CALIF. HIGH COURT ALLOWS SEX PREDATOR'S RELEASE: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California Supreme Court has denied Los Angeles County's appeal to stop the release of sexually violent predator Christopher Hubbart.
The state's high court denied the appeal Wednesday. That means 62-year-old Hubbart, a convicted serial rapist, will be released as soon as housing is found.
A Santa Clara County Superior Court granted Hubbart's conditional release in May.
L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said she's exhausted all legal avenues to stop Hubbart's release and will focus on working to ensure his release terms are strictly enforced.
Release terms require a GPS ankle bracelet, continued treatment, a curfew, random searches and seizures, drug tests and polygraphs.
Hubbart admitted to raping and sexually assaulting 38 women in California between 1971 and 1982.
SHAMPOOS STILL CONTAIN CARCINOGENS, LAWSUIT CLAIMS: OAKLAND (AP) — An Oakland watchdog group is suing four companies for allegedly manufacturing or selling shampoos and soaps without labels warning consumers that they contain high levels of a carcinogen.
The suit was filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court by the Center for Environmental Health.
It accuses Walgreens, Lake Consumer Products, Vogue International and Ultimark Products of selling products that allegedly had cocamide DEA, which is used to make foam and bubbles.
Cocamide DEA was named last year as a carcinogen under Proposition 65, which requires warnings for consumer products with harmful amounts of certain toxic compounds.
The four companies sued Tuesday did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The group says it plans to sue 100 more companies.
OFFICER ATTACKED BY INMATE AT PRISON:SOLEDAD (AP) — Officials say a state correctional officer was knocked out cold during an attack by an inmate at a Central California prison.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says the officer was approached from behind and assaulted Wednesday morning in the medical clinic at Salinas Valley State Prison.
The officer fell to the ground, striking his head and losing consciousness.
The inmate, 29-year-old Walter Weeks, was subdued and taken to a segregated unit.
The officer, whose name was not released, was transported to a hospital. The extent of his injuries is unknown.
Weeks is serving a 24-year sentence for carjacking and second-degree robbery.
Salinas Valley State Prison houses 3,530 minimum- and maximum-custody male inmates and employs approximately 1,400 staff.
POLICE SERGEANT PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO SEX WITH MINOR: EXETER (AP) — A police sergeant arrested in the central California town of Exeter on suspicion of having sex with a minor in a youth Explorer program has pleaded not guilty.
Assistant District Attorney Dan Underwood said 46-year-old Patrol Sgt. Jeff Detwiler entered the plea on Wednesday, a day after he was arrested on charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, witness intimidation and possession of a controlled substance.
The Exeter Police Department said in a statement that Detwiler was an adviser in the Explorer program in the small town 10 miles east of Visalia.
Investigators say the female victim was 17 when the crime occurred.
JUDGE TENTATIVE GRANTS SAN BERNARDINO BANKRUPTCY: RIVERSIDE (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has tentatively ruled to grant the cash-strapped city of San Bernardino bankruptcy protection.
Judge Meredith Jury issued her tentative ruling in Riverside before listening to oral arguments from attorneys.
The newspaper says Jury could rule Wednesday or wait to make a final decision.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System is the only creditor objecting to the city's Chapter 9 filing. The pension system says the city ignored warnings about an impending financial crisis and didn't budget wisely.
San Bernardino sought bankruptcy protection last year, trailing similar filings by the California cities of Stockton and Mammoth Lakes.
FUR REAL: COLONEL MEOW'S 9-INCH HAIR SETS RECORD: LOS ANGELES (AP) — This is fur real. Colonel Meow has 9-inch hair.
That's good enough to put the Himalayan-Persian mix into the 2014 edition of the Guinness World Records book, due out Sept. 12.
Owners Anne Marie Avey and Eric Rosario, of Los Angeles, say the 2-year-old cat got its name because of his epic frown and fur. It takes both of them to brush the cat's fur three times a week.
Three independent veterinarians verified the length of the colonel's hair and submitted their findings to Guinness before he won the title.
Avey says the 10-pound cat has his own website, Facebook page and YouTube channel with more than 2 million views.
Avey says there's one other thing Colonel Meow does quite well too: He sheds up a storm.
