p.m. kickoff, Procopio said.

More… https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/20/nfl-state-police-pull-off-hail-mary-for-patriots-playoff-game/Wwrr4ucMeNQWFWZJA6AZqI/story.html 

Carly Fiorina finally says what she means about Bill and Hillary Clinton marriage

washingtonpost.com – By Abby Phillip – Former HP chief executive Carly Fiorina, relegated to the undercard GOP presidential debate on Thursday night, came out swinging for Hillary Clinton. And it got very personal.

During the debate, Fiorina said pointedly that “unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband.”

The comment was pretty transparently about Clinton, yet Fiorina was repeatedly asked in subsequent interviews: What did she actually mean by that? And what does she know about the Clinton marriage that everyone else doesn’t?

To answer those questions, Fiorina has repeated that Hillary and Bill Clinton have “craved power their whole lives.” But pressed on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday morning, Fiorina got far more blunt.

“If my husband had done some of the things Bill Clinton had done, I would have left him long ago,” Fiorina said. “So, yes, I think it’s all fair game.”

More…https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/15/carly-fiorina-finally-says-what-she-means-about-bill-and-hillary-clintons-marriage/?tid=pm_politics_pop_b

A Shoe-Shaped Church Is About To Open In Taiwan

elledecor.com – By Bridget Mallon – Apparently women can’t be bothered entering buildings unless they’re shaped like shoes. At least that’s the message one church in Taiwan is spreading.

According to the Daily Mail, a giant glass high heel popped up in the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area in Jaiyi County earlier this week, and instead of paying homage to Cinderella (the patron saint of glass shoes) it’s intended to be a place of worship.

More…http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/news/a8163/shoe-church-taiwan/

How the Powerball rules were tweaked to make the game an even bigger ripoff

latimes.com – By Michael Hiltzik – Powerball fever has gripped the country, as one might expect with a jackpot of $1.5 billion at stake in Wednesday’s drawing.

Newspapers, online sites, and TV broadcasts are brimming with reports of massive sales and hopeful players — The Times website, latimes.com, has run 18 posts about the lottery just since Jan. 10, when the last drawing failed to produce a winner and drove the jackpot to this record level. Powerball officials in the 44 states that participate in the game are quoted expressing astonishment at the size of the jackpot and the nationwide frenzy it has induced.

More…http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-powerball-rules-were-tweaked-20160112-column.html

David Bowie Dead at 69

rollingstone.com – By Kory Grow – David Bowie, the legendary singer-songwriter and actor, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 69.

The artist’s Facebook page announced the news, with the singer’s rep confirming his death to Rolling Stone. “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” the statement read. “While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

One of the most original and singular voices in rock & roll for nearly five decades, Bowie championed mystery, rebellion and curiosity in his music. Ever unpredictable, the mercurial artist and fashion icon wore many guises throughout his life. Beginning life as a dissident folk-rock spaceman, he would become an androgynous, orange-haired, glam-rock alien (Ziggy Stardust), a well-dressed, blue-eyed funk maestro (the Thin White Duke), a drug-loving art rocker (the Berlin albums), a new-wave hit-maker, a hard rocker, a techno enthusiast and a jazz impressionist. His flair for theatricality won him a legion of fans.

More… http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/david-bowie-dead-at-69-20160111

Melania Trump’s American Dream

harpersbazaar.com – By Alex Kuczynski – Melania Trump gazes out of her living room window over the gold tapestry of New York’s Central Park. It’s late November, and from her spacious apartment, which occupies the top three floors of the 68-story Trump Tower, in Midtown Manhattan, the 843 acres nestled among the gray sea of buildings below seem small, like a wet towel left on the bathroom floor by a teenager.