Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES -- The body of a dead motorist discovered recently when a second driver plunged over the same roadside cliff but survived, may be that of an 88-year-old former liquor store owner and West Los Angeles resident.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- If you're an Angels catcher, you'd prefer not to be mentioned in the same sentence with Josh Paul, but that's where Hank Conger found himself in the third inning Sunday night.

Angels starter Ervin Santana struck out Dodgers leadoff batter Tony Gwynn Jr. on a slider in the dirt to open the inning. Conger caught the ball on a hop and thought he applied a tag to Gwynn, who was breaking for first base.

But instead of throwing to first for the sure out, Conger pleaded with umpire Dan Iassogna, who signaled safe as Gwynn ran to first. Conger was charged with an error, and replays were inconclusive as to whether he applied a tag.

There's a certain poetic justice in the fact that "On the Road" is one of Apple's top-grossing book apps. Released last month, the iPad app for Jack Kerouac's landmark novel -- featuring a variety of enriched content, including commentary, maps, audio recordings and other ephemera -- hit No. 4 on Apple's list June 21, ahead of the Bible and T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." That's a testament to the power of the digital project, but also to the novel, which has occupied a visionary place in the culture since it was first published in 1957. (The novel has been adapted for a new movie directed by Walter Salles and starring Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart.)

LOS ANGELES -- Federal officials announced Friday a settlement had been reached with a central California school district where a 13-year-old gay student committed suicide after being subjected to persistent harassment from his classmates.

LOS ANGELES -- The Mongols motorcycle gang will be allowed to keep its name and trademark logo after a federal court judge rejected the government's attempts to seize control of their use.

In an eight-page ruling made public Thursday, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright vacated a preliminary order of forfeiture against the notorious gang. Prosecutors had tried to take over the rights to the Mongols name and logo -- a ponytailed man riding a chopper -- and prevent members from using, distributing or wearing both, arguing that the insignia were very closely associated with the gang and by removing access, the Mongols would be prevented from operating.

The new normal is warmer.

That's the assessment of the nation's top weather agency, which releases data Friday that show the 30-year "normal" temperature in the United States.

"The climate of the 2000s is about 1.5 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 1970s, so we would expect the updated 30-year normals to be warmer," said Thomas R. Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. That recent temperature trend was enough to drag the three-decade moving average, from 1981-2010, up by half a degree Fahrenheit from the 1971-2000 period, according to the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

SPARKS, Nev. -- The driver of a big truck that plowed into an Amtrak train in Nevada Friday had five traffic violations since 2008, four of them for speeding in California and Alabama, according to records from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

The driver, Lawrence R. Valli, 43, of Winnemucca, Nev., was identified Monday by the Nevada Highway Patrol. He was driving a truck owned by John Davis Trucking Co. in the crash.