In brief: Sharpton wants officer who shot unarmed teen identified

FERGUSON, Mo. – The Rev. Al Sharpton pressed police Tuesday to release the name of the officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in suburban St. Louis, and he pleaded for calm after two nights of violent protests over the young man’s death.

Police said death threats prompted them to withhold the name of the officer, who was placed on administrative leave after fatally shooting 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, where the incident has stoked racial tension, rallies and a night of looting.

Investigators have released few details, saying only that a scuffle unfolded after the officer asked Brown and another teen to get out of the street. At some point, the officer’s weapon fired inside a patrol car, police said.

He also echoed pleas for peaceful protests by the NAACP and Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., who told the crowd: “I need all of us to come together and do this right. … No violence.”

Board approves bullet train track

LOS ANGELES – Federal officials on Tuesday cleared the way for construction of a major segment of the California bullet train project: 114 miles of track from Fresno to Bakersfield.

After months of reviewing the proposed route and related environmental studies, the Surface Transportation Board conditionally approved the longest section of the Central Valley alignment, exempting it from further board oversight.

“This is the final clearance for construction,” said Lisa Marie Alley, a spokeswoman for the California High Speed Rail Authority. “There is nothing else the Surface Transportation Board needs to do.”

The Fresno-to-Bakersfield section is part of a $68 billion proposal to build a 500-mile high-speed rail system between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Work is getting underway on a 29-mile section from Madera to Fresno.

Indictments target stolen phones

A Minnesota family directed thieves to steal tens of thousands of smartphones across the country and then sold them to buyers in the black markets of the Middle East and China, federal authorities said Tuesday following the indictments of 20 people involved in the organized crime ring.

Authorities say that the sophisticated “Mustafa Organization” used runners to fly across the country to steal phones outright or to buy them from retailers with false identities under bogus contracts. The phones would then be resold overseas under the cover of the wireless phone stores the family owned, federal authorities say.

Authorities estimate that the family made upward of $4 million selling stolen phones over the past eight years.

Voting resumes after Hawaii storm

A primary election in Hawaii that had threatened to extend weeks beyond last Saturday’s balloting will conclude Friday when voters affected by Tropical Storm Iselle cast the remaining ballots that will determine the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Appointed incumbent Sen. Brian Schatz held a lead of 1,635 votes, out of 230,000 cast, over challenger and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa when ballots from all but two precincts were tallied.

Voting in the two precincts in the Puna area of the Big Island had been postponed because of power outages and blocked roads caused by Iselle, which came ashore early Friday.

Board reappoints chief of L.A. police

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck was reappointed Tuesday to a second five-year term despite concerns about the LAPD’s disciplinary policies and openness with information.

The Police Commission voted 4-1 in favor of Beck’s reappointment, with veteran commissioner Robert Saltzman casting the lone dissenting vote.

President Steve Soboroff praised Beck for falling crime numbers in the nation’s second-largest city, though he also noted the commission’s inspector general will be investigating reports of crimes that were improperly classified and lowered some statistics on violent offenses.

Mayor Eric Garcetti supported Beck in his efforts to be reappointed.