GILLIAN FLACCUS

Associated Press
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Poor decisions shadowed salon shooting suspect

The bitter father charged with gunning down his ex-wife and eight others at a beauty salon should have had an idyllic Southern California childhood: He spent his formative years just blocks from the beach with his beloved grandparents, fished from the pier with friends and surfed along the wide, sandy beaches of his hometown.

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Witnesses describe chaos of Calif. salon shooting

Ron Sesler was working the lunch rush at his steakhouse just blocks from the beach in this seaside town when he heard a rapid `pop, pop, pop' sound that he at first thought was construction noise.

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Woman dials 911 from facial room during shooting

With gunfire blazing and people wailing, a woman hiding in the back of a hair salon quietly pleaded with emergency dispatchers to send help.

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Salon suspect's ex-wife claimed abuse

The ex-wife of the man suspected in a hair salon shooting rampage that left eight dead in Seal Beach, Calif., claimed in court filings this year that he was unstable and physically abusive to her during their marriage.

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Suspect's ex-wife worked at salon where 8 killed

Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage Wednesday when a gunman burst through the door and began shooting, sending terrified customers diving for cover in the upscale salon tucked just blocks from the beach in this quaint seaside town. The shooter then stepped outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in the parking lot and sped off.

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8 killed in Southern California salon shooting

Police in Southern California say a woman who survived a massacre at a hair salon remains in critical condition.

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8 killed in Southern California salon shooting

Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage when a gunman burst through the door and began shooting, sending terrified customers diving for cover in the upscale salon tucked just blocks from the beach in this quaint seaside town. The shooter then stepped outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in the parking lot and sped off.

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8 killed in Southern California salon shooting

Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage and business was booming when a gunman burst through the door and began shooting, sending terrified customers diving for cover in the upscale salon tucked just blocks from the beach in this quaint seaside town. The shooter then stepped outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in the parking lot and sped off.

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Suspect in Calif salon shooting massacre ID'ed

Seal Beach police have identified the suspect in a salon shooting massacre that left eight people dead and one critically wound.

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Judge might toss MGA antitrust suit against Mattel

A federal judge said Tuesday that he might toss an antitrust lawsuit MGA Entertainment filed against Mattel Inc. in the latest spat between the two toy makers battling for supremacy in the fashion doll market.

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DA drops efforts to keep ex-LA priest locked up

A sexually abusive former priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles was released from custody after prosecutors dropped a bid to keep him locked up indefinitely in a mental hospital, officials said Wednesday.

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Police officer charged with murder posts $1M bail

A police officer charged with killing a mentally ill, homeless man during a violent arrest posted $1 million bail Thursday and was released from custody, his attorney said.

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Embezzled campaigns could face sanctions

Talk about adding insult to injury. The campaigns for several Democratic lawmakers reeling from the arrest of their campaign treasurer face the prospect of financial penalties themselves.

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Calif. officer pleads not guilty in homeless death

One of two police officers charged with killing a mentally ill, homeless man pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

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Blackout separates the ready from the ill-prepared

Steve Tustison faced a parenting headache that called for serious improvisation: Stuck in traffic during a massive blackout with his three sons, he was penniless, light was fading and the boys were hungry.

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Growing up Muslim after Sept. 11 test of faith

In many ways, Yousuf Salama is a typical teenager: He lives for football, worries about acne and would rather dash off to see "Captain America" with friends than spend one more minute with his mother.

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Mattel weighing options after $309M judgment

The first salvo was fired years ago when toy giant Mattel Inc. sued MGA Entertainment Inc. over ownership of the hugely popular Bratz fashion doll line. The turbulent legal chapter has now ended with a federal judge ordering Mattel to pay its rival more than $309 million.

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Busted Calif city pins hopes on revamped air base

The billboard outside the Arbor Lane subdivision offers a hollow promise of elegant homes at rock-bottom prices.

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Report: Convicted LA priest had record in Italy

Clergy abuse victims protested Wednesday outside the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles after learning that a visiting priest who was convicted of multiple sex abuse counts had a prior criminal history in Italy and was rejected by another Southern California diocese because of concerns about his past.

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Mobster's run almost textbook case of evasion

Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger did almost everything right in evading capture for 16 years.

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Sewage pile, illegal dump on Calif toxic tour list

Margarita Gamez stood in the baking heat Friday outside the trailer park where she lives with other farmworker families and begged visiting state lawmakers and environmental regulators to do something about the stench and dust from an abandoned dump across the street.

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Seniors' medical pot collective stirs up trouble

Joe Schwartz is a 90-year-old great-grandfather of three who enjoys a few puffs of pot each night before he crawls into bed in the Southern California retirement community he calls home.

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MGA wants $177M in punitive damages in Bratz case

Toy company MGA Entertainment Inc. asked a judge Wednesday to follow up their win over arch-rival Mattel Inc. last month in a trial over who owns the rights to the popular Bratz doll line by awarding MGA more than $339 million in punitive damages, attorney fees and other costs, saying the litigation had done irreparable damage to the smaller company and its finances.

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Stench from waste facility overwhelms Calif. town

Students at Saul Martinez Elementary School had just piled in from recess when the principal began to field alarming calls: a powerful, propane-like stench had swept over the school grounds and was bringing children and teachers alike to their knees.

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Lifeguards' high pay riles Calif. beach city

Aurora Toussaint brings her disabled son to the sun-kissed beaches of this Southern California city almost every day in the summer, knowing that the lifeguards who watch from their towers will be there in seconds should anything go wrong.

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