L.A. City Council approves police hiring freeze

It's a three-month freeze that will help ease the city's $47-million deficit to the tune of $725,000 for the fiscal year that ends June 30 and $3.6 million next year. The council also signed off on recommendations by budget chief Miguel Santana that will reduce the current year's shortfall from $47 million to a little over $4 million. Much of this involves moving around unspent money from one department or program to another. Attention is starting to focus on next year's deficit, which will run about $350 million. (LAT, Daily News wires)

Earlier: L.A. budget officials desperately scrounge for every penny