The Ventura County Sheriff's Department says the brawl erupted Wednesday evening outside a shopping mall in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks.

Dozens of protesters holding a rally in support of President Obama's healthcare reform plan got into a shouting match with a smaller group of anti-reform demonstrators across the street. The conflict escalated as a member of the pro-Obama group and a member of the counter-demonstration confronted each other and a physical fight ensued, sheriff's spokesman Eric Buschow said.

The fisticuffs ended when the counter-protester, 65-year-old William James Rice, realized that the last third of his left pinky had been bitten off, Buschow said. He drove himself to a nearby emergency room, and a bystander who scooped the severed digit off the pavement and put it in a bag followed Rice to the hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said Rice ultimately chose not to have doctors reattach the fingertip. Instead, his wound was cleaned and sewn up in the emergency room and he was sent home that night. She added that Rice was covered by Medicare, the government's health insurance plan for the elderly.

Police said the biter has not been identified. Rice has admitted to throwing the first punch but says he did so because he felt threatened, Buschow said.

Rice gave investigators a photograph (above) taken just before the altercation.  Rice is wearing a khaki T-shirt and olive drab shorts; his opponent is in black at right. 

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the biter could be charged with mayhem, an offense by which the perpetrator deprives another person of a body part, and Rice could be charged with battery for throwing the first punch.

"This isn't a clear-cut situation," Buschow says. "These are two people who by all appearances willingly engaged in a fight with each other, and that fight ended very badly. Had this happened in the context of a bar, we wouldn't be talking. It's all about the politics behind it.

"I'm sure that's not what the Founding Fathers intended for public debate in a democracy," he added.

For more Reuters political news, click here.

He didn't have to look far, or for very long. Within months Caldwell had landed work on a solar power development project, recruited by an old buddy from his days launching model rockets in the desert. Perhaps more ironic is the company he ended up working for -- Boeing Co.

Two years later, Caldwell, 47, is chief engineer of the project, which employs about 60 people in a $45 million endeavor to design a new type of photovoltaic solar technology for what would be a 20-megawatt power plant.

One thing he has learned from the experience is that renewable energy development is more of a dollars-and-cents proposition than building rockets. "It's not about engineering. It's about business and finance," Caldwell says.

While space science is largely mission-driven, albeit within the confines of a budget, the paramount concern for clean energy is making it cost-effective and achieving a reasonable return on one's investment. Moreover, he says, the history of U.S. energy development, and how closely it's tied to the economy, will make the nation's transition to cleaner energy especially tough.

Americans, he says, are "spoiled" by cheap energy prices that fail to account for the true costs of environmental damage wrought by extracting and burning fossil fuels, or the national security implications of maintaining access to foreign oil.

"Everybody wants to be green, but no one wants to pay for it," he says. With sizable investments required to transform the energy sector, the development of low-carbon alternatives is going to be "very dependent on public sector incentives."

Boeing's solar project is a case in point; the aerospace giant dipped its toe into energy with the help of a matching grant from the U.S. Energy Department. But Caldwell says the company already is looking for an exit, deciding when the economy faltered to concentrate on its core business. He says Boeing executives now see little point investing in a power plant that will take a year or two to build, then generate in one year the amount of revenue, about $100 million, that an aircraft product line can churn out in less than a day.

That means Caldwell will soon be looking for another job. But that's OK with him. He's more interested in "smart" power grid technology and developing small-scale photovoltaic cells for urban rooftops, rather than sprawling solar farms that "require despoilment of large tracts of the desert."

"I have a real problem with the idea that we're going to save the planet by scraping large tracts of pristine land. I see that as fundamentally no different than lopping off a mountaintop for extracting coal."

Caldwell also says the nation stands to gain more bang for its buck by investing in greater energy conservation, such as home weatherization and retrofits. But he acknowledges that solar power, while costly to produce and install, still has a special appeal.

"It's very visible. If I put solar on my rooftop, I get to point at it and say, 'Look what I did.' And solar panels have that patina of being high tech," he said. "If I insulate the roof or the attic, I don't get to point to it, and it looks dreadfully low tech... It's nothing more than a guy with a big hose blowing stuff in your attic."

Spoken like a true rocket man.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Ho New ( An array of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada)

Palin, the self-described hockey mom turned politician, is slated as "our expected guest" on Aug. 8 for a 50th anniversary gala hosted by the Simi Valley Republican Women, Federated, a nonprofit group of GOP volunteers, according to an e-mail from the group's president Peggy Sadler. An accompanying notice states bluntly: "No press or other media allowed."

The group is renting space for the invitation-only event at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, a suburb north of Los Angeles. Tickets for the gala reportedly were going for $100 per person for members and $150 for invited non-members. Up to 900 people were expected to attend. Sadler said the party is "not a fundraising event" and that proceeds would go to pay for the event itself.

"Expected guest" may be the operative phrase since Palin's personal representatives say she "has not confirmed her attendance at any event" and that the Simi Valley party is "one of hundreds of outstanding invitations" she has received.

If she does appear in Simi Valley on Aug. 8, and nowhere else before then, it would mark Palin's first venture to the Lower 48 since stepping down as Alaska governor on Sunday, 18 months before her term of office was scheduled to end.

The surprise resignation has sparked intense speculation about Palin's future ambitions and whether she has hurt or helped any chance she might have of seeking higher office. Palin became a darling of Republican Party conservatives in 2008 when she catapulted to the national spotlight as John McCain's running mate and the first female GOP nominee for vice president.

In a reminder of her often-testy relations with the media, she took a parting shot at the press during her farewell address in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Sunday, saying: "Democracy depends on you. That's why our troops are willing to die for you. So how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up?"

Photo credit: Reuters/Nathaniel Wilder (Palin delivering farewell address in Fairbanks, Alaska, on July 27)

Crystal clear and utterly tasteless, the sample was refreshing and perfectly safe for human consumption.  Some minerals are actually reintroduced to the water before it's pumped back out of the ground for general consumer use.

Michael Markus, general manager of the Orange County Water District and the chief engineer behind the plant, assured me that the water exceeds all government drinking standards, even though the state requires the county to put it into the local aquifer -- for additional natural filtration -- before offering it to the public.

NASA has recently developed a new system for purifying urine and other wastewater for astronauts to drink in space. But this is wastewater recycling for the masses.

The technology has been available for years but was long disparaged by cynics in the media and politics as "toilet-to-tap."

Now with drought-related water shortages expected to worsen from climate change, even as cities continue to grow, the scarcity and escalating price of fresh surface water has made recycling more economically viable and helped it overcome the "yuck" factor.

The year-old, $481 million Orange County facility, called the Groundwater Replenishment System, produces enough purified water to meet the drinking needs of 500,000 people and is serving as a model for numerous cities across California looking to augment their own aquifer supplies.

Several smaller plants exist around the world, including one in the southern African country of Namibia, where purified wastewater is added directly into the public drinking supply, without first percolating through an aquifer or settling in a reservoir. In the parlance of the industry, that's called "direct potable reuse."

Look at Part 3 of our series on the water crisis in the U.S. West for more on recycling and other water technologies, including ocean water desalination.

Photo credit: Reuters/Steve Gorman (Michael Markus, general manager of the Orange County Water District, stands near a microfiltration unit in February 2009).

So colorful and well-known a showbiz figure has he become that he inspired the character of the sly Hollywood agent Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven, on the HBO series "Entourage." The role has earned Piven two Emmy Awards.

The younger Emanuel broke away from the talent agency ICM in 1995 to help start Endeavor, which has since grown into one of the leading deal-brokers in the entertainment industry with a client roster that includes Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jude Law, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Adam Sandler and Steve Carell. Among the stars he personally represents are Larry David, Michael Moore, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Wahlberg.      

Having grown up in suburban Chicago, Ariel "Ari" Z. Emanuel is the youngest of three brothers -- Ezekiel , an oncologist and bioethicist, and Rahm, a former aid to President Bill Clinton who later was elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois and became a confident of Obama. Ari Emanuel, too, has been active in Hollywood political circles, hosting fundraisers for Democratic candidates that included a $2,300-per-plate event for Obama during his presidential campaign.

Their father is a Jerusalem-born pediatrician who was active in the pre-independence Israeli underground, and their mother was a social activist and onetime Chicago-area nightclub proprietor.

In 2006 Ari Emanuel made headlines when he publicly condemned actor-director Mel Gibson for making anti-Semitic remarks at the time of his arrest for drunken driving. Emanuel called then on others in Hollywood to show their outrage by "professionally shunning" Gibson.

According to political consultant Andy Spahn, a co-host of the fund-raiser, the evening will begin with a dinner for the Illinois senator and about 250 guests at the landmark Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Dinner will be followed by a reception in Obama's honor at the main ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, featuring a performance by Streisand and others. The ballroom holds a crowd of up to 800 people. 

Seats for the dinner and reception together go for a whopping $28,500 per person, but supporters who just want to hear Babs sing for Obama can get in for as little as $2,500 per ticket, Spahn said. At those prices, the two-part event could bring in nearly $9 million, making it the biggest single Democratic fund-raiser for the current election cycle. The money would be divided between Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Other members of the hosting committee include DreamWorks studio co-founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Spahn said the rest of the evening's entertainment lineup has yet to be confirmed.

Streisand, 66, one of Hollywood's leading Democratic activists and donors, was a longtime supporter of former President Bill Clinton and backed the presidential primary campaign of his wife until Obama finally clinched the nomination in June. At that point Streisand, an Oscar winner for her 1968 film debut in the musical "Funny Girl," immediately switched her allegiance to Obama.

Rarely performing in public, Streisand sang at fund-raisers for the last two Democratic presidential nominees -- Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and then-Vice President Al Gore in 2000. They both lost to Republican George W. Bush.

The 10- to 30-second promos were recorded earlier this week on the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, site of this year's show, featuring Spears giving tongue-in-cheek hosting advice to the new emcee, British comedian Russell Brand from the recent film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." An MTV spokeswoman says the mostly ad-libbed spots, in which the elephant poses in the background, will begin airing this coming weekend.

The 25th annual edition of the Video Music Awards, long considered a looser, hipper version of the Grammys, will be broadcast live on MTV on Sept. 7, returning to Los Angeles for the first time in a decade.

Spears, coming off two marriages, two children and two stints in rehab, sought to launch a comeback on last year's show with a performance of the song "Gimme More." Instead, she drew a torrent of ridicule for lumbering around on stage in an ill-fitting black bikini as she awkwardly lip-synced her way through the dance number. The incident proved a publicity bomb for Spears but a ratings boon for MTV.

With Spears said to be back in the recording studio this summer working on her next album, and her personal life more or less back in order, the big question is whether she would dare venture a return engagement on the Video Music Awards. Hence, the presence of the 9,000-pound pachyderm in the commercials she filmed this week.

MTV is making the most of the suspense for now, refusing to say whether Spears, 26, might appear as either a presenter or performer on next month's show. She's nominated for two awards -- best female video and best pop video, both for the song "Piece of Me."   

There's no official word from either star's publicists on recent online gossip about a Garner pregnancy, which has been fueled by recent photos of the actress in loose-fitting tops. But Usmagazine.com reports that her close friend and former "Alias" co-star, Victor Garber, confirmed that Garner is with child. And the magazine quotes an unnamed source as saying, "She is five months pregnant. They are very happy."

Garner, 36, and Affleck, 35, who battled each other on screen in the 2003 superhero action film "Daredevil," are parents of a 2-year-old daughter, Violet.  The Hollywood couple announced her first pregnancy and their marriage simultaneously in June 2005. Her pregnancy ultimately was written into the story line of the character she played on the ABC espionage thriller "Alias."

Garner, who recently appeared on Broadway in a production of "Cyrano de Bergerac," was quoted last fall in the British magazine Marie Claire as saying she looked forward to having a second child. "We definitely wonder what it would be like to have another --- hopefully, knock on wood, someday," she said then. "My job is great to have as a mom. I get to take breaks and then work in a really concentrated way. During that concentrated time, it sucks, but whatever."

"They're trying with our help to put that together now," he said. "Everybody associated with that project was really heartened by the enthusiasm from fans ...  so absolutely -- there's a lot of energy behind thinking about another 'Sex and the City' movie." As for when the film might materialize, he added, "I can't say."

Warner Bros. had nothing official to add, though a studio insider said plans for a "Sex" sequel were only in their infancy. The first film is still playing at the multiplex.

Coming to theaters four years after ending their six-season run on HBO, columnist Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) and her gal pals unleashed a frenzy among the show's female fans, who organized large catherings to catch up with their heroines' exploits. The movie also proved a marketing bonanza for designer merchandise. Since its May 30 release, the film has grossed nearly $345 million worldwide, easily ranking as one of the biggest chick flicks of all time.

That's because as of Tuesday, the Fox network had sold out all its available advertising time for the National Football League championship -- the biggest U.S. television event of the year -- and not a single spot was purchased by a political campaign.    

The News Corp-owned broadcaster insists, contrary to some previous reports, that it never banned such ads for the Super Bowl. Instead, network officials said no campaign or media buyer ever seriously approached Fox to discuss the possibility of making a national ad buy for the Feb. 3 matchup between the undefeated New England Patriots and the New York Giants, or for the pre-game or post-game telecasts.

The sky-high price of Super Bowl spots may have had something to do with that. The average cost for a 30-second spot this year was running around $2.7 million, with prices earlier this month climbing as high as $3 million, industry sources have told Reuters.    

Speculation about Super Bowl political ads was fueled this year by the rare coincidence of a national telecast expected to draw well over 90 million viewers just two days before voters in two dozen states cast ballots for Democratic and Republican nominees for president. Moreover, the two teams playing in the big game hail from states with primary contests on Feb. 5.   

The Washington Post reported last week that the media teams of at least two Republican candidates had contemplated a possible Super Bowl ad purchase as a way of reaching a mass audience in one fell swoop.

But with some campaign coffers running low on resources, the smart money seems to be on sticking with a strategy that targets TV ad dollars in local markets where candidates have the greatest chance of picking up votes, and delegates.   

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking