Youth

You've heard about the "Wheat Belly" diet, right? Well, technically, it doesn't exist. Dr. William Davis points out that the word "diet" does not appear on either the cover of his bestselling "Wheat Belly" book published in 2011 or on the follow-up, "Wheat Belly Cookbook," which was published last month and already tops bestseller lists. And that omission is intentional, Davis said. "Wheat Belly" is about stripping your plate of a substance that contributes to heart disease, causes joint pain, inflammation, foggy thinking, bloating and much more, Davis said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Contrary to popular perception, this will not be the first Kentucky Derby ride for jockey Kevin Krigger. Maybe his fifth or sixth. Of course, when he got his first saddle as a teenager in the Virgin Islands, he didn't have the likes of racehorse Goldencents under that saddle, as he will Saturday, in the 139th Derby. "I think I got my first saddle when I was 13," Krigger says. "So, when it was time for the Kentucky Derby, I'd put it up on the couch at home, in front of the TV set, and I'd ride the race.

True Religion Apparel Inc., the Southern California purveyor of pricey designer denim, may have gotten too small for its britches. More than half a year after putting itself up for sale amid growth struggles and fluctuating stock, the high-end-jeans seller said its board unanimously accepted an $835-million takeover offer from investment firm TowerBrook Capital Partners. The $32-a-share deal for the Vernon label represents an 8.7% premium on Thursday's $29.44-a-share closing price and a 52% increase from the stock price Oct. 9, the day before True Religion said it would explore strategic alternatives.

Marcus Bell knows how important Los Angeles County courts are for at-risk youths. Bell, a gang intervention and prevention worker in South Los Angeles, has worked hard with young people, trying to get them not to run from police. He has worked to get them to deal with their legal issues responsibly instead of avoiding court appearances so they don't end up with warrants issued against them at a young age. On Saturday, Bell said he worries about the Los Angeles County Superior Court's cost-cutting plan that includes closing Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center in South L.A. In the coming months, the juvenile court will be one of eight regional courthouses closing as the court system struggles to close an $85-million budget shortfall by July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year.

Scientists hoping to mimic the life-extending qualities produced by a chemical found in red wine and dark chocolate say they have solved one of the mysteries about how this compound works to combat the effects of obesity, diabetes, certain cancers and a host of other maladies. The findings, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, could lay the foundation for a variety of drugs that act like concentrated amounts of resveratrol, the compound that has inspired a $30-million-a-year supplement business.

Remember the days when acquiring fake ID meant scissors, glue and a good typewriter? These days fake IDs have gone high-tech. And the stakes are high as well. Gone is the time of the lumpy driver's license with a 17-year-old's face pasted to a 28-year-old's driving vitae. The state made things harder in 1991 by adding holograms and magnetic strips to licenses. But enterprising teen-agers eager for beer are never far behind.

Ben Bennani knows the risks and rewards of niche marketing. Back in the 1990s, he dropped his efforts to create a demand for buffalo meat as a healthy dining option at his Newport Beach restaurant after nearby residents launched a boycott. But buffalo burgers were back on the menu within a matter of weeks when loyal customers raised a ruckus. The moral: Find a niche -- either by creating a demand or serving an overlooked clientele -- and exploit it.

When Armando Melendez was a 5-year-old boy growing up in El Salvador, he fell under the sway of a crazy uncle who had futbol on the brain. Instead of taking Armando to school in the mornings, Uncle Oscar would secretly spirit the boy off to a park for soccer practice. Long before he could read or write much, Armando knew how to caress a leather ball with his instep, how to make the bouncing sphere obey his will.

An autopsy Sunday concluded that a 14-year-old who died in a fistfight had a heart condition, officials said. The unidentified boy went to a park Saturday where he met Joshua Kang, 18, said Buena Park Police Lt. Terry Branum. The pair started a "fun boxing match," Branum said, but the boy went into cardiac arrest after Kang punched him in the chest. Prosecutors will decide this week whether to charge Kang, who was held on $250,000 bail.

Los Angeles city officials announced a summer job program Tuesday with 7,000 positions available to youths from low-income families throughout the city. The program--targeting people ages 14 to 21--will be funded with city, state and federal grants and will be coordinated by the city's Community Development Department. "The talk about the kids being the future is one thing," said Councilman Mike Feuer, chairman of the council's Budget and Finance Committee.

JERUSALEM - Growing up poor and motherless in the slums of Jerusalem's Old City, Amoun Sleem dropped out of school at age 7 after her teacher repeatedly singled her out as a Gypsy, inspecting her hair for lice in front of the class and calling her "Nawar," a derogatory Arabic term that means "dirty. " On the streets, she learned English by selling postcards to tourists, but soon realized that a life of begging was not for her. At 9, she reentered school and stayed until she got a degree in business administration from Ibrahimi College in Jerusalem.

Audrie Pott loved art, horses and skiing, and was known to sing as she made her way down the mountain. The 15-year-old played viola and piano. As a soccer player, her family said, she "had a nose for the goal. " The Saratoga High School sophomore's world changed one September night during what was supposed to be a "small little gathering" with friends. Authorities this week alleged that Audrie was sexually assaulted by three teenage boys, one of whom snapped a picture of the alleged attack.

The progress made by Ducks rookie wing Emerson Etem adds an intriguing dynamic to the team pushing to finish with the Western Conference's best record. "Youthful energy is tremendous in the dog days," Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's really meaningful. We have guys getting up there who don't have the same energy. When they see the young guys doing it, it catches on. No team's going to survive without young guys. " Long Beach's Etem, 20, didn't make the Ducks' roster after training camp.

Sonic Youth came into being more than 30 years ago, when Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore started playing together in New York City. With bandmates Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, they released dissonant, loud, arty records that changed the sound of rock music at the end of the 20th century. And now Gordon is writing a memoir about it. Steve Appleford called their music " the sounds of beauty and noise . " Jonathan Gold, who talked to the band back in 1990, wrote that the "group's strangely tuned guitars rang out like distorted bells or Indian sarods; its deadpan lyrics lay obscurely as punk koans . " For Margaret Wappler, it was a "fusion of high-art experimentation and trashy cool.

A 44-year-old youth soccer coach convicted of molesting six boys in 2010 and 2011 was sentenced Tuesday to 225 years to life in prison. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Henry Hall handed down the sentence to Jose Duarte after hearing four of the coach's victims read statements to the court. Duarte molested the boys, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time of the attacks. A jury on Feb. 14 deliberated less than a day before finding the coach guilty of 20 counts of child molestation and five counts of sending harmful material.

Wayne Gretzky is long gone from the Kings and long retired from the NHL, but the impact of his presence in Los Angeles is being felt more strongly than ever in the increasing success of youth hockey players who were born and trained in Southern California. The L.A. Junior Kings AAA team, composed of kids born in 1996 and 1997 - Gretzky was dealt by the Kings to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 27, 1996 - will play for the USA Hockey national championship this week in Pittsburgh. The tournament will start Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

Inspired by Tiger Woods, city parks officials announced Wednesday that they will open a golf academy for city youths next month in Griffith Park. The Tregnan Golf Academy at Coolidge is set to open July 10, providing city children with the chance to take lessons on three practice holes and a driving range.

California's groundbreaking law requiring extra training for teenagers seeking driver's licenses has been so successful that teenage passenger deaths and injuries when 16-year-olds are behind the wheel dropped nearly 34% in Los Angeles County from 1998 to 1999, according to a study that will be released today by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

WASHINGTON - Obama administration officials who once hoped that North Korea's young leader could prove to be a reformer are increasingly worried that he might blunder his way into a war. Even as they publicly describe 30-year-old Kim Jong Un's recent bellicose threats as bluster, administration officials have stepped up visible demonstrations of American military power. The aim, according to current and former U.S. officials, is to highlight for the North Koreans that their Stalinist regime might not survive a war on the Korean peninsula.

Youths at some Los Angeles County probation camps say that they are not getting enough to eat and are served unhealthy food, including a Sunday stew made of leftovers that sometimes contains "slippery and shiny" meat and "pink and undercooked" chicken, according to recent report. The document is a result of a visit earlier this month by two citizens serving on the commission that advises the Probation Department about operations at the Challenger camps near Lancaster. "There was universal agreement by all who were queried on the site visit that the food was terrible," the report said.