Domestic Abuse

After "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell, killed himself in August 2011, Armstrong could have pulled back from the spotlight. Instead, she sought comfort in it. Five weeks after her husband's death, Armstrong appeared on "Dr. Phil," speaking about allegations that later would be unleashed on the Bravo reality TV series: that Russell physically and emotionally abused her. Six months after Russell's death, she has released a tell-all book about their marriage, "Hiding From Reality," further elaborating on the accusations and intensifying her media saturation with a slew of appearances on such shows as "The View," "Today" and "Dr. Drew.

WASHINGTON -- The debate over updating a law that protects victims of domestic abuse has become the latest battleground over immigration policy. Republicans in Congress are proposing to strip away existing protections for immigrants who are the victims of domestic violence. The Republican-drafted version of the Violence Against Women Act, originally passed in 1994, is scheduled to be debated on the House floor on Wednesday and could be brought to a vote this week. Currently the law offers anonymity to victims of domestic abuse who are applying for residency visas so that their applications cannot be sabotaged by their abusers.

He's Joe Torre, a household name from coast to coast, the stoic statue in the dugout, talking now about a lack of self-esteem -- his own. Of all people. He's MVP as a player, World Series champion four times as Yankees manager, the Dodgers under Torre the most successful they have been in 20 years. But he's still also little Joey in so many ways, a witness to domestic abuse in his own home, and the shame and embarrassment that come from believing only his family had such ugly problems.

After "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell, killed himself in August 2011, Armstrong could have pulled back from the spotlight. Instead, she sought comfort in it. Five weeks after her husband's death, Armstrong appeared on "Dr. Phil," speaking about allegations that later would be unleashed on the Bravo reality TV series: that Russell physically and emotionally abused her. Six months after Russell's death, she has released a tell-all book about their marriage, "Hiding From Reality," further elaborating on the accusations and intensifying her media saturation with a slew of appearances on such shows as "The View," "Today" and "Dr. Drew.

A Huntington Beach police officer was arrested on suspicion of physically abusing his wife and girlfriend, the Orange County district attorney's office said Wednesday. James Roberts III, 33, according to the district attorney's office, will be charged with eight counts of false imprisonment by violence or deceit, three counts of criminal threats, two counts of domestic battery with corporal injury, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of dissuading a witness by force or threat and one count of vandalism causing $400 or more in damage, all felony charges.

The Supreme Court upheld the broad reach of a federal gun-control law Tuesday and said that no one who has a conviction for any crime of domestic violence may own a firearm. The 7-2 decision strips gun rights from tens of thousands of people who were convicted or had pleaded guilty to an assault against a spouse, a live-in partner, a child or a parent. These crimes include not just felonies, but misdemeanors.

It's probably true that latent tensions from the 1994 Northridge earthquake are partly responsible for what appears to be a troubling increase in felony domestic assaults in the San Fernando Valley last year. The Valley showed a considerably bigger increase in such reports than any other part of the city last year.

Jewish Family Service's Family Violence Project, which for 15 years has provided counseling, education and legal advocacy for victims of domestic abuse, has relocated to a Panorama City facility that will enable it to offer expanded services, officials said. The project, which serves up to 500 women and their children a year, operates two emergency shelters in addition to counseling and advocacy services, according to its director, Lynn Moriarty.

When is the best time to start counseling for the victims of domestic violence? Right at the scene. But that has hardly been much of an option. The police officers are generally too consumed in subduing, arresting or at least calming the presumed perpetrator to devote much immediate time to the abused. It is at that moment that the victim is most deeply in need, and perhaps most easily reached with sound and sobering advice. Fortunately, Los Angeles police in Van Nuys now have such options.

Many men and women in the military are being told they must turn in their weapons to comply with a law prohibiting gun ownership by people convicted of domestic abuse. The Pentagon issued an interim policy Wednesday in line with a federal law passed more than a year ago. Since carrying a weapon is essential to many jobs in the military, requiring such a step might mean that those service members affected will have to take desk jobs. To find out, all of the military's 1.

The confirmed high rates of domestic abuse -- or interpersonal violence -- led two major physicians' groups this week to call for routine screening of patients for signs of abuse. On Monday, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement urging its members to screen women "at periodic intervals" for intimate partner violence. Pregnant women should be screened during prenatal visits, they said. About 25% of U.S. women have been physically or sexually assaulted by a current or former partner, the ACOG report notes.

As "The Oprah Winfrey Show" draws to a much publicized end this month one thing is clear: Al Gore may or may not have invented the Internet, Mark Zuckerberg may or may not have invented Facebook, but Oprah Winfrey most certainly did invent social media. Like early competitor Phil Donahue, Oprah closed the geographic gap between audience and host from the moment she took over "AM Chicago" in 1984. Her decision to walk among the audience made it clear that she was neither authority figure interviewer nor a celebrity host.

Mel Gibson walked a gantlet of paparazzi and stood before a courtroom packed with reporters and wired with video cameras streaming online coverage Friday to agree formally to a plea deal in a domestic violence case that has dogged him for nearly a year. The actor pleaded no contest to the charge of misdemeanor battery of his former girlfriend in a deal that allowed him to avoid jail time and, as his lawyer noted when news of the agreement broke, an "enormous media circus" sure to accompany a trial.

When former Olympic shot-putter David Laut was gunned down outside his Oxnard home last year, his wife told police he was killed by prowlers. But the case took a surprising twist over the weekend when Jane Laut was arrested on suspicion of shooting her husband, and her attorney alleged that she had been a longtime victim of domestic abuse. Jane Laut, 52, was taken into custody Saturday and remains in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $3-million bond, said her attorney, Ron Bamieh.

Indian immigrant Rumi Jaggi said she didn't report the abuse in part because of cultural expectations that she would stay married. R.M. said she didn't leave her husband because she spoke only Mandarin and relied on him to pay the bills. Concepcion Arellano said she endured abuse because she feared deportation. Though Los Angeles County law enforcement agencies and community organizations have made advances in responding to domestic violence in immigrant communities, attorneys and advocates say many victims still face obstacles in reporting abuse and seeking help.

Vin Scully says he's surprised, Joe Torre 's still in shock, the mystery that is an elusive Sandy Koufax for so many years, about to take center stage in Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. There might never be a night like the one with Scully & John Wooden sitting together for 90 minutes as they did 18 months ago, but filling those chairs Feb. 27 with Koufax & Torre has the makings of something just as special. Koufax has taken such a low profile that even though he gave his approval to the 2002 book, "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy," he would not consent to being interviewed by the author, Jane Leavy . In his 1966 autobiography, Koufax wrote, "When I told [my mom]

Verizon Wireless is donating 45 cellular phones to the county for use by domestic abuse victims who may need to reach authorities quickly. The phones are programmed to speed-dial 911 as well as the district attorney's office, said officials with the county's Crime Victims' Assistance Program. They will replace aging units that have been used since the county began handing out the cell phones to abuse victims in 1998.

He's Joe Torre, a household name from coast to coast, the stoic statue in the dugout, talking now about a lack of self-esteem -- his own. Of all people. He's MVP as a player, World Series champion four times as Yankees manager, the Dodgers under Torre the most successful they have been in 20 years. But he's still also little Joey in so many ways, a witness to domestic abuse in his own home, and the shame and embarrassment that come from believing only his family had such ugly problems.

Kathy Cleaves-Milan called police to report that her live-in boyfriend had brandished a gun and vowed to end both of their lives. Within days, her apartment managers served her with eviction papers for violating the terms of the lease, citing the criminal activity she had reported. "I was punished for protecting myself and my daughter," Cleaves-Milan, 36, said. Earlier this month, her attorneys filed a lawsuit arguing that her 2007 eviction was a form of sex discrimination. A representative of Aimco, the company that owned and operated the apartment complex, said the eviction wasn't solely about the domestic violence but also involved Cleaves-Milan's ability to afford the rent if her boyfriend moved out -- an assertion she strongly rejected.