U Turn

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has turned back the clock to the days of the Taliban, signing a law that strips women of basic rights protected by most civilized nations. The new Shiite Personal Status Law, which applies to the country's Shiite minority, is a disastrous step backward for millions of women, who suffered most under the Taliban's Islamic fundamentalism.

Famed NBC sportscaster Al Michaels was arrested on drunk-driving allegations after making a U-turn next to a DUI sobriety checkpoint, officials said. A longtime announcer on NBC's "Sunday Night Football," Michaels was arrested about 10 p.m. Friday in Santa Monica, booked into jail and released on his own recognizance early Saturday. Michaels is scheduled to appear in L.A. Municipal Court at 8:30 a.m. June 26. "He was evaluated for suspicion of DUI, brought to the station for a Breathalyzer test, and it came out 0.08%, which was at the legal limit, so he was released on a citation at about 3 or 4 in the morning," Santa Monica police Sgt. William Heric told City News Service.

Famed NBC sportscaster Al Michaels was arrested on drunk-driving allegations after making a U-turn next to a DUI sobriety checkpoint, officials said. A longtime announcer on NBC's "Sunday Night Football," Michaels was arrested about 10 p.m. Friday in Santa Monica, booked into jail and released on his own recognizance early Saturday. Michaels is scheduled to appear in L.A. Municipal Court at 8:30 a.m. June 26. "He was evaluated for suspicion of DUI, brought to the station for a Breathalyzer test, and it came out 0.08%, which was at the legal limit, so he was released on a citation at about 3 or 4 in the morning," Santa Monica police Sgt. William Heric told City News Service.

U.S. 0 - Mexico 0 (final) MEXICO CITY - It may not have been the gift the the U.S. was hoping for. But Tuesday's scoreless tie with Mexico in a World Cup qualifying match in a soldout Azteca Stadium is one the Americans aren't likely to return. Content with simply escaping with a result from a place where they've traditionally had little success, the Americans turned in a gutsy, composed and stellar defensive effort to come away with what must  have felt like a win. For Mexico, however, the tie clearly felt like a loss.

NFL teams don't take pride in their turnovers, but the league as a whole sure does. Only these "turnovers" aren't interceptions or fumbles, but worst-to-first turnarounds when a team goes from the bottom of its division to the top in only one season. When that happens, it underscores the competitive balance of the league. And it has happened nine times since realignment in 2002. The New Orleans Saints are the latest franchise to pull off a U-turn, clinching the NFC South last weekend, a year after finishing buried beneath Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Teams that have made the bottom-to-top climb over the last seven seasons, with record and previous season record: Year Team Record Previous 2003 Kansas City 13-3 8-8 Carolina 11-5 7-9 2004 Atlanta 11-5 5-11 2005 Chicago 11-5 5-11 2006 Philadelphia 10-6 6-10 New Orleans 10-6 3-13 2007 Tampa Bay 9-7 4-12 2008 Miami 11-5 1-15 2009 New Orleans 12-0 8-8 Through 12 games Source: NFL Streaking Indianapolis is four consecutive...

A driver, who had a passenger in his car, committed suicide Friday by making a U-turn into oncoming traffic on the Golden State Freeway, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Five other motorists were slightly injured in the crash about 1 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the freeway 2 miles north of Lake Hughes Road in Castaic, Deputy Roxanna Schuchman said. "What was first thought to be a traffic accident is now being called a suicide," Schuchman said.

A motorcyclist was killed when he collided with a car making a U-turn on Camino Capistrano. Gregory Lynn Gentry, 27, of El Toro died shortly after the accident at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Officials said Gentry was wearing a helmet. Jiin Tarn Liu, 41, of Irvine had pulled away from the curb and was trying to make a U-turn when his car was struck by the motorcycle, said Officer Ken Daily of the California Highway Patrol. Liu was not injured.

A Huntington Beach police officer was in serious condition Friday with injuries suffered when his patrol car hit a van making a U-turn, police said. The driver of the van was listed in critical condition. Officer Bruce Strangman, 33, was traveling west on Warner Avenue in a marked patrol car shortly after midnight when a Volkswagen van eastbound on Warner made a U-turn near Bolsa Chica Street and was struck by the patrol car, Sgt. Darrell Klopp said.

Five teen-agers were injured Thursday afternoon when the car in which they were riding collided with a truck making a U-turn on Portola Parkway near Irvine, California Highway Patrol officers said. The teen-agers, of San Juan Capistrano, Irvine, Trabuco Canyon and Lake Forest, were transported to three hospitals. At least one needed surgery and was listed in stable condition, according to a CHP spokeswoman.

A motorcyclist was killed early Friday when he rode into the side of a car making a U-turn in Northridge, Los Angeles police said. The man's name was withheld pending notification of his relatives. The motorcycle was northbound on Zelzah Avenue, north of Plummer Street, when a car driven by Rebecca Belfield, 18, slowed in front of him and made a U-turn, Officer Jack Blacklock said. The man, who suffered head and chest injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 12:50 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — His Heisman Trophy gone, his team's national title hopes faded, Matt Barkley probably wondered what else could get snatched from him. How about the football? By some runny-nosed Utah sophomore? On USC's second play of the game? How about Nate Fakahafua not only grabbing the ball out of Barkley's hands, but toting it eight yards for a touchdown? And, oh yeah, then it got worse, Utah scoring again less than two minutes later after recovering another bad snap that the stampeded Trojans quarterback couldn't handle.

In reaping a $25-billion profit on mortgage-backed securities, the Treasury Department showed that some bailout programs are able to make money. But taxpayers still are likely to end up tens of billions of dollars in the red from the federal government's unprecedented efforts to stabilize the financial system after the 2008 global credit crisis and the deep recession. Besides the $225-billion mortgage bond program, which began during the financial crisis to keep the housing finance market afloat, the bank bailout portion of the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program was the only major program so far to turn a profit.

As the United States winds down its military role in Iraq, on Friday it turned over its last detainee in the country to Iraqi authorities, but not without serious concerns. The Obama administration had been trying to convince the Iraqi government for months to allow the extradition of Ali Mussa Daqduq, a suspected Hezbollah operative, to the U.S. for trial. Daqduq is accused of orchestrating a 2007 kidnapping that resulted in the killing of five U.S. military personnel. But ultimately, Baghdad would not cooperate.

Tourists who want to experience the real Hollywood might want to make a stop at a Fountain Avenue community room on Tuesday. That's where Hollywood residents and Los Angeles leaders will debate how best to deal with hordes of sightseers who daily clog the narrow hillside streets beneath the Hollywood sign. Residents and officials agree that GPS devices, websites and a proliferation of tour bus and van operators have opened the 87-year-old neighborhood to growing numbers of visitors who want to get as close as possible to the iconic sign.

Albert Brooks offers a certain kind of eloquence when asked how his role as a brutal gangster in the new dark thriller "Drive" differs from his past parts. "I've played a few nasty guys over the years," he said. "But never one with ... of steel. " Actually, the actor-filmmaker has mostly played likably ornery types, in dramatic comedies such as "Broadcast News" and "Lost in America. " (His last slightly villainous role was as shady businessman Richard Ripley in 1998's "Out of Sight" -- but, as Brooks points out, he was still victimized by thugs.

A growing number of U.S. officials, including key lawmakers such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday questioned whether Pakistan sheltered Osama bin Laden and whether the country should continue to receive substantial amounts of U.S. aid. Speaking to Los Angels business leaders during their annual lobbying trip to Washington, Feinstein said she believed Pakistan was “walking both sides...

One man was killed and four others were injured when a truck driver tried a U-turn on a slick Santa Ana street and was hit broadside by another truck, police said. Lt. Robert Helton said Venuzutiano Valencia, 20, was eastbound in the 3100 block of West McFadden Street at 8:30 p.m. Friday when he tried to make a U-turn and was hit by a truck driven by Jesus Plasencia, 49. Plasencia died at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital from internal injuries.

Mayor Bradley's daughter Phyllis, who has a history of arrests on drug-related and traffic violation charges, was arrested early this morning on suspicion of drunk driving after she was stopped for a traffic violation in the Mid-Wilshire area, police said. A motorcycle officer stopped Bradley, 44, about 12:40 a.m. after she allegedly made an illegal U-turn on Pico Boulevard near Bronson Street, said Sgt. Dick Clark. She declined a sobriety test and was taken to Wilshire station.

Faced with a bloody rejection of its call for a rapid, orderly transition of power in Egypt, the Obama administration finds itself with diminished leverage over President Hosni Mubarak, and has stepped up its contacts with the Egyptian military to try to exert influence over events rocking a key ally. A frustrated administration Wednesday repeated its demand that Mubarak begin handing over power immediately. U.S. officials also sharply condemned the violence in Cairo that followed Mubarak's flat rejection of White House overtures to quit.

Taxpayers earned a $12-billion profit on the U.S. Treasury's $45-billion bailout of Citigroup Inc., the government reported as it sold the last of its stock in the banking giant. The Treasury said late Monday that it sold 2.4 billion Citigroup shares to private investors at $4.35 apiece, raising $10.5 billion. That brought to $57 billion the government's total proceeds from the bank, including previous sales of Citigroup stock as well as dividend and interest income that the bank paid the government.