Domestic Violence

Setting aside political squabbles, Senate Republicans lifted their blockade on several budget bills Wednesday, voting with Democrats to approve measures that restore funding cut from domestic violence shelters and help cities and counties borrow money to balance their budgets. Republican lawmakers had refused last month to help muster the necessary two-thirds vote for two dozen pieces of legislation in a dispute over unrelated matters. "We've resolved the issues and we're moving forward," Senate minority leader Dennis Hollingsworth Murrieta said after Wednesday's vote.

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.

The wife of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West has filed a domestic violence report against her husband. The report, filed with Cleveland police on Sunday, said that Kimberly West met with authorities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where she had gone to fly to her father's house in New Jersey. In the report, she said Delonte West had accused her of cheating on him and that they had an argument in which he grabbed her and took her wedding ring and purse.

The man who fatally stabbed a woman at her Mid-City apartment last week, hours after she filed a domestic violence report against him, was twice deported to Mexico and had two prior felony convictions for domestic violence, according to government records. On Monday, authorities formally identified the man, who was fatally shot by police as he attacked and killed Flor Medrano, 30, in her apartment in the 1300 block of Cochran Avenue on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office over the weekend released the names of six of the nine victims killed in the Christmas Eve rampage at a Covina home. All nine have been named in news reports, based on information from police and family members, but the names released Saturday mark the first official identifications. The victims include Alicia Ortega, 70, and her husband, Joseph, 80, who owned the home; Teresa Ortega, 51, of Upland; Cheri Ortega, 45, and Charles Ortega, 50, both of West Covina; and Alicia Ortiz, 46, of Upland.

The deputy chief of staff for City Councilman Jose Huizar was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence, authorities said Monday. Henry Casas, 40, Huizar's deputy chief of constituent outreach, was booked in lieu of $50,000 bail at the LAPD's Van Nuys jail on New Year's Eve, authorities said. He later posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 23. Police officials did not provide details of the incident, including the relationship of the alleged victim to the council aide, but confirmed that the arrest took place at his San Fernando Valley home.

A 25-year-old parolee is wanted in connection with the stabbing death of his estranged girlfriend inside her home and in front of their two children, authorities said Friday. Police are searching for Miguel Alexander Vargas, a parolee who allegedly attacked 23-year-old Annette Angelina Alvarado about 10 p.m. Thursday and then fled in a 2003 white Acura, said Placentia Police Det. Corinne Loomis. Alvarado suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at Placentia-Linda Hospital, Loomis said.

Police say an upstate New York television executive who sought to improve the image of Muslims in the media beheaded his wife last week after she filed for divorce. Muzzammil Hassan, 44, is charged with murdering his wife, Aasiya Hassan, 37. Police say he had been kicked out of the house the couple shared in Orchard Park, near Buffalo. Hassan is accused of cutting off his wife's head at the TV station where he launched his Bridges TV network in 2004. Hassan later surrendered to police.

I was incensed by the article "Image Breaker" [by Harriet Ryan and Richard Winton, Feb. 16], which discussed the possibility of Rihanna losing endorsements in reaction to her being abused. The implication is that the physical abuse was in some way her fault or she should be held accountable for it. What lesson is that for women who've been abused? Come forward to name your attacker and you too will be punished? Rihanna deserves praise for speaking up, particularly in the harsh light of celebrity.

An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer shot and killed her husband after he "became verbally and physically combative," sheriff's officials said. The identities of the officer and her husband were not released. The husband was pronounced dead about 11 p.m. Saturday at the scene in the 400 block of Amantha Avenue. Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Richard Li said he did not know if the off-duty officer was taken into custody or if she would face criminal charges.