Extra, Extra: The Day After...

"The Day After" by !Manny! via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• The New Year is coming and with it a warning to people who celebrate by shooting guns into the air. Bullets go up and then come down... usually in people's homes.
  
• The family of a teen who died from lack of treatment due to insurance company Cigna's refusal to approve payment for a liver transplant, has now sued. Cigna only agreed to pay after the family organized a rally outside their offices but by that time it was too late to save her.
  
• A Hollywood comedy writer thinks he has the answer to helping students prepare for the "boring" SAT. Making the questions humorous. A Rabbi, a Catholic priest, a witch doctor and a penguin walk into a bar...
  
• The gunman who allegedly killed nine people while dressed as Santa was planning to flee the country. Apparently his plans changed when he injured himself burning down the house. The latest from the LA Times.
  
• A 850 pound emerald stolen in El Monte was recovered in Vegas. The emerald, worth around $370 million, is being held by LA County Sheriffs. 850 POUNDS?!?
  
• If part of your post-Christmas plans were to hit the beaches, you might want to hold off on that for a few days. Yuck...
  
• Studies are showing that seal lions are STILL showing effects of toxic dumping. From 1947 to 1971, chemicals were dumped off of San Pedro's White Point. DDT and a group of compounds called PCBs are found in overly high concentrations in the animals.
  
• Finally, a sad Christmas story with a happy ending. Riverside police were able to replace gifts that were stolen from a home. The reporting officers were so moved by the girls crying that they convinced other officers to dip into their Police Officer Association Fund and help them out. Awesome move guys!