California bills target false 911 calls in 'swatting' cases

SACRAMENTO — Alarmed that pranksters have called 911 to report false emergencies at the homes of celebrities including Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise, two Southern California legislators have proposed laws to get tougher with anyone engaged in "swatting."

A bill announced Wednesday by state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) would allow longer sentences for and greater restitution from those convicted of making false reports to the police. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca asked for the measure.

A similar proposal has been introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles).

"The recent spate of phony reports to law enforcement officials that the home of an actor or singer is being robbed or held hostage is dangerous, and it's only a matter of time before there's a tragic accident," said Lieu.

On Monday, someone called police with a false report of domestic violence and a possible shooting at the Hollywood Hills home of singer Chris Brown, who was not there at the time.

Last week, a report of shots fired sent a Beverly Hills police SWAT team to surround the home of actor Tom Cruise.

Also last week, a 12-year-old boy was charged with making false threats about supposed incidents at the homes of Bieber and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Others believed to have been targets of swatting incidents in the last year include "The X Factor" judge Simon Cowell, singer Miley Cyrus and the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Baca asked Lieu to introduce a bill "because this phenomenon is increasingly becoming more of a challenge," said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the sheriff. "He believes increasing the penalties, including increased jail time and financial responsibility, will bring this serious, albeit new, crime to the forefront, exactly where it belongs."

Gatto and Lieu both propose that those convicted of making false 911 reports be liable for all costs associated with the police response. Such pranks are "a complete waste of law enforcement resources," said Gatto.

The Assemblyman's measure, AB 47, would also increase the maximum fine for conviction from $1,000 to $10,000 and make it easier to file murder charges if someone is killed in a swatting incident.

Existing penalties for false 911 reports include up to one year in jail, but an offender may get probation with no jail time. Lieu, a military reserve prosecutor, wants to set a minimum sentence of 120 days in jail.

Lieu's proposal also would make it easier to charge someone with a felony if a victim is hurt as a result of a prank call. In felony cases, the penalty could increase to three years in jail. And prosecutors would no longer have to show that the prankster knew injury or death would occur.

Both bills would apply to incidents involving anyone in California, not just celebrities. But the Legislature has drawn criticism in the past for measures intended primarily to protect the famous.

In 2009 and 2010, the Legislature and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved laws restricting paparazzi, including one that stiffened penalties for those caught driving recklessly or blocking sidewalks to photograph celebrities.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

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The Lede Blog: Live Updates: Clinton Testifies on Benghazi Attacks

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Lede is following Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the American Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Mrs. Clinton had been scheduled to testify before Congress last month, but an illness, a concussion and a blood clot near her brain forced her to postpone her appearance.

As our colleagues Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt reported, four State Department officials were removed from their posts on last month after an independent panel criticized the “grossly inadequate” security at a diplomatic compound in Benghazi.

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Adele Wears the Name 'Angelo' Around Her Neck

Buzz

By Simon Perry

01/23/2013 at 09:05 AM EST

So far, Adele has kept her baby boy's name a closely guarded secret. But has she revealed the moniker by keeping it close to her heart?

Born in October, the little boy is staying with his mother in Los Angeles during Hollywood's awards season.

On an outing Monday to a favorite baby boutique, Adele – who won a Golden Globe for her James Bond tune "Skyfall" and is scheduled to perform at the Oscars – was spotted wearing a gold necklace featuring the name "Angelo."

Could that be her angel? The singer, who has referred to him as a "little Peanut," won't likely say.

"I am not sharing his name at the moment. It is very personal to me," she told PEOPLE backstage at the Golden Globes. "I am enjoying him on my own."

A rep for the singer did not return calls for comment.

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Foes of NYC soda size limit doubt racial fairness

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of the city's limit on the size of sugary drinks are raising questions of racial fairness alongside other complaints as the novel restriction faces a court test.

The NAACP's New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined beverage makers and sellers in trying to stop the rule from taking effect March 12. With a hearing set Wednesday, critics are attacking what they call an inconsistent and undemocratic regulation, while city officials and health experts defend it as a pioneering and proper move to fight obesity.

The issue is complex for the minority advocates, especially given obesity rates that are higher than average among blacks and Hispanics, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. The groups say in court papers they're concerned about the discrepancy, but the soda rule will unduly harm minority businesses and "freedom of choice in low-income communities."

The latest in a line of healthy-eating initiatives during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, the beverage rule bars restaurants and many other eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces. Violations could bring $200 fines; the city doesn't plan to start imposing those until June.

The city Board of Health OK'd the measure in September. Officials cited the city's rising obesity rate — about 24 percent of adults, up from 18 percent in 2002 — and pointed to studies linking sugary drinks to weight gain. Care for obesity-related illnesses costs more than $4.7 billion a year citywide, with government programs paying about 60 percent of that, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.

"It would be irresponsible for (the health board) not to act in the face of an epidemic of this proportion," the city says in court papers. The National Association of Local Boards of Health and several public health scholars have backed the city's position in filings of their own.

Opponents portray the regulation as government nagging that turns sugary drinks into a scapegoat when many factors are at play in the nation's growing girth.

The American Beverage Association and other groups, including movie theater owners and Korean grocers, sued. They argue that the first-of-its-kind restriction should have gone before the elected City Council instead of being approved by the Bloomberg-appointed health board.

Five City Council members echo that view in a court filing, saying the Council is "the proper forum for balancing the city's myriad interests in matters of public health." The Bloomberg administration counters that the health board, made up of doctors and other health professionals, has the "specialized expertise" needed to make the call on limiting cola sizes.

The suit also argues the rule is too narrow to be fair. Alcohol, unsweetened juice and milk-based drinks are excluded, as are supermarkets and many convenience stores — including 7-Eleven, home of the Big Gulp — that aren't subject to city health regulations.

The NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a network of 100 northeastern groups, say minority-owned delis and corner stores will end up at a disadvantage compared to grocery chains.

"This sweeping regulation will no doubt burden and disproportionally impact minority-owned businesses at a time when these businesses can least afford it," they said in court papers. They say the city should focus instead on increasing physical education in schools.

During Bloomberg's 11-year tenure, the city also has made chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menus and barred artificial trans fats in french fries and other restaurant food.

In general, state and local governments have considerable authority to enact laws intended to protect people's health and safety, but it remains to be seen how a court will view a portion-size restriction, said Neal Fortin, director, Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University.

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LAPD grapples with responding to possible 'swatting' calls

Los Angeles police are recalibrating their response to some emergency calls in light of a series of prank "swatting" calls reporting violent incidents at the homes of celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and now Chris Brown.

Officers will continue to respond immediately, in large numbers and with force if needed, to reports of crime at the homes of such VIPs, top Los Angeles Police Department officials said. But they are trying to warn officers more quickly in cases where an emergency call appears to have the hallmarks of swatting. Swatting is a prank call reporting a violent crime that results in a tactical police response that may include a SWAT team.

Deputy Chief Debra McCarthy, who oversees the LAPD's West Bureau, said that while the number of fake 911 calls about hostages or potential deadly violence at celebrities' homes is exceedingly low, officers are being cautioned to be aware of the possibility of swatting in a bid to limit injuries or death to officers or victims because of miscommunication or confusion.

"We haven't changed the way we respond, because in life and death situations you must respond always prepared, good or bad," McCarthy said. "But we want to be really careful it is not a prank and this isn't the home of some unsuspecting individual. We have to be extra vigilant because this is occurring."

On Monday, an LAPD lieutenant warned over the police radio that a domestic violence and possible shooting call at the Hollywood Hills home of Brown could be swatting.

The initial report came to the LAPD via TTY device, which is typically used by the deaf to type text over the telephone. The device has been used in other false calls alleging violent crimes at the homes of area celebrities.

Brown was not home at the time of the incident, which was reported shortly before 5 p.m., but people employed by the singer were at the home when the LAPD showed up, police said. Brown's parents arrived at the residence shortly after police, LAPD officials said.

The incident is the third in a series of pranks targeting celebrities.

In early October, Los Angeles police dispatched several units and tactical officers to Kutcher's home on Arrowhead Drive after they received a report through a TTY device from a woman who said she was hiding in a closet because there was a man with a gun inside the residence, according to sources familiar with the case.

Police responded and briefly held workers at gunpoint at the home before contacting the actor and determining it was a hoax.

A week later, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies received a report claiming a gunman had fired shots at Bieber's house and was threatening to harm police when they showed up. The message also was received through a TTY device and sheriff's officials later determined that the call was a hoax and that the pop star was away on tour at the time of the incident.

The LAPD tracked the calls and in December arrested a 12-year-old boy who was charged last week by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office with three counts of making false threats stemming from phony police incidents at the Kutcher and Bieber residences.

But the swatting calls apparently began anew last week.

A Beverly Hills police SWAT team surrounded actor Tom Cruise's home Thursday after a report of shots fired. The next day, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded to a call of a possible shooting at the former Malibu residence of the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said that while the department has not definitively determined that the incident, described as a shooting, involved swatting, it was "a definite possibility." He said the Sheriff's Department is also adjusting its response to reflect such prank calls.

"As we become more advanced, the Sheriff's Department is responding appropriately to each occurrence," Whitmore said. "We are getting better about identifying what is real and what is not."

As swatting incidents continue, Lt. Andrew Neiman said the LAPD is looking for ways to increase the consequences for those behind a prank that could be deadly and that is costly for the city while also diverting police and firefighters from real emergencies.

The department has approached the city attorney about pursuing civil remedies against the pranksters to recover the cost of the large responses. Chief Charlie Beck said the LAPD is also hoping California, as Michigan did last year, will tighten the law and penalties for such pranks.

"If there is anything that comes out of the interest in this as new technology emerges and abuse of new technology occurs, then we have to address that with new laws," Beck said.

"God forbid somebody gets severely injured or killed in an incident like this. I don't doubt the felony murder would apply. We would certainly try to do that."

Sheriff Lee Baca and a state senator are seeking to increase the penalties for swatting.

Under a proposed swatting bill by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), if convicted the person making the false emergency report would be held liable for all costs associated with the response by law enforcement.

Lieu's bill also would make it easier to charge the perpetrator with a felony when someone gets hurt as a result of the prank call. Prosecutors would no longer have to show that the person knew injury or death would occur as a result of the false report. Those convicted could get as many as three years in prison if someone is injured.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

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IHT Rendezvous: It's Davos Time Again

Our colleagues over at DealBook, in their first posts about Davos 2013, ruminate on how many of Davos predictions each year actually come true and whether capital can really compete with politics in the real New World Order.

This year Davos will again take place against a changing economic landscape in Europe. The Continent, no longer a ticking time bomb, is “potentially facing a starker problem,” the IHT’s Liz Alderman and Jack Ewing write in DealBook. “The biggest concern is that leaders might become less vigilant now that the heat is off, ushering in a spate of new troubles that could dog the euro for years to come.”

Apparently, bankers attending Davos may find the mood to be more congenial than in years past. “Among the government overseers who will also be in attendance, there appears to be a growing sentiment that the banks have taken enough abuse,” DealBook writes.

Any questions for those attending Davos, or for the IHT reporters and editors covering the World Economic Forum? Send them our way in the comments below.

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I Might Be Too Old for Facebook Graph Search

On Sunday, I turned 30.

That’s not too old, I tell myself, yet the signs of aging are creeping in. Teenagers listen to music that I either haven’t heard of or believe to be mostly terrible. They use slang I don’t recognize, and I imagine my slang would sound to them like “groovy” or “far out” sound to me.

But for the purposes of our tech blog, the most notable sign is how much more active teens are on Facebook than I am. To hear it from my wife, who works with children and teens at her job, they’re constantly signed in and active, to the point that reaching them by voice call is unreliable. Send them a Facebook message, even during school hours, and they’ll respond right away. (The reality isn’t quite that extreme; according to a Pew survey, most teens communicate through text messages and phone calls more than Facebook, but e-mail is far behind.)

So when Facebook announces a new feature, like Graph Search, I imagine those teens getting the most use out of it. Graph Search lets you look up people, places, photos and other things using natural search queries. Think of it like Google for everything that your friends know; instead of searching the Web for somewhere to eat or something to do, you could just search through the collective wisdom of your network.

Here are some of the example searches on Facebook’s Graph Search home page:

• Music my friends like


• Restaurants in London my friends have been to


• People who like cycling and are from my hometown


• Photos before 1990

Being able to find all that information–and provide your own information for friends–sounds great. But unless you and your pals are putting lots of data in, you’re probably not going to get a lot of data out. I know for sure that I haven’t put much effort into connecting my real life story to Facebook, and as I poke around my network, I see that many of my friends haven’t either. They don’t check in to places they visit. They don’t “Like” everything that they actually like. They haven’t uploaded photos from before 1990. Collectively, we haven’t invested in making Graph Search as useful as it could be.

It might be different if I was part of the generation that uses Facebook more often. Though it’s hard to find data on how Likes and check-ins vary by age, younger users tend to have more Facebook friends than older ones, according to Edison Research, so at least they have a bigger base of people to work with. And according to a 2011 study, teens spend more time on the network per day than older users. If posting on Facebook is part of your social circle’s daily life–that is, it’s not just a way to see what old high school buddies are up to–I imagine Graph Search will be a lot more useful.

That’s not to say Graph Search won’t be of any value to someone like me. It could come in handy as a way to sort through photos, for instance. There’s also a chance that Facebook will improve the ways that it picks up on our interests, and integrate frictionless sharing so there’s less work involved in becoming an information source.

But while I plan to keep up with technology for a long time, I realize it’s hard to keep using social networks like a teenager when your friends are getting older too. Facebook isn’t part of my daily life anymore, so I can’t imagine rewiring my habits and turning it into a primary information source, especially if my friends aren’t doing the same.  It’s much easier to rely on the tools I already have, such as traditional search engines and sites like Yelp–just like it’s easy to stop keeping track of popular music or to pick up on new slang.

Graph Search is in “very limited” beta now, and users who want to try it can join the waiting list. I look forward to seeing what I can do with it, even if it’s not really for me. In the meantime, here’s to growing older.

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Michelle Obama Wears Jason Wu (Again!) at Inaugural Ball

Stylewatch
Style News Now

01/22/2013 at 09:00 AM ET

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty

Just like President Obama, Jason Wu is getting a second term!

Michelle Obama stunned in a custom ruby red chiffon and velvet halter-neck gown by Jason Wu at the inaugural ball in Washington, D.C. on Monday night.

It was a surprising choice considering Wu also designed the flowing one-shoulder white dress the FLOTUS wore four years ago when her husband was sworn in to office. It was the look that catapulted the young designer’s career.

Obama paired the jewel-tone number with Jimmy Choo shoes, a handmade diamond-embellished Kimberly McDonald ring and of course, her brand new bangs.

Wu beat out a number of other designers vying for the honor of dressing the fashionable First Lady on the big night including Derek Lam, Marchesa, Michael Kors, Prabal Gurung, Tory Burch, Tracy Reese, Narciso Rodriguez, Naeem Khan and Thakoon.

And it turns out Wu couldn’t believe he earned yet a second White House style seal of approval. Shortly after the First Lady stepped out in the gorgeous creation, he tweeted, “#inshock!!!”

Earlier in the day, Obama chose a navy Thom Browne coat, plus a jeweled belt, J. Crew gloves, Cathy Waterman earrings and Reed Krakoff boots for the ceremony at the Capitol.

The First Lady’s inauguration day wardrobe, including accessories, will be donated to the National Archives. Tell us: Do you like the First Lady’s red Jason Wu gown?

–Jennifer Cress

PHOTOS: SEE THE FIRST LADY’S 10 MOST STUNNING GOWNS

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Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.

A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work.

"It's a balancing act" between physical health and financial well-being, she said.

An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for a third of civilian workers — more than 40 million people — who don't have it.

Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race.

Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists — some in surgical masks — rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point.

The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. "There's people who say, 'OK, I get it — you don't want your server coughing on your food,'" she said.

Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and "living wage" laws, and a public health priority.

But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.

Michael Sinensky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, "we're in survival mode."

"We're at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives," said Sinensky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can't work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn't include tips.

Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness.

"Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary.

Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia's mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011.

In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn't include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless.

The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women's groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents, including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote.

Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn't think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season.

While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn't be reached by telephone.

"I needed work," Palaguachi said after Friday's City Hall rally, but "I needed to see the doctor because I'm sick."

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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

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County official calls car leasing contract procedure 'embarrassing'

Auditors reviewing a $1.75-million car leasing contract given to a company with a politically connected lobbying firm found that Los Angeles County officials had failed to create a "truly competitive" process, but that there was no evidence of improper influence.

Investigators with the county auditor-controller's office reviewed the Enterprise Rent-a-Car contract at the request of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. A report by KCET-TV had raised questions about the way the business was awarded.

Enterprise was given a sole-source, five-year deal in March to provide 60 leased  vehicles to the county's Community Development Commission and to maintain the agency's existing fleet. Commission staff projected that outsourcing the fleet services would save about $300,000 a year.

The Nov. 28 report on KCET's "SoCal Connected" focused on the lobbying firm Englander Knabe & Allen and questioned whether its clients — including Enterprise — got an unfair advantage because partner Matt Knabe is the son of county Supervisor Don Knabe, who voted along with all the other supervisors to award the contract.

Both Knabes have said that their relationship has never posed a conflict, and a spokesman for the Englander firm has said Matt Knabe never lobbies his father directly.

The auditor-controller found no evidence of attempts to influence the rental car award. Matt Knabe told investigators that no one from his firm had lobbied on the contract, and the commission's executive director said he was "100% confident" the supervisor's son did not influence the process.

"The report shows that Matt acted professionally and used no undue influence in his dealings with the county," said Englander partner Eric Rose.

But the review did find that county staff did an "inadequate" job of trying to find other potential bidders.

Asked by KCET what vendors had been contacted and given a chance to compete for the business, a county analyst created a list to make it appear the department had reached out to 50 companies. In fact, only 16 firms had been contacted, auditors found. Enterprise was the only company that responded to the email request, and staff made no follow-up attempt to contact the other firms.

According to the auditor's report, the count of 50 vendors was originally used as a "place holder" in a template document and never corrected. By the time the contract was awarded, the contract analyst "felt he could not correct the number without embarrassment."

Investigators also found that the agency violated its own policy by not advertising the contract on the commission's or the county's websites, and that the contract should have gone through a full bidding process.

In addition, several vendors that contract officials emailed to invite interest had no "realistic potential" to provide a leased fleet to the county in the first place, the review concluded.

Investigators wrote that they couldn't determine whether the commission could have gotten a better deal but said "the potential for greater savings from a more competitive process appears to be plausible."

County auditor-controller Wendy Watanabe called the situation "embarrassing" but chalked up the issues to incompetence rather than intentional steering.

"I think they got lazy, they took a shortcut, and they didn't think it was that big of a deal," she said.

Watanabe said the investigation had focused on the Enterprise contract, so she could not say whether there was a broader issue with the agency's contracting process.

Commission representatives could not be reached Monday. The commission was slated to respond to the report's findings within 30 days.

abby.sewell@latimes.com

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