A Budget Deal at Last, But at What Price?
After weeks of intense debate and angry standoffs, lawmakers have struck a tentative budget deal. It includes severe cuts to education, new offshore oil drilling and a requirement that taxpayers send their income taxes in early.
Change Comes to the LAPD as Court Oversight Ends
A federal judge declared an end to eight years of court-ordered oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department late last week. The consent decree was forced on the LAPD after the Rampart corruption scandal and accusations of widespread racial profiling. Even some critics of the LAPD say the consent decree has helped the department begin to reform itself.