Jessica P. Ogilvie

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a ruling this morning on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, reports L.A. Now.

Who watched the Puppy Bowl VIII yesterday? Show of hands? We did, and we were turned to mush over the adorableness of L.A.'s very own player, a Chihuahua/Terrier named Fumble. Fumble played his little heart out, scored a couple of touchdowns and ultimately won MVP -- Most Valuable Puppy.

Last November, Sasha Grey caused a bit of an uproar when she participated in the Read Across America program by reading to elementary school kids in Compton. Now, the story of the porn star and the classroom is in the news again, as a company releasing an adult film in which Grey is featured has offered to donate some of the film's proceeds to the National Education Association's program.

The saga of the former Disney princess and the penis cake birthday party just keeps getting weirder. As you no doubt know by now, Miley Cyrus was recently photographed pretending to fellate a birthday cake in the shape of a penis at her boyfriend's January 14th birthday party in downtown L.A.

A second teacher has been removed from Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles, the same school at which former teacher Mark Berndt is accused of performing bondage acts on students as young as seven. KTLA reports that the allegations came up yesterday, and that the teacher, whose name hasn't been released, wasn't permitted in the school today.

You've probably heard the phrase "mural ordinance" bandied about lately, and maybe you've wondered what it means (or maybe you're totally well-versed in it; who knows). Either way, to give you a brief overview: The goal of the proposed mural ordinance is to allow new murals to be created on private property, and to maintain vintage murals that already exist.

The OC man who is being called a serial killer and is charged with the murder of four homeless men might be implicated in two other deaths, reports KTLA. Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, is currently facing four counts of first-degree murder, and special circumstances of multiple victims and murder by lying-in-wait.

Gustavo Dudamel has had a lot on his plate lately: this weekend, he'll lead over 1,000 musicians in performing Mahler's Eighth Symphony, and no doubt he had a hand in planning this year's newly-released Hollywood Bowl line-up. But that didn't stop the L.A. Philharmonic's superstar conductor from taking some time out for the kids by filming an upcoming guest appearance on "Sesame Street."

For 13 years, the Autry has housed a program called Native Voices, which is devoted to developing the voices of Native American playwrights. The latest series to come out of the program is called "First Look," which presents plays that are still in progress.

An 11-year-old boy was shot in the knee as he lay sleeping in his bed in Santa Fe Springs last night, reports City News Service. The boy was hurt when about five gunshots were fired into the house at about 11:00 p.m. An infant who also lives in the house wasn't hurt, nor were any of the other residents.

No doubt you woke up this morning, threw open your front door to inhale the scent of jasmine, like in a Joan Didion essay, then closed the doors and reached for your bottle of whiskey, the fumes going straight up your nose like they once did to Charles Bukowski. According to GQ, it's these types of scents that make Los Angeles the smelliest -- not the stinkiest, but the smelliest -- city in the world. And it's these romanticized literary notions of L.A. that fuel our dubious distinction.

In tonight's Extra, Extra, a post-World War II gigolo writes a memoir, a radio station ponders a ban on pot shops, and Jehovah's Witnesses ask that their beliefs be honored. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.