Britney Spears and singer/songwriter Demi Lovato will join L.A. Reid and Simon Cowell at the judges table on the upcoming season of Fox's The X Factor. more ›

Britney Spears, teen pop icon-turned-trainwreck-turned comeback kid, has apparently finalized a deal to be a judge on The X-Factor alongside Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. According to E!, "Spears will get $15 million for one season's worth of work. She had agreed in principle to the deal weeks ago and had spent the last several days working out the fine print." more ›

Britney Spears' agent-turned-boyfriend Jason Trawick proposed to Britney last night, and the happy couple have plans to celebrate the news with their friends at a soiree in Vegas tonight. more ›

It's just what it sounds like, you crazy baby. more ›

It's big business when a celebrity dies--not just for the memorabilia hawkers, the slap-dash t-shirt makers, or the TV documentarians, but because the late celeb's business keeps local civil courts busy. more ›

In an attention grabbing poll, California's legislature slightly edged out Britney Spears when polled Californians were asked who they would rather see manage their family budget. "Thirty-five percent of respondents said they would opt to have the Legislature manage their money, with 31 percent preferring to put Ms. Spears in charge. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed either didn't know or refused to answer the question," reports the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert. more ›

It is the start of a new year and that means we're slouching towards Southern California's biggest music festivals, starting with Coachella in the middle of April. And, as usual, the internet is simply ablaze with line-up rumors. But this year, much like last, crazed fans have taken things a step further on the festival's message board, going as far as to contact bands directly for confirmation. more ›

There certainly was something to be celebratory about last night--the billions invested into LA Live is quite an accomplishment. The naysayers will say it's another Universal City Walk and the cheerleaders will call "the future." For those in the middle, it will be a pleasant technological and flashy place to visit and take friends and enjoy every once in awhile. That said, after speaking to people about last night's LA Live tree lighting ceremony, words such as "uninspired" and "boring" were mentioned more than once. They were also not too thrilled with how unimpressive the tree was (see a photo below) more ›

She appears in the pretaped version of today's Christmas Tree lighting in New York City's Rockefellar Center, but will Britney Spears appear tomorrow for Los Angeles? That's what the rumors, heard within LA Live and around town, point to. more ›

It was almost 10 o'clock by the time iconic music superstar Madonna hit the stage at Dodger Stadium last night, and the crowd happily lapped up her "Sticky and Sweet" candy infusion of spectacle and song. more ›

In a court case that's so pedestrian other than the defendant (and even that could be disputed), it's big news. The Britney Spears driving without a valid license case has finally come to a close, days after the the jury tried, but failed, to agree on a verdict. more ›

When she is not costing the taxpayers thousand of dollars for expensive police escorts or having paparazzi arrested outside her home, Britney Spears still occasionally makes a music video. The Soup just couldn't help but get in on the action more ›

From dance schools to singing lessons, shopping at trendy boutiques, and watching loads of teen stars strut their stuff, Southern California tweens have loads of opportunities to feel like a pop star. To get the full experience, Los Angeles based company Electronic Arts has created a virtual pop star training ground for the Wii. Boogie SuperStar hit stores this week. more ›

Jimmy Kimmel called our police chief a gossip columnist last night after LAPD Chief William Bratton walked up to KNBC cameras clad in his morning workout clothes to talk about yesterday's paparazzi taskforce hearing, which included John Mayer, Milo Ventimiglia and Eric Roberts. Bratton showed off his gossip/current events knowledge by listing off what was going on with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. He said since "Lohan has gone gay," the paparazzi issue is not as bad at the moment. more ›

As Councilman Dennis Zine's paparazzi motion (what we like to call the Britney Spears law) fumbles around in a City Council committee, he's also convening a regional task force on the issue, which will have a public hearing tomorrow morning to "hear testimony from key stakeholders to develop proposals to consider in the legislative process," according to a statement from Zine's office. more ›

Joe Dolce, former editor in chief of Star magazine, blogs at the Huffington Post about the increasing reported skirmishes between celebrities and the paparazzi. Dolce leaves the blame, not only on the paps, but on the magazines that pay for the photos and the celebs themselves. He offers suggestions for each involved party while knowing full well that it's all easier than said. Here's his thoughts on how celebs should act: more ›

Good job, boys! Here's what the LAPD sent out in an e-mail today: "At 6:00 p.m. [Monday], police verbally warned Alexander Passos, 35, and Eduardo Ravalha, 35, for loitering on city owned property near Mulholland Drive and Cold Water [sic] Canyon and asked them to leave. About 45 minutes later, the officers learned the pair had returned to the location and arrested them. Passos of Canoga Park and Ravalha of Los Angeles were arrested and released at North Hollywood police station. They were charged with linger or to idle about a public place without lawful business for being present." more ›

Two brawls between surfers and paparazzi over the weekend are leading Malibu officials to look more closely into the law regarding 1st amendment rights. "The city of Malibu will do all it legally can to protect and preserve the natural beauty and tranquillity of our town," Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said in a statement, per the LA Times. more ›

At least three paparazzi photographers were attacked in the Los Angeles area over the weekend in two separate incidents. On Friday evening as Britney Spears returned from a trip to Louisiana, a push-and-shove incident occurred between her body guard and a photographer outside an LAX terminal resulting in a minor abrasion to the paparazzo's face, but no charges were filed. On Saturday, two photographers were attacked by a group of surfers protecting Matthew McConaughey's wish to not be filmed while surfing at Paradise Cove. One paparazzo is reported to have several injuries and a water-soaked broken camera and another with a broken nose.
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Calabasas' soon-to-be-newest resident, Britney Spears, is now an Aunt. Jamie Lynn popped out her baby girl, Maddie Briann, this morning. more ›

A state report (.pdf) to be presented today says that "as many as 24,000 deaths annually in California are linked to chronic exposure to fine particulate pollution," according to the LA Times. That's more than triple the figures announced by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) when they asked Governor Schwarzenegger and President Bush to declare a state of emergency regarding the 5400 environmental/pollution related deaths a year. more ›

Hailing the West Valley, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine appeared on Comedy Central's Daily Show to talk up the Britney Spears law. Be warned, this video is aurally NSFW. more ›

• Britney Spears may be on her way out of Los Angeles, but she's not going quietly. The pop star was involved in a minor collision last night on the 134 in bumper to bumper traffic where she hit the car in front of her, causing that vehicle to bump the car in front of them. No one was hurt and the length of this bullet point is already severely disproportionate to my interest in it. Let's move on...
• Of all the problems facing the great city of Los Angeles, housing availability is surely near the top of the list. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy, in an LA Times editorial, has stepped into the fray with a few concrete ideas, such as slowing development of condos and other luxury housing projects to accommodate renters and building up housing around transportation hubs. His thoughts are not revolutionary, but are well taken in a city where middle and low income renters are constantly being priced out of the market.
• His comments come on the heels of a new study that said L.A. must build nearly 113,000 new housing units by 2014 to meet the needs of a growing population without worsening the shortage of affordable homes. In the battled between those opposed to new construction based on water shortages and increased traffic versus those attempting to meet the needs of a growing populace, something's gotta give.
• Yesterday, we told you about an officer involved shooting in a movie theater in El Segundo. Today, the two officers are recovering in the hospital after the shootout that left one suspect dead and a bystander injured. They are expected to make a full recovery.
• Police chase! Two dudes who may have been involved in a shooting led police for more than an hour through Los Angeles freeways this morning before being apprehended. Chases are dangerous, costly and stupid, but I admit I have a weakness for a good ol fashioned pursuit. Thank you, Fox.
• CBS CEO Les Moonves made $37 million last year. Amid show dumping and firings, his multi-million dollar salary is raising some eyebrows, LA Biz Observed wrote.
• American Airlines' MD-80 fleet is back up and running. This just in via -- yeah, that's right -- the new AA blog.
• Four homes were briefly evacuated when a small brush fire lit up a hillside near Foothills Middle School in Arcadia this afternoon.
• It was damn hot today if you didn't notice. Record high temps for LAX (96 degrees), Long Beach (95), Anaheim (102!) the Santa Monica Pier (86), and UCLA (95). Tomorrow should be gorgeous, just in time to return to work.

Citing that there are already laws on the books, the LAPD opposed a proposal to make a "personal safety zone" paparazzi law to the Police Commission today. 3rd District Councilman Dennis Zine introduced the idea after the LAPD used $25,000 to transport Britney Spears to UCLA Medical a mere 6 or so miles in order to keep her safe from paparazzi (did you see the video of her leaving UCLA Medical? This is nuts, a must see). more ›

It all started in the media with Britney Spears. Staff at UCLA Medical snuck an unauthorized look at her medical records which led to the hospital looking into firing thirteen employees, suspending six others and disciplining six physicians. And UCLA admitted to the LA Times this wasn't the first time staff had spied on Spears' records leading to sackings. It happened in 2005 when she gave birth to her son Sean Preston at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. more ›

• One week after being subdued in his cell with a taser gun and lapsing into a coma, 35-year-old Orange County inmate Jason Jesus Gomez has died, officials announced today. Gomez, who was in jail for a probation violation, stopped breathing after officers used the taser on him during a scuffle.
• Say cheese: LA City Council voted today to approve a contract that will put cameras in 300 LAPD cars.
• Just like Britney Spears, blonde bombshell Farrah Fawcett had her alluring face and form plastered on posters in bedrooms all over the country. Now, also like Spears, Fawcett's medical records were subject to some prying eyes.
• The tragic details of a 911 call placed last fall by a 15-year-old girl whose family was murdered in the yard while gathered for a barbeque have been released by authorities. Danielle Blixt made the call before realizing the killer was her own brother, who also committed suicide during the bloody incident.
• You'rrrrrrreeeeee OUT! "Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa was suspended for three games and fined by the commissioner's office Wednesday following a wild argument." Bowa got the boot from last night's game versus the Giants.
• Shell game: A Diamond Bar man has been sentenced to spend 6 1/2 months in prison for participating in an international smuggling ring that brought rare Asian tortoises into the country.
• Pandora's Box? The Community Thrift Store in Covina found an unusual item nestled among the items in a box of donated goods: A grenade! The building was evacuated.
• Are you Hollywood or Westside? Do you know enough about local landmarks, newsmakers, history, and...cashmere sweaters? Have a high tolerance threshold for the misspelling of well-know spots in the city (i.e. Pizzeria Mozzo and Grumman's Chinese Theatre? Ahem.) and cross-promotion? Represent your 'hood over at the MetroChallenge, an online quiz tied to the crop of new Metro Collection condos in partnership with our friends over at CurbedLA.

Last Thursday, San Diego-based singer-songwriter (and avid surfer) Tristan Prettyman (MySpace) returned to Los Angeles, headlining at The Roxy (MySpace) in West Hollywood. Australian Whitley (MySpace) was the opener. more ›