DOUCHE OF THE DAY: Woman Runs Over Husband for Not Voting
Booking Photo
An Arizona woman is accused of running over her husband with their SUV during an argument about the presidential election. Daniel Solomon, 36, told police that his wife, Holly Solomon, 28, was upset about President Barack Obama's reelection. She apparently believed that the family was going to face hardship as a result of Obama earning a second term. On top of that, she found out that her husband did not vote, and an argument ensued. During the argument, Daniel Solomon got out of the SUV and gave his wife a dirty look, according to a police report. Holly Solomon then started chasing him through a parking lot, according to police. She hit him as he tried to run toward the road, pinning him between the SUV's underside and a curb. Holly Solomon has been booked for aggravated assault. She told police she was trying to scare her husband by getting close, but then she accidentally stepped on the accelerator and hit him. Daniel Solomon remained hospitalized in critical condition on Monday. [KTLA]
L.A. Moves Ahead with Plan for Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike
The Los Angeles City Council agreed to place a half-cent sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot to avert new cuts in city services, drawing immediate opposition from critics in and outside city government. Voters would decide the measure, which will boost collections by an estimated $215 million a year, on the same day they choose a new mayor. And there were signs the proposal already is influencing the race, which is expected to focus heavily on resolving the city's chronic budget crisis. A second and final vote on the sales tax ballot measure is set for next week. If approved by voters, the measure would leave Los Angeles with one of the highest tax rates in the state -- 9.5 cents on every dollar of taxable sales. Brb, moving to Oregon. [KTLA]
UCLA Lights Up USC (with F-Bomb) in Student Rivalry
It's rivalry week ... and last night, a bunch of UCLA students used one of the dorms to send a message to the kids across the city ... and it was hilarious. Of course, things get nasty between UCLA and USC this week -- in fact, USC has already taken steps to protect their iconic Tommy Trojan statue ... which has been famously violated by the Bruins over the years. UCLA's Bruin Bear statue is also under DEFCON 5 levels of security -- that thing's seen it's share of abuse as well. The two schools square off on Saturday -- winner goes to the PAC-12 championship game. [TMZ]
Pelosi Decides to Stay as House Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi, the liberal San Francisco congresswoman who became the first woman speaker of the House, will seek to remain the Democratic leader in the next Congress. Pelosi made the announcement Wednesday to a packed meeting of her caucus. "They say a picture is worth a million words. Well this picture is worth millions of aspirations of the American people," Pelosi told the gathering, according to a Democratic leadership aide in attendance at the closed meeting. "This new class makes our caucus historic. The first time in legislative history that a caucus will be a majority of women and minorities." [KTLA]
Scandal Ensnaring Petraeus, Allen Focuses on Emails
The complicated web entangling an ex-CIA director, a mistress, a military general and a woman he allegedly flirted with got no less confusing Wednesday, though the U.S. defense secretary insisted facts will emerge. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta defended his request to withhold Marine Gen. John Allen's nomination to become NATO's supreme allied commander, pending an investigation into Allen's communications with a Florida woman. The move was "a prudent measure until we can determine what the facts are, and we will," Panetta told reporters Wednesday. "No one should leap to any conclusions." He added that the general "certainly has my continued confidence to lead our forces." [KTLA]
O.J. SIMPSON Another Day ... Another Tax Lien
(Photo: Reuters/Issac Brekken
IN THE YEAR 2000 ... O.J. Simpson failed to pay over $300k in taxes to the State of California ... this according to a new lien filed against him. According to docs recently filed by the State of CA Franchise Tax Board ... Simpson -- who is currently rotting away in a Nevada prison for Robbery -- still owes $318,566.04 in unpaid taxes from the Millennium. O.J. is knee deep in financial trouble -- he has a federal lien filed against him for the years 2007-2010, for $179,435.07. Not to mention he still owes MILLIONS to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman ... for causing their death. [TMZ]
