Detectives are investigating the apparent murder of former Lake Elsinore City Councilman George Alongi. Deputies found the body of the 77-year-old Alongi Friday evening in his home on Dolly Drive. They say Alongi suffered traumatic injuries. An autopsy is slated for today. A judge removed Alongi from the Lake Elsinore City Council in 1999 for conflict of interest

Thousands of people are expected to pay tribute Thursday to the San Bernardino County sheriff’s detective killed in a gunfight with ex-cop Christopher Dorner. Detective Jeremiah MacKay was shot to death last Tuesday outside a cabin in Seven Oaks . Services for MacKay will be held at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in Devore on Tursday at 11 a.m. A candlelight vigil is planned for tomorrow night at 6:00 at Yucaipa City Hall.

Trouble country singer Mindy McCready has died. Authorities say McCready shot herself on the porch of her Arkansas home.
The 37-year-old singer had been in and out of rehab while battling drug and alcohol addiction and mental health issues.

Gas prices are up again.  Today marks the 32nd day the price at the pump has gone up.  Triple-A’s fuel gauge report says the national average for a gallon of regular is around three-dollars-73 cents a gallon, up more than 15 cents from last week’s average.A month ago prices were around three-30 a gallon.  The highest prices are in California.

Reader’s Digest is bankrupt. The publisher of the iconic magazine has filed for bankruptcy to cut nearly half-a-billion dollars in debt.

Danica Patrick is the first female in NASCAR history to win the pole for the Daytona 500.

Box Office Top Ten:

1. “A Good Day to Die Hard” — 25-million dollars
2. “Identity Thief” — 23-point-four-million dollars
3. “Safe Haven” — 21-point-four-million dollars
4. “Escape from Planet Earth” — 16-point-one-million dollars
5. “Warm Bodies” — nine-million dollars
6. “Beautiful Creatures” — seven-point-five-million dollars
7. “Side Effects” — six-point-three-million dollars
8. “Silver Linings Playbook” — six-point-one-million dollars
9. “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” — three-point-five-million dollars
10. “Zero Dark Thirty” — three-point-one-million dollars