SAN DIEGO, Calif.

Fed prosecutor may target media for marijuana ads

The chief federal prosecutor in San Diego is contemplating expanding a federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry by going after newspapers, radio stations and other outlets that run advertisements for California’s pot dispensaries, her office told The Associated Press on Thursday.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy made the comments initially to California Watch, a project of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Journalism. They come a week after she and three other U.S. attorneys in California vowed to close medical marijuana businesses they deem questionable and single out people who rent buildings or land to the industry.

“I’m not just seeing print advertising,” Duffy told California Watch. “I’m actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It’s gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate — one has to wonder what kind of message we’re sending to our children — it’s against the law.”

WASHINGTON

Defense leaders: Military must be spared budget cuts

Defense leaders and members of Congress drew a line in the sand Thursday, saying the Pentagon must be spared from any budget cuts beyond an initial plan to slash at least $450 billion over the next 10 years.

The military, they said, must not take even deeper cuts — a looming threat if lawmakers fail to agree on $1.2 trillion in federal budget savings by Thanksgiving and instead allow automatic cuts to kick in.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said President Barack Obama shares his view that the Pentagon should be shielded from any additional budget cutting.

LOS ANGELES

Sleep expert says Jackson’s drug mix ‘recipe for disaster’

Dr. Conrad Murray’s use of a cocktail of drugs on Michael Jackson as he struggled to fall asleep on the day he died was a “recipe for disaster” and ultimately caused his death, a UCLA sleep therapy expert testified Thursday.

Dr. Nader Kamangar described Murray’s treatment as “unethical, disturbing and beyond comprehension.”

Under questioning by Murray’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, the witness was asked to tell jurors what he knew about the events of June 25, 2009, the day of Jackson’s death.

“To summarize, Mr. Jackson was receiving very inappropriate therapy in a home setting, receiving very potent therapies without monitoring,” Kamangar said.