Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
More good news from Rep. Giffords' hospital room, Jerry Brown vs. UC, Brown's big risks on budget, up close with activist Cary Brazeman and medical reports on local greats Etta James and Frank Robinson.
Doctors say Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is moving both legs and both arms, has opened both eyes and is responding to friends and family. AP
See 51 pages of police reports on Jared Loughner before the Tucson shooting rampage. DN
Gov. Jerry Brown's history of bad relations with the University of California. Hint: his papers went to USC. Prop Zero
When Brown unveiled his proposal to extend billions in taxes for five years, he did so in a way that was poll-tested to be most palatable to California voters. LAT
Brown is showing a willingness to take big risks in his share-the-pain plan to close the budget gap, says George Skelton. LAT column
The victim's father said he's upset about a letter from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger about reducing the Esteben Núñez's prison sentence. Bee
Background story on Cary Brazeman, the planning and zoning activist behind L.A. Neighbors United. LA Weekly
Man handcuffed at City Hall protest over Councilman Bill Rosendahl's Venice homeless plan. KVB.FM
Sarah Palin has no chance to win the GOP nomination for president in 2012 "because Republican voters are not going to choose a middle-aged version of Britney Spears - a figure whose most evident talent is to attract attention to herself," columnist Debra Saunders writes. SF Chronicle
Also: Palin had a chance with her statement on the Tucson tragedy to show voters she's equal to the demands of the presidency. But her video reflected her chosen role as lightning rod of the right, says Doyle McManus. LAT op-ed
Ted Williams, the homeless DJ with the golden voice who is now headed to rehab, worked at Channel 2 as an assignment editor at "CBS2 Action News" in the late 1980s and early 1990s, an ex-colleague emails.
Mark Kriski called in to "KTLA Morning News" with his medical report. Channel 5 video
Jason Reid, who covered the Dodgers for the LAT when Frank McCourt arrived in town and when Milton Bradley was in blue, has been named a Washington Post sports columnist. Romenesko
Journalist Michael Aushenker writes about his personal connection to Harbor City murder victim Lisa Nguyen. Palisades Patch, Daily Breeze
John Rabe of KPCC's "Off Ramp" talks to 28-year old debut author Graham Moore, whose book is "The Sherlockian." KPCC
Rush Limbaugh might want to rethink his "straight shooter" billboard in Tucson. Huff Post
Sheriff Lee Baca said he saw Mohammed Ahmed, the deputy in training shot in the face in East Los Angeles, as a future leader in the Sheriff's Department, noting that his Muslim background could help build bridges. LAT
Former Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. appears to have won the post of Inglewood mayor with 56% of the vote. LAT
Ailing R&B singer Etta James, who lives in Riverside County, is gravely ill and her husband of 41 years is seeking a California court order to control more than $1 million of her money. AP
Hall of Fame great Frank Robinson has been taken to a hospital after experiencing dizziness and irregular heartbeat at the baseball owners mtg in Scottsdale, Arizona. He's alert and conscious. Bill Shaikin/Twitter
Attorney General Kamala Harris will address workers at the L.A. County Fed's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on Friday morning at the Electrical Training Institute of IBEW Local 11 in Commerce.
BizFed, the LA County Business Federation formed in response to the political clout of labor, will install its new officers on Jan. 20 at the MWD offices.