AROUND L.A.

Israelis to check security at LAX

In an agreement signed during Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's trip to Israel, city officials have asked Israeli security experts to review the procedures in use at Los Angeles International Airport.

The mayor announced that officials from Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport, considered a model for airport security, will tour LAX to see what procedures are in effect and make recommendations for improvements.

"Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport is widely considered to be the worldwide leader in airport security," Villaraigosa said.

"The expertise and experience of Israeli airport officials will provide an invaluable benefit to all Angelenos and our visitors by improving the safety and security of one of the nation's largest and most-traveled airports."

Suspects sought in child torture

Police were looking Friday for the mother of a 5-year-old boy and her friend suspected of starving and beating the child and subjecting him to what Assistant Chief James McDonnell called "unbearable physical and psychological abuse."

Starkeisha Brown, 24, and Krystal Matthews, 19, who live together in South Los Angeles, have not been seen since Brown's son was found abandoned. The child was taken to a hospital Monday with multiple injuries, including cigarette burns to his body and a broken tooth with a nerve exposed, McDonnell said.

Police began investigating Brown and Matthews when the two were called in for a meeting with social workers at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

The two brought in a healthy child of a mutual friend and tried to pass him off as Brown's son, McDonnell said. During the meeting, a stranger with no connection to the suspects found the son abandoned and notified police.

Mars lander sends clear view of soil

The Mars lander Phoenix sent back the most detailed view of the Martian soil to date, showing clumps of fine grains mixed with possible minerals, scientists said Friday.

Much of the dirt that the Phoenix scooped up and sprinkled on its microscope appeared as a reddish-orange hue that's typical of the Martian landscape.

Zooming in, scientists noticed green particles that could be olivine, a mineral usually associated with volcanic eruptions. The soil also contained round, black glassy specks that could be volcanic glass, said mission scientist Tom Pike of Imperial College in London.

The mineral olivine was previously discovered by the rover Spirit.

Envelope prompts police evacuation

Los Angeles police headquarters is back to normal after a suspicious envelope prompted a brief evacuation of three of the building's eight floors.

Officer Norma Eisenman says dozens of people on the second, third and fourth floors of Parker Center left about 9:15 a.m. Friday after the large manila envelope was found on the third floor. The evacuation ended at about 10 a.m. after a bomb squad determined the envelope wasn't dangerous.

Roof worker takes three-story fall

A man working on the roof of a Wilshire-area building was severely injured Friday when he suffered an electrical shock and fell three stories, authorities said.

Paramedics sent to the 300 block of South Wilton Place about 11 a.m. took the 30-year-old man to a hospital in critical condition, said d'Lisa Davies of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Firefighters begin trip for a cause

The Los Angeles Fire Department helped kick off the Code 3 For a Cure cross-country tour Friday to raise funds for nonprofit organizations that fight cancer, specifically firefighter-related diseases.

Participating California firefighters departed in a fire engine for the 8,800-mile round-trip journey that will take them to Times Square in New York City, where they will read the names of fallen firefighters compiled from 60 fire stations along the route.

-- Staff and Wire Services