• KNX1070 is reporting that "a police manhunt is ongoing West of a Washington Mutual bank at Ventura and Topanga Canyon in Woodland Hills. Authorities are searching for two armed kidnapping suspects."
• Things were something close to touch-and-go late this afternoon on the Blue Line near 5501 S Long Beach Ave when a female pedestrian fell near the tracks as a train passed by, but did not have any direct contact with the train itself.
• Local authorities are investigating a fire at UCLA professor Edythe London's house yesterday caused by a device left on her Westside home's porch. The scientist has previously been targeted by animal-rights activists in protest for the research she does that employs animals.
• 41-year-old Lauren Donohue has been arrested for the stabbing murder of her own mother, which took place yesterday inside the 69-year-old woman's Simi Valley home. Donohue's motive for killing her mother remains unknown as police investigate the brutal crime.
• A manhunt was on for several hours today when reports of a young masked gunman on the campus of a Van Nuys elementary school surfaced. The search was eventually called off, but the boy was not found.
• One less swanky shindig to go to on Oscar Night: Vanity Fair has canceled their annual post-awards bash, this year to have been held for the first time at the popular Craft in Century City, citing the uncertainty of the state of the WGA strike and a bizarre kind of solidarity.
• Toxicology reports released today say that actor Heath Ledger's death was the result of a lethal combination of six prescription drugs taken over an extended period of time. The deadly mix of painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-depressants caused Ledger's accidental overdose on January 22.
• She's out! Doctors have released Britney Spears from UCLA medical center today, where she has been held for psychiatric care and evaluation for a week. Today a court issued a restraining order against Sam Lutfi, Spears' manager, at the behest of the singer's mother.

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr