Impeachment Brawl Stretches Past Day 2 as Vote Looms by Friday
With fury, recrimination, and ample amendments, House Republicans on Thursday aired grievances for a second straight day on articles of impeachment charging President Donald Trump with abusing his power and obstructing Congress.
by BRANDI BUCHMAN & ADAM KLASFELD
Conspicuous in Its Absence, Bribery Charge Still Beats in Trump Impeachment
by MEGAN MINEIRO, JACK RODGERS & TIM RYAN

From Europe
Exit Poll: Tories Headed Toward Big Victory in UK Election
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a divisive politician with a flair for clownish antics and a master of sloganeering, was headed toward a landslide election victory Thursday night and on course to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union by the end of January, according to a major exit poll and early results.
by CAIN BURDEAU

EU Court Rejects Trademark for Italian Cannabis Shop
An Italian store selling dog treats and coffee made with cannabis cannot trademark its marijuana leaf-filled logo, the European General Court ruled Thursday.
by MOLLY QUELL

EU Governments Cleared to Demand Payment for Antitrust Losses
Wading deep into the weeds of antitrust law, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that entities indirectly affected by price-fixing or other anticompetitive acts by a cartel – including government agencies – can demand compensation for their losses.
by WILLIAM DOTINGA
Myanmar Leader Asks UN Court to Toss Genocide Case
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi asked the United Nations’ highest court Thursday to drop a case accusing her country Mynamar of committing genocide against a Muslim minority group.
by MOLLY QUELL
Trump v. California
Feds to Open 1.2 Million Acres in California to Fracking
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will open 1.2 million acres in California to fracking, ending a five-year moratorium on the controversial method of oil and gas extraction in the Golden State.
by MATTHEW RENDA

In the Courts
Mistrial Declared in Case of Murdered Texas Cheerleader
After 10 hours of deliberation over two days, a San Antonio jury could not return a unanimous verdict in the murder trial of a Texas man accused of killing his college cheerleader girlfriend.
by DANIEL CONRAD
Boston Trial of Marathon Bomber Called Unfair on Appeal
Fighting for a retrial of the Boston Marathon bomber, a lawyer told the First Circuit on Thursday morning that it violated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s rights to try him so close to the site of the largest terrorist attack since 9/11.
by ZACK HUFFMAN
Fight Over St. Louis Bail System Hits Eighth Circuit
A lawyer for four people who claim they were held in a debtors’ jail in St. Louis argued before an Eighth Circuit panel Thursday that a recent change in bail procedures does not make their case moot.
by JOE HARRIS
Retired NFL Players Accused of Defrauding Benefits Program
Ten former NFL players were indicted on federal charges Thursday, accused of filing fraudulent claims worth over $3.9 million to a health care program set up for retired players and their families.
by KEVIN KOENINGER

California AG Sued to Reveal Names of Police Officers in Legal Settlements
First Amendment advocates have escalated efforts to force California’s attorney general to comply with public records law, filing a petition in state court Thursday demanding his office reveal the identities of law enforcement officers involved in legal settlements.
by MARIA DINZEO
US Wholesale Prices Stayed Flat in November, Signaling Low Inflation
American wholesale prices were unchanged last month, reflecting a continued trend of tame inflation that is likely to persist.
by KEVIN LESSMILLER

Studies, Polls, Science & Nature
Scientists Map What Lies Beneath Antarctica's Ice Sheet
Scientists have revealed the most detailed map of the land beneath the massive ice sheets of Antarctica – a map that offers significant insight into how the continent will respond to climate change and contribute to rising sea levels, according to a new scientific study.
by CARSON MCCULLOUGH

Iconic Yellow-Legged Frogs Win New Protections in California
After vanishing from nearly half of their historic habitat, six populations of imperiled yellow-legged frogs will get new protections following a decision by the California Fish and Game Commission.
by NICHOLAS IOVINO
NASA Probe Charts Wind Circulation in Mars' Upper Atmosphere
A NASA spacecraft recently achieved the remarkable feat of mapping the elusive winds that blow high above the surface of Mars – providing astronomers long-sought data for the first time in history, according to a new study.
by MADELINE REYES
En Banc Fourth Circuit Split in Suit Over Trump Hotel
A divided full Fourth Circuit bench reheard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of unconstitutionally profiting from his presidency through his D.C. hotel.
by ERIKA WILLIAMS
Study Finds Close Link Between Political Party and Trust in News
Americans’ political affiliations and their support for President Trump directly correlate with their trust in news and journalists, the Pew Research Center said in an analysis released Thursday.
by JAMES PALMER
Race for the White House
Warren Levels Corruption Charges at Rivals Soaring in Polls
Her poll numbers down, Senator Elizabeth Warren accused her Democratic rivals Thursday of participating in the same “culture of corruption” as the billionaires and large corporations she routinely excoriates.
by THOMAS F. HARRISON

LA County District Attorney Candidates Promise Reforms, Chide Incumbent
Candidates vying to be Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor promised in a debate Wednesday to cease death penalty convictions, bolster police accountability and rollback policies embraced by incumbent District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
by MARTIN MACIAS JR
Columns
The Road Home
by BILL GIRDNER
Friendships to refresh, holiday rituals to observe, every year lately I go back to Portland during the Christmas holidays. I go to check in.
LA Sues FAA Over Plane Noise at Hollywood Burbank Airport
The city of Los Angeles sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday over a shift in flight patterns for planes departing Hollywood Burbank Airport that has dramatically increased noise levels for residents and businesses.
by MARTIN MACIAS JR.
California Chief Justice Touts Court Diversity, Unity at Forum
Continuing her efforts to humanize and raise public awareness of the courts, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said Thursday that diversity has become the dominant trait of the nation’s largest judicial system.
by NICK CAHILL
Judge Blocks LA Law Requiring Contractors to Disclose NRA Ties
by MARTIN MACIAS JR.

Kentucky Governor Restores Voting Rights for Nonviolent Felons
Capping off a busy first week as Kentucky’s 63rd governor, Democrat Andy Beshear signed an executive order Thursday to reinstate voting rights for over 140,000 people convicted of nonviolent felonies.
by KEVIN KOENINGER
Accused Russian Troll Farm Funder Loses Subpoena Objection
Raising furious objections from the lawyer representing a Russian company indicted as part of the Mueller probe, a federal judge cleared the way Thursday for the Justice Department to issue a subpoena.
by MEGAN MINEIRO
Ala. Judge Accused of Stealing From Veteran, Juvie Courts
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office and the FBI on Thursday arrested a state judge accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly veteran and a fund supporting the juvenile court system.
by DANIEL JACKSON
Top EU Court Backs Arrest Warrants From Three Countries
Fine-tuning its requirements about the independence of issuing judicial authorities, the EU’s top court on Thursday backed European arrest warrants executed by public prosecutors in France, Sweden and Belgium.
by BARBARA LEONARD
Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Border Wall Money Grab
by MARIA DINZEO
Pension Supplement for Moms, Not Dads, Ruled Unfair in EU
Spanish men with two or more children are just as entitled as are mothers to a supplement that the country applies to pension awards, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday.
by BARBARA LEONARD
LA County Boycotts Automakers That Sided With Trump on Emissions
Los Angeles County will only buy cars from automakers that comply with California’s clean air laws, joining the state’s boycott of companies like General Motors and Toyota that have sided with the Trump administration in the high-profile bout over emissions standards.
by NICK CAHILL


House Passes Bill to Rein in Prescription Drug Costs
by TIM RYAN
US and China Near Deal to Suspend Planned Tariffs
AP
Fukushima Clean-Up Reduces Radiation Levels, but Not All
AFP
Lower Interest Rate Could Save PG&E $500M in Bankruptcy
by NICHOLAS IOVINO
'Juiced' Balls Didn't Spur Home Run Record, Study Finds
by AIMEE SACHS


Walt Girdner was born in central Iowa in 1922, one of five children. His father took a job as a Christian minister in Alameda after the family moved to California in 1925. Growing up during the Great Depression, Walt worked double shifts at a cannery to make money for college. He attended Stanford where he put together a string of letters and wins, running the quarter and half-mile. An invitation to join the U.S. Olympic team was negated by World War II and cancellation of the games. During the war, he disembarked in Normandy, fought in the infantry and marched into Germany .
As a young man, he developed an interest in imagery, first through drawing then through the developing technology of photography. Although he left the church where his mother and father were pastors, he kept a lifelong faith in the power and mystery of the natural environment, seeing in its beauty an overriding and everlasting spiritual force. His subjects focused on people and their settings. Farmers, flower sellers, youth were recurring themes.
He traveled in large part to find new images and capture them, in France at first, then the rest of Europe and later Africa and Mexico. Towards the end of his life, Walt focused on images in nature, including letters and numbers that emerged through abalone shells, beach tableaus and patterns in the sand. He had faith that imagery was a powerful way to communicate and believed young people were much better at interpreting the language of imagery, gifted with imaginations more agile and unencumbered.
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