Extra, Extra: Here Comes the Rain Again

• Federline family values: Fading pop diva and the ex-Mrs. K-Fed who sent law enforcement and the paparazzi into a tailspin last night has lost visitation rights to see her two sons, a court ruled today. Sole custody has been temporarily award to her babies' daddy, meanwhile, Britney remains involuntarily hospitalized. What is it going to take to get Ms. Spears back on track?
  
• The homicide tally for 2008 moves up another notch with the reporting of the year's second murder, which took place last night in Higland Park. The fatal shooting happened at the intersection of Milwaukee and Meridian.
  
• Meanwhile, though last year's homicides came in at a record low in almost 40 years, other kinds of reported crime saw a rise in '07. The LA Times reports the 4% overall increase reflected a surge in "robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and other property crimes" and with the state of the economy, the outlook for this year is grim. The hottest increase? Arson, at a 12% leap to 1, 015 cases last year. Kids, don't play with matches...you could become a statistic.
  
• Speaking of young arsonists, to update yesterday's news item about small fires in Burbank, three tenth graders from John Burroughs High School have been arrested for setting four fires early Thursday. In addition to the estimated $70,000 worth of damage and lost revenue to Michael's Bar & Grill one blaze caused, the boys also lit up trash left by a nearby driveway, a parked 2002 Ford Explorer and a patio.
  
• Step into my polling booth, baby: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen put her stamp of approval on two voting machines for use in LA County just in time for next month's primary.
  
• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on television--not in that new Terminator series, or to entice visitors to come to "Kah-li-forneeah" but to ask voters to support the expansion deals he set up with four major tribes who participate in gaming.
  
• Does Mayor Tony just want to be average? LA City Beat checks up on Villaraigosa's plans to Green-ify LA as he set out in May, and give him a C+ on his report card.
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio is on top of the world! Or at least he might feel that way from his home up on Oriole Way in the Hollywood Hills, especially after gaining a legal victory yesterday over his neighbors, Ronald and Joan Linclau, who are suing him for destabilizing their property as a result of him installing a basketball court. A judge ruled that the complaint lacked enough information.
  

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr