Ending a bitter special congressional election for the South Bay area, Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey on Tuesday.

Unofficial election night returns showed the Los Angeles city councilwoman with 54.6% of the vote, compared with the businessman's 45.4%

Hahn will replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who resigned the 36th Congressional District seat in February to head a Washington think tank.

Although Hahn was considered the favorite because of Democrats' 18-point registration lead in the largely coastal district, the race was believed to be tightening because Huey poured more than $800,000 of his own money into his campaign to rally "tea party" members and others discontented with Washington.

Hahn's victory will prompt a special election to fill her city council seat, which covers an area from Watts to San Pedro. At least one would-be successor, firefighter Pat McOsker, made his candidacy official Tuesday night.

For election returns, see lavote.net.

-- Jean Merl

Canter's turned 80 this year. And to celebrate, the Fairfax Avenue deli is offering up a meal for 80 cents.

If you can make it there by midnight Tuesday, here's what you'll get for eight dimes: Thick slabs of corned beef sandwiched between two slices of mustard-slathered rye, a sour pickle, a dab of potato salad and a chocolate-chip rugelach.

How long the lines will be when you get there is anybody's guess. They started forming midmorning and stretched up and down the block well before the deal started at 4 p.m.

The family-run deli, which opened in 1931 in Boyle Heights, was ready for the onslaught with 5,000 pounds of corned beef on hand.

Canter's is a place that takes pride in staying the same. Its current location -- in the former Esquire Theatre -- hasn't changed too much since the family moved in back in 1953.

"We like to keep everything the same, exactly the same. Nothing has changed here. The decor is exactly the same," said Jacqueline Canter, a granddaughter of one of the deli's founders.

The traditions don't change either. The deli's been marking its milestones with similar meals at five-year intervals since it reached the half-century mark.

Bradford Smith, 45, showed up with his wife and two children Tuesday -- and not just for the bargain. "I like the 80 cents and I like the food," said the American Airlines baggage handler. Pastrami, he said, was his favorite. "Whenever we go on a trip, I come here and get a sandwich to eat on the plane. I have the number programmed in my phone."

Nancy Weiss, 72, of West Los Angeles said she heard about the special and decided to make her first trip to Canter's in a long time.

"I haven't eaten in Canter's for maybe 25 years," she said. "I used to come. But it's been a quarter of a century. I thought, 'Well, my goodness, here's my chance.' I'm looking forward to it. Down memory lane."

That's exactly what Jacqueline Canter's brother, Gary, who has worked at the deli since he was 13, hoped would be the draw.

"Coming to Canter's is like family," he said as he sat in the booth amid the clatter of silverware, the clink of ice cubes, the hum of dozens of conversations. "You came here as a kid and got a cookie at the bakery. It's memories. Food is love."

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-- Nita Lelyveld

Photo: The line stretches down the block for Canter's 80-cent anniversary special. Credit: Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Coast Guard has ended its search for seven U.S. citizens missing since a charter fishing boat sank July 3 during a freak storm in the Gulf of California.

The Coast Guard, at the request of the Mexican navy, had conducted 10 aircraft missions, searching more than 7,303 square miles. The Mexican navy has ended its search and is no longer requesting Coast Guard assistance, the Coast Guard announced Tuesday night.

Of 43 persons aboard the 105-foot vessel Erik, 35 crew members and passengers survived, some swimming and paddling up to 16 hours. One body was found on a desolate beach.

The Coast Guard search included C-130 Hercules aircraft from Sacramento and HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from San Diego.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Democrat Janice Hahn took an early lead over Republican Craig Huey as elections officials released the first tally of votes from Tuesday's special election for the 36th Congressional District.

With mostly mail-in ballots counted, Hahn led Huey 21,365 votes to 18,025, or 54.24% to 45.76%.

Both sides worked hard to get their voters out in what was expected to be a low-turnout election to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who resigned in February.  Democrats hold an 18-point registration edge over Republicans in the South Bay-based district but Huey mounted a well-financed challenge and the race was perceived as tightening up in the last few weeks.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office will post updates Tuesday night as more ballots are counted.  Go to lavote.net for updates.

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-- Jean Merl

Photo: Competing election signs crowd fences and posts in Torrance. Credit: Reuters

More forecasts: Long Beach | Pasadena | San Diego | Santa Monica | Van Nuys

A man who was running in and out of traffic on the Pomona Freeway in Boyle Heights was killed Tuesday afternoon when he ran in front of a big rig, authorities said.

The man, whose name has not been released pending notification of next of kin, began running north in westbound lanes of the highway near Whittier Boulevard shortly after 3 p.m., according to a California Highway Patrol report.

The truck hit him, tangling his body in its wheels. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP.

The driver of the truck was not injured.

The incident and subsequent investigation snarled traffic on the freeway for several hours.

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-- Sam Quinones

A Riverside County supervisor’s proposal for a summit to discussing breaking off a major chunk of Southern California to form a new state was significantly scaled back by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Instead of secession, the supervisors voted to host a statewide summit to allow city and county officials from across the state to discuss state budget issues and Sacramento policies that hurt local government services and job creation, and also discuss turning the Legislature into a part-time body.

The action comes after Supervisor Jeff Stone, a Republican pharmacist from Temecula, advocated forming the new state of South California. Stone said state government was too dysfunctional to be repaired.

Under his prosposal, the counties of Riverside, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Tulare would break away from California to form the nation’s 51st state. Stone stressed, however, that he was amenable to other configurations.

Combined, those counties are home to about 13 million people. Republicans account for the majority of registered voters in all of those counties except San Diego, San Bernardino and Imperial.

Stone modified his proposal on Tuesday. His fellow supervisors said they sympathized with frustrations, but voted not to allow any county funds or staff to be used to host the summit.

-- Phil Willon

A bankruptcy judge Tuesday allowed the Crystal Cathedral to consider new buyers for its 40-acre property.

The move came after the church's board decided not to go forward with a plan for an Orange County real estate developer to purchase the campus for $46 million.

At a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing, Judge Robert Kwan approved the church’s request to partially withdraw from a reorganization plan it filed in May in which Greenlaw Partners was named the primary bidder for the property, entitling the real estate development firm to a fee if outbid.

Bankruptcy filings made Monday indicated that the church was actively seeking other offers in addition to Greenlaw.

"There are other options out there which are viewed by the ministry and the creditors as being more favorable," attorney Marc Winthrop, who represents the Crystal Cathedral, told the court.

The next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1.

The iconic Garden Grove church, founded by the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, filed for bankruptcy protection last fall, citing more than $50 million in debt.

The church’s executive board is currently considering multiple options -– including offers from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and Chapman University -- and will need time for financial advisers to evaluate such proposals, lawyers said in court.

Attorney Nanette Sanders said the unsecured creditors she represents in the case fully supported the church’s decision to look at other options and hoped that a recently filed plan naming Chapman University as a potential buyer "had something to do with it."

Several objections had been filed in response to the original exit strategy, in which Greenlaw offered lease-back and buy-back options to the church while proposing to turn portions of the property into apartment buildings.

An amended reorganization plan is expected in the coming months, possibly with the church naming a new buyer. The plan, which would need to be voted on by creditors, also would address any outstanding objections, including one regarding the future of the church’s cemetery.

Attorneys for Greenlaw opposed the motion and did not comment.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti promised Tuesday that the panel will have plenty of time to debate a plan to bring an NFL stadium to downtown, seeking to soothe anxiety that a vote would be rushed.

Several council members expressed concern that they could feel pressured to approve the deal before July 31, a deadline that had been issued by Tim Leiweke, chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group. The Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment company is spearheading the project. Leiweke told The Times in June that the deal could be scuttled if the city failed to sign off on the framework of an agreement before officials recess for summer vacations.

AEG officials, however, are now saying they hope to get a vote on the project framework before the council begins a two-week recess on Aug. 20.

"We are pleased that the Farmers Field and Convention Center modernization project will be reviewed and publicly discussed by both the ad hoc committee and the full City Council by July 31, with the expectation that they would take action prior to the summer recess," AEG spokesman Michael Roth told The Times.

A team of city negotiators, led by Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller, is negotiating a draft memorandum of understanding with AEG in private. The city negotiators expect to release the results to an ad hoc council committee around July 22. The proposal will be published at http://downtownstadium.lacity.org.

Kern County authorities are investigating as a homicide the death of an inmate from Los Angeles at Wasco State Prison.

The 54-year-old man, whose name was withheld pending notification of next of kin, was found dead in his cell in the prison’s reception center late Friday, according to a statement released Tuesday by the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation.

The inmate had been sent to prison in May on a parole violation for possession of alcohol and assault with a deadly weapon. His case was awaiting a hearing before the state Board of Parole Hearings. In April 2010, he received a 16-month prison sentence for resisting a peace officer with force and assault with a deadly weapon.

The suspect in the case is a 31-year-old inmate from Orange County who was sentenced in May to 11 years for carjacking.

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-- Sam Quinones