Coliseum torch lit in memory of President Kennedy

The Olympic torch at LA Memorial Coliseum was lit just after midnight this morning to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy. The 35th president spoke there in the summer of 1960, when he accepted his party’s presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention. President Barack Obama has proclaimed today a national day of remembrance for Kennedy, ordering flags lowered to half-staff. The torch will stay lit until midnight tonight…Election officials are expected to give an update today on a razor-thin Assembly race in the San Fernando Valley. Preliminary results from Tuesday’s special election show Democrat Matt Dababneh with a 173-vote lead over Republican Susan Shelley in the 45th Assembly District. The race has major statewide implications: If Dababneh wins, Democrats will hold on to the two-thirds Supermajority in the Assembly…L.A. County’s homeless population rose by 15 percent from 2011 to 2013, bucking a national trend. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says there are now more than 57,000 people living on the streets here, second only to New York City. By comparison, the government says overall homelessness in the U.S. declined by six percent in the past two years. The head of L.A. County’s homeless authority says soaring housing costs are a key reason for the increase in homelessness here…Orange County prosecutors have revoked bail for a woman accused of helping to arrange the murder of man she says raped her when she was a student at Pomona College 18 years ago. Norma Esperaza was briefly allowed to hug her husband before she was handcuffed and taken into custody in a Santa Ana courtroom.The 39-year-old-is a professor of psychology who now lives in Switzerland. She was arrested last year while traveling to an academic conference in the U.S…And finally, the battle between the maker of Siracha hot sauce and Irwindale heads back to court today – with a judge expected to decide whether the city can shut down the company’s manufacturing plant over bad smells. Irwindale says residents have complained of seeing red dust particles in the airand have compared odors from the plant to being pepper sprayed. The owner of Huy Fong Foods says even a temporary shutdown could put the company out of business.