Ellen DeGeneres turned 50-years-old on Saturday and this was her surprise present. (h/t Stereogum)......

Increasingly free of gang violence, it may be getting safer to walk the streets of Watts, the Daily News reports. Homicides in the area have dropped from 24 in 2006 to just 11 last year and many residents are pinning hopes for further neighborhood revitalization on economic opportunities. Hey Magic Johnson, that's your cue! A man died last night after sliding down an escalator at the Hollywood Highland shopping pit of hell today. Apparently......

Listen to the interview here: Bobby Slayton is an icon, he's been doing stand-up for 30 years, everyone in the industry knows him, and generations of us have grown up on his comedy. At his live show the crowd gets warmed up with a video of practically every single well-known American comic, from Don Rickles to Robin Williams, giving props to Bobby. I've been listening and seeing Bobby Slayton perform for 25 years, listening to......

It's Veterans Day, and, to commemorate, let's check in on Iraq and see how some Veterans-to-be are doing. Turns out, things weren't so festive today there. A civil war continues to rage and officials announced that, with the 853rd death this past week, 2007 is now the deadliest year yet for American troops in the ongoing Middle East quagmire, surpassing 2004's total of 850. So far, 3,860 U.S. soldiers and 4,164 coalition troops from......

Brangelina are going into business together- the two have signed a deal with HBO to produce a drama series about, what else, international aid workers - Hollywood Reporter Iggygate isn't even close to being over - sources say Iggy wasn't the only pup Ellen Degeneres has passed along to staff members over the years - Page Six Soap star Nathaniel Marston was hospitalized after attacking three people with a crate, breaking one's leg this weekend......

Regina Spektor - "Us" @ Coachella, 2007 Maybe you're like us. Maybe you already have been to every great Halloween that Isla Vista has to offer. Maybe you are tired of scaring the little kids in your Dick Cheney costume showing them how Social Security will be wiped out by the time they're 40. Maybe the West Hollywood omg I'm a slut costume has worn thin(ner). Maybe you just want to get away from......

Ellen DeGeneres's dog drama continues with lawyers, death threats, and more tears - US Weekly Lindsay Lohan may have given up the sauce, but not the drama. She's a homewrecker now - Egotastic! Britney Spears talks smack about the judge in her custody case while shopping with puppy London - Popsugar Speaking of Britney, former pop star Lance Bass opens up about how he came out with his homosexuality to her before he told his......

Let's start over, shall we? Disney is investing $1.1 billion into California (Mis)adventure, the ghost town of an amusement park next to Disneyland. The Rose Queen for the Pasadena Rose Parade was announced this morning and her name is Dusty. We just love that name for a girl. Staring now, there is no excuse for anyone of any age to ever go "I don't get blogging." The world's oldest blogger celebrated her birthday this......

When actress Kate Walsh (Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy) appeared on Ellen Degeneres' show last week, Ellen didn't feel like waiting for the upfront announcement of whether Walsh's spinoff would get the green light. So she gave ABC President Steve McPherson a call from her show to get the scoop. McPherson, being the suit that he is, would only say that he "thinks she's in pretty good shape." While LAist has no......

Dear LAist, On Sunday both Ellen DeGeneres and Vice President Gore said something along the lines of there being a billion people watching the Oscar broadcast. When the Neilson (sic) ratings came out it said that only 37 million Americans watched the program. Did 963 million foreigners really watch that show the other night? If they did, I now understand why they let that guy speak Italian for what seemed forever. - TF, Highland......

Most vanilla Oscars ever. Ellen DeGeneres wasn't a bad host. But she wasn't a good one. Her mildly funny jokes and conversational good nature made it feel like we were watching a daytime talk show host wallowing in the oversized britches of a big-time awards ceremony. Oh wait, we were. Thank you, Ellen DeGeneres, for proving that queers can be as bland and conventional as breeders. Jerry Seinfeld's presentation of the feature documentary award was......

A Word or 36: My son has pink eye and I've had to watch daytime TV, a truly terrible terrible thing to have to subject yourself to. I dunno if I'll be able to turn any of the following on. Tonight - Tuesday - February 20th, 2007 Canucks @ Ducks (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) American Idol (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) We're down to 12 wannabes NCIS/The Unit (CBS, 8-10:00 p.m.) New episodes. Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00......

When he's not busy launching science scholarships in Estonia or getting funky with Ellen DeGeneres, Honda's cute little ASIMO robot (the name stands for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility) can often be found hungover and tripping over his clunky metal feet. Look how far we've come since Small Wonder.......

Megan Mullally, best known as the lovable fag-hag Karen on the deceased series Will and Grace, is the host of a talk show that USED TO follow the Ellen DeGeneres Show everyday. Her show is ok, it's just as much of a suck-ass celebrity-ego-stroke fest as all the other shows that are just like it. Nothing special to report there.But NBC just changed the Megan Mullally Show from 4pm to noon. Is the Megan......

In Los Angeles, Even Ice Cream Is Trendy (Day to Day, NPR) Teams Track Fugitive Immigrants for Deportation (All Things Considered, NPR) DEA agents rescue undercover cop (Daily News) Aniston settles lawsuit over topless photos (CNN) DeGeneres walks away from car crash (CNN) Los Angeles Times Downplays Arrest of Iraq's Al-Qaeda No. 2 (NewsBusters) The Jury Is Still Out On Sex Offender Trading Cards (The Defiant Salmon) Innovative Bar Coasters Announce Relationship Status (Hello......

Howard Stern signed off broadcast radio Friday and is taking a 2-week vacation before doing his thing, FCC-free, on Sirius satellite radio. We aren't regular listeners, but the LA Times' Meghan Daum, who says she flips back and forth between NPR and Stern in the mornings, sure appreciates him. When we wrote about Stern's decision to jump to Sirius in 2004, one LAist reader was skeptical about the company lasting this long. Well, stranger......

Ellen DeGeneres. The name brings a myriad of thoughts to mind... comedian, talk show host, Dory the fish, and [unlikely] gay icon. Despite all these titles, DeGeneres is best known for being witty and compassionate--making her perfect for the role of emcee. After 9/11, DeGeneres hosted and wrote the 53rd Annual Emmys. Her mix of candor, humor and charm was well-received. It's not surprising that CBS called upon DeGeneres to take the helm again.......

note: we posted and pulled this article because the original material is from a satire site. We still haven't decided whether we're sadder that we couldn't tell it was a satire or that we wouldn't have been surprised if Pat Robertson had actually said it. In this case, though...he didn't. Not to be outdone by anti-choice fanatics or racial zealots, Pat Robertson (of the government approved Operation Blessing) thinks that Los Angeles-based evil talk......