Man Finds $140K, Gives It Back

(NEWSER) - An animal rescue group in California is offering a $5,000 reward to catch whoever is shooting sea lions along the Los Angeles coast. Four of the animals have been shot since the start of the year, the LA Times reports. Fisherman occasionally kill the creatures to keep them away from fish, but this kind of spate is unusual. More»

Woman pulled her now-paralyzed friend from crashed car

(NEWSER) - Good Samaritans, beware: California's Supreme Court ruled today that a paralyzed woman can sue the friend who pulled her out of a crashed car. The victim contends that her friend, who feared the car was about to erupt into flames, pulled her out "like a rag doll" and contributed to her injuries. The court ruled that because the friend was not specifically providing medical care, she is not immune from a lawsuit, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Cessna strays too close as Obama heads to LAX

(NEWSER) - What were they smoking? A four-seater Cessna plane hauling marijuana yesterday strayed into restricted airspace designed to protect President Obama, who was flying on Marine One; the small plane was intercepted by fighter jets. The incident occurred as the president was traveling in the helicopter from Orange County to Los Angeles International Airport, reports the Los Angeles Times . Authorities attempted repeatedly to contact the Cessna 182. When the pilot failed to respond, two F-16s forced the aircraft to land nearby at Long Beach Airport, where it was met by law enforcement. More»

Man arrested after neighbors report screeching, smelling 'awful meat'

(NEWSER) - Disgusted cops in Bakersfield say they've arrested a man on suspicion of cooking and eating cats. Jason Louis Wilmer was charged with animal cruelty and using a pet or domesticated animal for food after neighbors heard cats screeching at his house and called police, AP reports. "I heard a cat cry. It was a weird cry, real loud," a neighbor told KBAK-TV . He said he went outside to peer into Wilmert's backyard, where he saw "a little burner going" and smelled "awful meat." A search of the home turned up evidence that indicated Wilmert "had the intent to use a cat for food," investigators say. "I've never seen anything like this," said a sheriff's spokesman. More»

County shutting down innovative sheriff-supervised grower program

(NEWSER) - The US county with one of the highest concentrations of pot farms—and tokers—is finally caving in to pressure from the feds. California officials in Mendocino County are snuffing out an innovative medical marijuana program that put pot growers under the supervision of the county sheriff. The program was the first of its kind in the nation, and was generally a hit with locals—but not with federal law enforcement, reports NPR . Sheriff's Sergeant Randy Johnson supervised some 100 growers in the county and earned his department more than $500,000 in fees. "I can't describe the joy of feeling that we were finally part of the county, not the outcasts," said one grower. More»