Hearst will buy the Torrance paper but MediaNews will "operate" it, until eventually buying the paper from Hearst, the Breeze says in a story today. The deal could close Monday and Breeze employees have once again been given special timecard instructions.

And Phil Anschutz v. Cussler. Glenn Bunting in the LAT details the acrimonious battle between author and would-be movie mogul over the making of Sahara and other dealings. Anschutz has lost about $105 million on Sahara — so far.

Judge makes "extraordinary" ruling in the racial beating case after a witness was threatened. "I've never heard of that," said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson. "To the extent that it's ever happened, I would expect it would have been in a Mafia trial." LAT

Pregnant Lisa Leslie will sit out this season. LAT, DN

AFTER THE JUMP: A little politics and media, including new board members at the L.A. Press Club and remembering Anthony's the bar.

They wrote that the dog-food incident merited a deeper look into hazing, but their call was spurned by higher-ups. LAT

That's Councilman Bill Rosendahl's plan for Westside traffic, plus some money to begin studies of rail lines. LAT, Breeze

Could be gone by the end of the year, says Radar Online.

New additions are Jahan Hassan, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief for Ekuh; Josh Kleinbaum, Online Editor for the Daily News; Terence Lyons, staff writer for the Santa Monica Mirror; Ezra Palmer, Managing Editor for Yahoo! News; and Adam Wilkenfeld, L.A. Bureau Chief for CWK Network. Anthea Raymond and Michael Collins were reelected to the board.

From critics of his position that congressmen of all faiths should be sworn in on the Bible. Jewish Journal Also: Banning Jews from temple can get ugly.

Steve Harvey has an item today about the long-vanished bar across from the Times (and City Hall) that was so popular with pressmen you had to watch where you sat to avoid getting ink on your clothes. Only in L.A.