L.A.'s Morning News with Phil Hulett and Penny Griego
Weekdays 5 a.m. - 9 a.m.

(Image Credit: AP)

The Academy Awards will be coming to you live from the same place — but with a different name.

Oscar organizers have agreed to drop mentions of the Kodak Theatre from Sunday’s broadcast. The move follows bankruptcy proceedings for Kodak, which has received court approval to end its expensive naming-rights deal for the venue that’s been home to the awards show for a decade.

Instead the venue will be referred to as the Hollywood & Highland Center. The complex’s landlord had asked that Oscar organizers drop the Kodak Theatre name from the ceremony.

There’s a warning in the South Bay area of Los Angeles for a man imitating an LA Sheriff’s Deputy on a motorcycle who is pulling motorists over. KFWB’s Phil Hulett and Penny Griego report that an investigation has been started and real deputies have some advice.

KFWB’s Pete Demetriou reported from Lawndale, with details on the story:

What should people do if they are pulled over and are concerned that they could be dealing with an imposter?

 

Here’s a Constitutional issue that KFWB’s Phil Hulett and Penny Griego talked about this morning: Does the Fifth Amendment protect your computer hard drive?

A federal appeals court in Denver refuses to get involved in a mortgage and real estate fraud case that raises questions about whether turning over a computer password amounts to self-incrimination.

AP correspondent Peter Banda reports prosecutors say the ultimate outcome of this case could affect many others.

The ruling leaves a woman from Colorado Springs obligated to follow a judge’s order to turn over an unencrypted version of her hard drive and her password, so investigators can examine her documents. Her attorney and civil rights groups say requiring her to do so violates the Fifth Amendment. What do you think?

Would you eat a test tube hamburger? Yesterday KFWB’s Phil Hulett and Penny Griego told you about Dutch scientist Mark Post who is using stem cells from cattle muscle tissue to create a burger in a lab. He told a conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that he aims to unveil the first one by October, and says he expects the first burger to cost around $330,000 to make.

The goal is to eliminate the need for cattle bred for slaughter. Post says you could get about one million times as many burgers from a single cow using these stem cell methods as you would from traditional processes.

Would you eat test tube meat?

Police searched a three-story apartment building in Hollywood as part of the murder investigation into the body parts found in Bronson Canyon Park. (Image Credit: KTLA)

Police searched an apartment complex in Hollywood and questioned a person of interest Thursday as part of a murder investigation after a man’s head, hands and feet were found earlier in the week.

Los Angeles police officers wore raid jackets into the three-story Hollywood Heritage Apartment building in the 6200 block of Delongpre Avenue, which is just a couple miles from where the body parts were found in Bronson Park. Officers collected a box of evidence and towed a vehicle from the complex.

Police made no arrests following the search.

Officials from the coroner’s office have identified the victim, but his name was being withheld until his family was notified. The victim is believed to be a man, possibly of Armenian descent, between 40 to 60 years of age, police said.

Two women walking their dogs near the Hollywood sign reported finding the head in a plastic bag near a popular hiking trail on Tuesday. The women said the dogs were playing with the bag when the head rolled out. Using cadaver dogs, investigators searched a 7-acre area for two days and found two hands and  two feet.

Listen to more from L.A.’s Morning News.

(Image Credit: AP Photo)

 

Michael Jackson’s former personal physician will pay with his time, but not his money.

Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the singer, was sentenced to four years in jail in November. However, Murray will not have to make any restitution payments to the Jackson Family.

Just days before the trial judge was to decide how much Murray would have to pay the family, prosecutors decided Wednesday not to seek restitution from the doctor, said correspondent Oscar Wells Gabriel. Prosecutors announced the decision after meeting with attorneys for the Jackson family, his estate and his children, Wells Gabriel said.

Listen to more from L.A.’s Morning News.

Police on horseback search for more body parts in the Hollywood Hills after a human head, two hands and two feet were found. (Image Credit: Jason Redmond/AP Photo)

 

Police continued the search Thursday for more body parts after finding two severed hands, two feet and a head near a trail below the Hollywood sign.

The search resumed in the Bronson Canyon area in the Hollywood Hills after the severed head of a man was found near a hiking trail earlier in the week.

Los Angeles police shut down access to the area in the Hollywood Hills Tuesday after two women walking their dogs reported finding the head in a plastic bag near a popular hiking trail. The women said the dogs were playing with the bag when the head rolled out. The search was suspended at night and dozens of detectives and coroners investigators resumed looking for additional body parts in a 7-acre area on Wednesday.

Using cadaver dogs, investigators found the hand Wednesday near where the head was discovered,  said LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith.

Smith said police believe the body parts are from the same person, but it is unknown if investigators will be able to retrieve finger prints from the hand. The victim is believed to be a man, possibly of Armenian descent, between 40 to 60 years of age, police said.

Listen to more from L.A.’s Morning News.

A human hand was found Wednesday near where the severed head of a man was found on the hillside under the Hollywood sign.

Investigators combed the Hollywood Hills Wednesday after the head of a man was found by a pair of dog walkers on a popular hiking trail yesterday.

Los Angeles police shut down access to the area Tuesday after hikers reported finding the head near a trail. The search was suspended at night and dozens of detectives and coroners investigators resumed the search in a 7-acre area on Wednesday.

Police used a cadaver dog to find the hand, which was found , said LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith. Smith said police believe the body parts are from the same person, but it is unknown if investigators will be able to retrieve finger prints from the hand.

KFWB’s Pete Demetriou was at the scene of the search.

 

 

Listen to more from L.A.’s Afternoon News.

Police arrested Elizabeth Ibarra, 19, and Jason Shumann, 24, in connection with the El Camino High School student who was killed outside his home in Winnetka. (Los Angeles Police Department/Associated Press)

 

A 17-year-old El Camino Real High School soccer goalie was targeted for personal reasons by a man and woman who shot him to death outside of his Winnetka home, police said.

Francisco Rodriguez Jr., was lured out of his home on Jan. 11 in the 6900 block of Cozycroft Avenue and was shot multiple times in the front yard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police arrested 19-year-old Elizabeth Ibarra of the San Fernando Valley and 24-year old Jason Shumann of Calabasas in connection with the murder after following up on an anonymous tip. Both suspects are on probation and have extensive criminal records.

Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Jorge Villegas said investigators need more to figure out the motive behind the shooting of  Rodriguez. Police have asked the anonymous tipster, or tipsters,  to come forward and help them “solidify that portion of the investigation,” Villegas said.

Listen to more from L.A.’s Morning News.

Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee. (Image Credit: Bloomberg News)

The co-founder of the Pinkberry yogurt chain was arrested Monday at LAX on suspicion of beating a homeless man with a tire iron months before.

Young Lee was arrested at the airport for an outstanding warrant in connection with the assault that occurred in Downtown Los Angeles in June.

Lee was taken into custody and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, but he could face charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, reported KFWB’s Pete Demetriou. Lee’s bail has been set at $60,000.

Lee co-founded Pinkberry with Shelly Hwang. The popular yogurt chain opened it’s first store in West Hollywood in 2005.

Listen to more form L.A.’s Morning News.