JUDGE TAKING NO ACTION IN JACKSON GUARDIANSHIP: LOS ANGELES — A judge said Tuesday he will make no changes to the guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after receiving an investigator's report on their well-being and meeting with attorneys for their caretakers. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ordered the inquiry after Paris Jackson was hospitalized on June 5 for taking Motrin pills and cutting her arm with a kitchen knife. Beckloff ordered an investigator to interview Jackson's children, including Prince and Blanket, and report back to him.
DETECTIVES AMBUSHED, INJURED: LOS ANGELES — A black-clad gunman ambushed two detectives returning to a police station early Tuesday, but they received only minor injuries and were helping in the hunt for the attacker, police said. Police cordoned off 25 square blocks of the Mid-City area, detained three or four people for questioning and planned to look at surveillance video from homes and businesses in the area, Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
SCHWARZENEGGER OPENS OFFICE IN ALGERIA: Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening an office in Algeria of his environmental initiative R20 in a bid to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions there and throughout the Mediterranean. Schwarzenegger, who is in Algeria for three days, signed an accord on Tuesday with Environment Minister Amara Benyounes to open an office of his non-governmental organization in the western city of Oran.
SINGER CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR: LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles city attorney's office has charged singer Chris Brown with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. City attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan says the charges filed Tuesday involve a minor accident on May 21 in the San Fernando Valley. If convicted, Brown would face up to one year in jail.
SUSPECT IN HOLLYWOOD STABBING RELEASED: LOS ANGELES — A county official says the homeless man charged with murdering a woman at a popular Hollywood tourist attraction was released from prison early under a state cost-savings program. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky asked Tuesday for a chronology of events between the release of Dustin Kinnear from state prison April 6 and the killing of Christine Calderon last week. Calderon was killed on Hollywood Boulevard after police say she refused to give Kinnear and two other panhandlers $1 for taking their photographs on the star-lined “Walk of Fame.”
KERN COUNTY FIRE CAUSED BY CHILD: BAKERSFIELD — Kern County officials say a fire in Bakersfield that claimed the life of a toddler was caused by a child playing with a lighter and candle. Investigators have said three children — ages 3, 5, and 6 — were rescued from last Wednesday's fire by their mother and sustained no injuries. But 21-month-old Aiden McDonald died. The Kern County Fire Department released the cause on Tuesday, but did not say which child caused the fire.
CALIFORNIA COUPLE CONVICTED OF CONTEMPT: A California couple convicted in a Bakken oil patch investment scam has been convicted on contempt of court charges in Montana. Suzette Gal and her husband, Mike Campa, were found guilty Tuesday in separate trials before U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon. Federal prosecutors say Gal had a telephone conversation with her jailed husband and discussed evidence four days into a trial that led to her conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges.
