Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, is joined by former Democratic presidential hopeful, John Edwards, at a rally today in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Last week a fun meme went through the Twitterverse... "When Obama wins..." Well today as news broke that former presidential candidate and former senator John Edwards would endorse Barack Obama -- after months of speculation as to whether he would endorse at all -- Twitter crashed. Related?... [continue]

There were nearly as many people on stage as in the crowd at the Echo last night to witness the phenomenon that was a 35-minute set from Dark Meat, the 17-piece psychedelic rock collective from Athens, Georgia. Dark Meat has been tearing up small venues in the South for a few years. Now signed to Vice Records, this orgiastic cacophony of punk vocals, horns, gospel, double drums, and manic prancing on the dance floor made... [continue]

The idea for Pangea Day was inspired by filmmaker Jehane Noujaim's acceptance speech after winning the TED Prize at the 2006 TED Conference. The global event begins this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. PDT with events in six cities including Los Angeles (Sony Pictures in Culver City) and numerous satellite gatherings. In addition to 24 short films, the four-hour event will include live music and speakers. Max Lugavere and Jason Silva, the founding hosts/producers of Current... [continue]

Deputy district attorney Damon Mosler, chief of the narcotics division points out guns and drugs seized during at a news conference held in San Diego today.(AP Photo/Denis Poroy) SDSU may as well stand for Sold Drugs to Some Undercover after 18 students were arrested today on drug charges. Nearly 100 people -- including 75 students -- have been stung in Operation Sudden Fall, a five-month DEA investigation on the San Diego campus.Agents were involved... [continue]

Photo of unrelated Disneyland Hotel balcony by clouddinner via flickr. A man leaped to his death from a 14th-floor balcony at the Disneyland Hotel this morning. "He went out on the balcony and intentionally leapt,'' said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez, all but confirming the apparent suicide of a businessman in his 30's or 40's, around 11 a.m. outside the the Disneyland Hotel's Wonder Tower. ( -- OC Register). An investigation is ongoing and... [continue]

Unconfirmed reports of a mountain lion on the loose in Eagle Rock have authorities on the move, searching house to house on the 5000 block of College View Ave. UPDATE: At 2 p.m., authorities called off a search for what they believe may have been a bobcat -- LA Times. OK. That's news. But on CNN, it's BREAKING NEWS. The network went live with footage from KABC-7's chopper cam and continued broadcasting live --... [continue]

The May Day 2008 marches and rallies are underway and thousands of people have converged on downtown LA:You can expect massive traffic troubles through downtown during Thursday's events. Marchers will stage at 7th Street and Parkview at MacArthur Park, Olympic and Broadway, and Alameda and Central. All will converge at 1st Street and Broadway for a rally that is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. -- ABC7See our May Day Travel Guide for tips on... [continue]

The Henry Clay People play in Long Beach tonight | Photo via their MySpace There are only four shows left at Largo's Fairfax location before they officially open at the Coronet in June and table reservations are all booked. However, as usual with Largo, if you get in line early enough, they'll "get you in for drinks at the bar." Tonight The Watkins Familiy Hour @ Largo Nortec Collective @ The Glass House (read... [continue]

The Entrance Band plays The Echo tonight | Photo via their MySpace Mike Doughty @ El Rey David Garza, Tom Brosseau @ Largo Seal, Sean Kingston @ Avalon Sara Lov, Messes, Fol Chen, Cinnamon Roll Gang @ Tangier Colorforms, The Breakups @ Three of Clubs The Woggles, New Fidelity @ Safari Sam's Meiko @ House of Blues The Entrance Band, Fool’s Gold @ The Echo Kenan Bell, Valentino, El Ten Eleven @ Spaceland Pink... [continue]

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD, died at his home near Basel, Switzerland on Tuesday. Hofmann synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) in 1938 and five years later became the first person to experience a full-blown acid trip. On April 16, 1943, Hofmann inadvertently absorbed a little LSD-25 compound in his fingertips at the Sandoz laboratory (now Novartis) where he worked. In a note to the lab director he described what happened next:“I was... [continue]

This week's Senate Committee Hearing on the Future of the Internet featured notable speakers on both sides of the net neutrality debate including Stanford Prof. Lawrence Lessig, FCC Commissioner Kevin J. Martin, Patric Verrone, President of the WGA-West, and Michele Combs of the Christian Coalition. And Justine Bateman, aka Jason's sister, aka Mallory Keaton. What is Ms. Bateman's interest and/or expertise in the Net Neutrality debate? "I have acted in many projects, from TV’s 'Family... [continue]

Join the LAist Featured Photos group and help us document life in LA as it happens.... [continue]

Mere hours after we interviewed Veronica Belmont last month, news broke that she was leaving the daily video podcast she helped launch -- Mahalo Daily. Soon enough, Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs, Inc. and CEO of the people-powered search engine Mahalo, announced an American Idol-esque contest to find the next host of the Mahalo Daily vlog. As dozens of potential hosts lined up to audition in side Mahalo HQ in Santa Monica, we grilled Calacanis... [continue]

You may or may not be aware of a new state law that went into effect on January 1, 2008. We were reminded of this a couple days ago, driving west on Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Effective Jan 2008 / No smoking allowed / Inside a vehicle / When a Minor is with youThis is important and effective legislation because -- why?!? It is often laughable how the term "liberal" applies to... [continue]

Los Angeles resident Douglas Campbell embarked last year on The Tuxedo Travels (subtitled: Two Fools. One Adventure. No Idea), along with a crazy British chap named Heath. It's all well-documented in these photos and often-hilarious videos. The clip above has been nominated as one of the best clips ever on a CNN show. Hell, even Nancy Grace wouldn't have a problem with this. You've got one day left to vote for Tuxedo Travels here.... [continue]

At least four people were critically injured after a twin-engine Cessna 310 airplane crashed in the 500 block of West Cypress in Compton this afternoon. The plane crashed into two homes on a residential street about a quarter-mile from Compton/Woodley Airport, according to ABC7. Two of the injured were flying in the plane and the other two were on the ground. The flight originated in San Diego and was bound for Hawthorne. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg... [continue]

If you live in Los Angeles or know anything about punk rock circa 1977 then you know about X. If you don't, Perry Farrell will tell you in the clip on the right. Farrell introduced X last month at SXSW, headliners of Spin's day party at Stubb's BBQ. The place was only two-thirds full after a mass exodus of sweater vests following a short set by Vampire Weekend. But all four original members of... [continue]

Our photo storage/sharing network of choice, Flickr, is finally offering a video component. In other words, Flickr will store, stream, and enable the embedding of any kind of content that can be produced by a basic digital camera (now that most shoot moving as well as still pictures). A Flickr Pro account is required to upload video, which at $25/year was already necessary to upload more than 100mb of photos each month. Also, at... [continue]

What the hell is up with air travel these days? Another day, another 850 flights canceled because government officials have failed us yet again. Yes, we blame the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA[IIL]). And so does American Airlines:American is cancelling several hundred flights starting on April 8 to conduct additional inspections of its MD-80 fleet. These inspections are to ensure precise and complete compliance with the FAA's directive related to wiring in the aircraft's wheel... [continue]

Officials still haven't determined whether or not the Orange County Sheriff's deputy found dead in an unmarked car yesterday shot himself or was a homicide victim. BUT...Just hours before he was found, [41-year-old Gerald] Stenger was charged Wednesday morning with molesting a 12-year-old boy for two years after meeting him through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County. Stenger was charged with one felony count of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and... [continue]