Traffic

An electronic sign near USC whose display was changed to flash inappropriate messages about the  Los Angeles Police Department  was unlocked and the message altered using a control panel, the USC police chief said Thursday. Various pictures of the sign surfaced on Instagram and Twitter on Thursday morning, showing the crude message, which included references to the Police Department, a posterior and "probing. " John Thomas, chief of USC's Department of Public Safety, said the department considered it a "prank" and won't be wasting resources looking for the culprits.

Gamblers aren't the only ones pumped up by Powerball's California debut. Since Monday, when Powerball tickets went on sale in California for the first time, mini-marts, liquor stores and gas stations have been flooded with jackpot hopefuls. And websites that provide tips on picking numbers and list "lucky" retailers have seen a sharp jump in clicks. The long lines at the state's 21,000 authorized retailers are also renewing interest among lottery aficionados in bringing ticket sales to the Web. But with no such plan in sight, online services including LottoGopher are swooping in to take advantage of consumers' desire for a more convenient way to play.

When Los Angeles County's inaugural toll lanes opened on the 110 Freeway late last year, Scott Sternad decided he could do without. "Nearly $1,000 a year?" said the 24-year-old engineering student, who commutes from Hermosa Beach to USC three times a week. "That's a lot of dinners and drinks. " But remaining in the free lanes has cost Sternad time. His commute now takes 15 minutes longer than it did before the carpool lanes were reconfigured, he says. That's not what was supposed to happen.

Researchers have already uncovered worrying signs that exposure to traffic - and the vehicle emissions that come with it - can increase a child's risk of developing asthma and autism . Now comes evidence that it may make children more susceptible to certain kinds of cancers. Researchers used the California Department of Transportation's computer model of traffic-related air pollution to estimate pollution exposure in communities across the state. They also used the California Cancer Registry to identify 3,590 children born between 1998 and 2007 who were diagnosed with some type of cancer.

The 149 air-traffic control towers scheduled to be shut down Sunday due to federal budget cuts will be kept open for two more months, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday. The extension, through June 15, gives officials two months to deal with lawsuits regarding the closure, according to a statement issued by the agency. The FAA will also review "appropriate risk mitigations" and consult with airports and operators. The FAA had announced in March that they would close as many as 238 towers as part of mandatory federal budget cuts.

Laguna Beach police said they are continuing to investigate a head-on traffic collision that involved a Tesla car and a Honda Accord. Authorities received calls reporting the accident around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, according to Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Louise Callus. Emergency personnel found two vehicles involved in the collision and debris scattered across all lanes of Laguna Canyon Road between El Toro Road and State Route 73, a police statement said. Two men inside a "severely damaged" Honda Accord were declared dead at the scene, officials said.

A big-rig tanker collided with another truck on the 5 Freeway, spilling milk on the busy artery and forcing the closure of all southbound lanes at Magic Mountain Parkway. The accident was reported by the California Highway Patrol shortly before 9 p.m. The agency opened one lane a short while later but traffic was heavily backed up in the area. The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the scene. At least one person was reported injured. No other details were immediately available.

A major construction project to install a new power circuit in Los Feliz will force road closures and limit left-hand turns in the neighborhood starting Tuesday and stretching into the fall. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will begin installation of a new underground and overhead 4.8-kilovolt circuit to alleviate other overloaded circuits that collectively serve about 5,500 customers in Los Feliz, the utility company said. The first of the project's three phases begins Tuesday, according to a statement from the DWP. As a result, no left turns will be allowed at the intersection of Los Feliz Boulevard and Hillhurst Avenue on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Officials expect this phase to last until May. In the coming months, construction crews will install 1,750 feet of conduit and more than 6,000 feet of cables and related equipment.

A man was critically wounded Saturday in a shooting on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles that halted southbound traffic for more than two hours. The shooting occurred about 5 p.m. between 8th and 9th streets, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Cecil Manresa. The unidentified victim was shot twice and may have been thrown from a car, authorities said. Los Angeles police were searching for the shooter, who fled in a burgundy or gray Camry with its rear window blown out. Although officials had indicated that southbound lanes might be closed for up to eight hours while investigators searched for clues, two lanes closest to the center divider were reopened by about 7:15 p.m. Caltrans freeway cameras showed that traffic, backed up more than a mile, was loosening up and vehicles were again traveling southbound by 8 p.m. Authorities were investigating whether the shooting might have been gang-related and whether multiple suspects were involved, said Los Angeles police Sgt. John Kirkpatrick.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to decide Friday whether to shut down 14 air traffic control towers in Southern California as part of the agency's efforts to trim $600 million because of the federal government's so-called sequestration. As many as 238 towers could be closed nationwide, with 23 in California. The Southland could lose towers at airports in Palmdale, Pacoima, Victorville, Oxnard, Fullerton, Lancaster and elsewhere that handle civil, commercial and military flights.