SKYDIVER DIES AT PERRIS VALLEY SKYDIVING: PERRIS  (AP) — Authorities say a skydiver has died after a jump in Perris, marking the sixth skydiving fatality in the past 15 months at the popular locale.

Firefighters were called to Perris Valley Skydiving shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday and performed CPR on the man, whose identity has not been released.

More than 150,000 jumps occur at the Perris facility every year. Six jumpers have died there in the past 15 months — five died this year.

There have been 14 deaths at the Perris Valley Airport since 2000.

Witness Jack Nix told the newspaper that the jumper’s parachute had opened but he was in a bad position upon landing.


SAN DIEGO WOMAN, 76, DIES AFTER PIT BULL ATTACK: SAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego woman who was the victim of a vicious mauling by two pit bulls has died.

Prosecutors say 76-year-old Emako Mendoza died on Christmas Eve. It’s unclear if the death stemmed from the June 18 attack, when two pit bulls attacked Mendoza, causing her to lose an arm and part of a leg.

The dogs’ owners, Alba Medina Cornelio and her daughter, Carla Ramirez Cornelio, have been charged with two felony counts each of having a mischievous animal that causes serious bodily injury and other crimes.

Prosecutors say the case is now under review for possible additional charges.

The women were pit bull breeders. Both dogs and their puppies were euthanized after the attack.


PORN FILM CONDOM PROPOSAL QUALIFIES FOR LA BALLOT: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A proposed Los Angeles ballot measure requiring condoms for porn actors has qualified for the June ballot.

A letter from the city clerk has certified that proponents of the law gathered enough valid signatures.

AIDS Heathcare Foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea says proponents gathered more than 70,000 signatures, far exceeding the required 41,000 to place it on the ballot.

The measure is still facing a legal challenge by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who filed suit earlier this month to keep the AIDS Healthcare Foundation proposal off the ballot.

The suit says the measure is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money. It says there are already state laws mandating use of condoms when workers are exposed to blood borne pathogens.


MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY ENGAGED TO LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew McConaughey is engaged to marry his longtime girlfriend, Camila Alves.

The 42-year-old actor proposed to the Brazilian model on Christmas Day. He announced the move in a tweet that included a photo of the couple kissing and read, “just asked camila to marry me, merry Christmas.”

McConaughey’s publicist confirmed the engagement Tuesday.

McConaughey and Alves have two children together, son Levi and daughter Vida.

His film credits include “We Are Marshall,” ‘’Tropic Thunder” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.”


OSCAR VOTERS: YOUR BALLOTS ARE IN THE MAIL: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Academy Awards season is officially on. Nominations ballots for the 84th Oscar show have just gone in the mail.

Oscar organizers mailed ballots Tuesday to 5,783 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Ballots are due back Jan. 13, and Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 24.

The Oscar ceremony is set for Feb. 26, with Billy Crystal returning as host for the first time in eight years.

Among this season’s best-picture prospects are the black-and-white silent film “The Artist,” the Deep South drama “The Help,” George Clooney’s family tale “The Descendants” and Steven Spielberg’s World War I epic “War Horse.”


ILLEGAL BEADED LIZARD TURNED OVER TO SAN DIEGO ZOO: SAN DIEGO (AP) — The monster is a lizard.

Experts said Tuesday the 2-foot reptile found in a San Diego County yard Friday and initially thought to be a gila monster is a close relative, a beaded lizard.

Animal Services Lt. Daniel deSousa escorted the lizard to the San Diego Zoo Tuesday.

Beaded lizards are venomous and illegal in California. DeSousa says they are native to southern Mexico or Guatemala, so this one was probably an illegal pet that got loose.

He says the zoo will have the expertise to care for the lizard.

A zoo spokeswoman says officials will decide later whether to keep the lizard, send it to another zoo or return it to its native habitat.

DeSousa says the lizard’s bite is painful but rarely causes death to humans.


TODDLER MAULED BY FAMILY PIT BULL TERRIER: FULLERTON  (AP) — A Southern California toddler has been mauled by the family’s pit bull terrier.

Fullerton police Sgt. Eric Halverson tells City News Service that the dog attacked the 2-year-old boy late Monday.

The child was taken to University of California, Irvine, Medical Center where doctors closed a 4-inch gash on the boy’s forehead.

The dog is quarantined at the Orange County animal shelter.

There are details about what provoked the attack.


SON OF O.J. SIMPSON FORMER RELATIVE ARRESTED: SANTA ANA  (AP) — The 25-year-old son of Denise Brown has been arrested with his girlfriend on domestic violence charges.

Brown became an advocate against domestic violence after her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was slain in 1994.

Sean Brown and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Amy Johnson, were arrested after police answered a pre-dawn report of a domestic violence incident. Police say both had superficial wounds which did not require hospitalization.

The couple were held for investigation of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. Bail is set at $50,000 bail while the district attorney’s office decides whether to file charges.

O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder in a high-profile trial at which Denise Brown testified that he had physically abused his ex-wife. She founded the Nicole Brown Simpson Foundation to fight domestic violence.


Home of Calif. community college chancellor burns

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The Altadena home of the state community college chancellor has suffered extensive damage because of a Christmas afternoon fire that caused no injuries.

Los Angeles County fire Inspector Brian Riley says the report of a fire at the home of former state senator Jack Scott was reported around noon on Christmas Day.

The family was at church when the flames erupted and no one else was at the 2,600-square-foot home.