Extra, Extra: Corn Surplus, Bacteria Rampage, Hey! At Least It's Nice Outside

• Anti-war protesters have been gathering in Downtown Los Angeles this afternoon; the CHP has blocked off two ramps on the 101 because of the protest.
• Huge meat recall: Topps Meat Company is recalling over 20 million pounds of hamburger patties that may be infected with e.coli: more than a dozen people have gotten sick.
• The man who threatened Tom Cruise with extortion for stolen wedding pictures was found dead in his home, an apparent suicide.
• Let's put on a show, guys! The famed L.A. band Los Lobos is helping to rebuild Garfield High School's gymnasium, which burned down in an arson fire earlier this year: they'll be performing live with several other acts to help raise the money.
• The Bruins and the Trojans have big games tonight: as of this writing, UCLA has capitalized on an Oregon turnover to catch up a bit -- it's 14-12 Oregon. The USC-Washington game is still scoreless.
• What constitutes "need-to-know" information on the internet? What is worthy of being archived, and who is in charge of making that decision? The Wikipedia wars are heating up.
• A rare bacteria found in Lake Havasu may be responsible for the death of a fourteen-year-old vacationing with his family. It's a brain-eating bug, by the way.
• When are people going to realize that more corn just isn't the answer? The ethanol boom hasn't been paying off: a glut in the market has meant falling profits and unhappy farmers.

Photo by robbie via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr