Accused of funneling money to the Pakistan Taliban, the FBI arrested three Florida residents on Saturday, one of whom was captured in Los Angeles, reports the Daily News. The arrests were part of an investigation of a Florida family of Pakistani expatriates that is allegedly funding religious extremists "to topple the Pakistani government and fight the United States," according to the FBI. more ›

In a case oddly reminiscent of model Jasmine Fiore, 26-year-old Paula Sladewski was found "burned beyond recognition" inside a Miami trash bin Sunday night, according to the LA Times. The Rancho Cucamonga model was traveling with her boyfriend, who told police they got separated at a club before he reported her as missing on Monday. Her boyfriend, 34-year-old Kevin Klym, and her apparently got into a fight at the club when the bouncer kicked him out, according to the Miami New Times. He took a taxi back to the hotel, leaving her inside. more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email. more ›

Gutierrez holds a degree from the School of Electronic Engineering in Medellin, Colombia. He serves on the Board of Directors for Eyes of Innocence, a charity that benefits children worldwide. more ›

Clippers 99, Heat 98 - With Shaq in Phoenix and Dwayne Wade injured for the season, the Clippers had an opportunity to beat somebody -- and actually took it. Cuttino Mobley hit a pair of free throws in the final three seconds to seal the deal. He led the way with 29 points. more ›

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who rode into office on the high horse of morality after years of spearing Wall Street robber barrons as the attorney general, has been linked to a prostitiution ring that has operated in Los Angeles. more ›

Blazers 82, Clippers 80 - Portland blew a 14 point lead in Staples Center one night after blowing a 15 point lead on the very same court. This time they were playing the Clippers, so things worked out OK. Los Angeles managed a pathetic 29 points in the first half, but did make a noble effort in the second. Corey Maggette was hot with 32 points, but missed a big shot with eight ticks left. more ›

In the wake of the big Fidel Castro seemingly-non-news of him stepping down as president (meanwhile the US recently bombed Pakistan without notice or permission), it's interesting to look back at the impact of the man on Los Angeles. The divide between those who wanted to work with Castro's Cuban government and those who vehemently opposed it led to violence -- eleven such terrorism incidents occurred in the Los Angeles area alone according to Cuban Information Archives, a site dedicated to "source materials pertaining to Cuban Exile activities as they pertain to their struggle to wrestle Cuba from Fidel Castro." more ›

How does UCLA celebrate winning a tough game against the Washington State Cougars? By tanking it against the Washington Huskies. more ›

Back in 1996, Mary J. Blige provided vocals to the hook of "Can't Knock the Hustle," the second single off of Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt. 12 years, 12 Grammys and 70 million records sold later, Jigga Man and MJB are back at it again, co-headlining 25 shows across North America. more ›

I first heard about Shaquille O'Neal in middle school. Back then, he was more of a playground rumor than a superstar. The first kid to learn about him tried to tell the rest of us. more ›

LAist reader Hope Egan has sent us this pic from inside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona where Super Bowl XLII is going to get going in just about two hours. more ›

Downtown and Hollywood are about to get an infusion of stylishness overnight stay options, as hotel mega-chain Marriott has announced plans to partner up with Ian Schrager to bring new boutique hotels to LA called Edition. more ›

Even more restaurant news is coming down the wire -- earlier today, we checked out some early reports on Bond St in Beverly Hills, and now we hear that developers The Valencia Group will be transforming Downtown's historic Union Bank building into The Union Restaurant & Lounge (it's all about the restaurant-slash-lounge concept nowadays, isn't it?). So, yes, Downtown will have another fancy-schmancy dining space; the website is promising "2 Floors of Entertainment, Upscale Dinning [sic] and Cocktail Bar, The Vault Lounge & Bar." more ›

Lakers 109, Hornets 80 - Two of the hottest teams in the NBA met in New Orleans, but only one of them lived up to the billing. Los Angeles thumped the Hornets despite playing on back-to-back nights and New Orleans having several days of rest. Maybe they just got cold. The Lakers bench was key, outscoring the Hornet's reserves by 42-9. It was like the reverse of a USC game. more ›

With the regular season of the NFL coming to an end, what have we truly learned? more ›

I know I’m about as consistent as the Lakers in doing these things. So here are my quick takes of all of the Sunday games. more ›

Mi Ami (ex-members of Black Eyes from SF) and Bipolar Bear. Since we love classical minimalism, we thought to ask the band a few questions before tonight's show: more ›

I watched Saving Grace last night because there was nothing else on and I was sorry I did it. Holly Hunter I love you but there should be a better show than this for you - it's morphed into Touched By An Angel with touches of profanity. It looks like there's a lot of stuff tonight (below) but it's actually pretty sparse. I'll have some DVD reviews up soon since that's what I'm really watching,... more ›

Lakers 123, Warriors 113 - We're still pretty sure this is a .500 team masquerading with an occasional good run, and now even their Phil Jackson is down on Kobe and Co. The Laker's coach told the media that a 50-win season is out of reach. His squad, however, responded by out-scoring the nation's hottest team on Sunday night. Kobe Bryant led the way with 28 and both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum hit double... more ›

To prepare for this interview, I scoured my closet for my pair of unwashed lucky socks, put on some Dog the Bounty Hunter ondemand, and tried to ignore the fact that his girlfriend is "shnacky", as I like to say. Yucko the Clown is a regular guest on "The Howard Stern Show", a stand-up comic, and the co-creator of The Damn Show later 'ported' to MTV2 as Stankervision. Currently he's touring with the Killers... more ›

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... more ›

Tuesdays are a slow day for the networks. Dancing With the Stars will soon require someone to pass out every week in order for the show to remain interesting and House seems like it jumped the shark a while ago. For satisfaction we'll have to delve deep into cableland or pay-TV. 8:00pm TCM Crime Drama Marathon TCM - Starting out with The Lineup and following on with Armored Car Robbery, and Follow Me Quietly 8:00pm... more ›

Two of the four big summer three-quels hit DVD shelves today. Neither is worth your money. Better to spend it on La Vie en Rose, featuring one of the best performances in years by the amazing Marion Cotillard. Better yet, make it a French double-feature and pick up Paris Je T'Aime, too. If you haven't yet, invest a weekend watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. And, yes, it will take the whole weekend. Christmas and South Park... more ›

Clippers 104, Pacers 89 - Like some other teams in LA, the Clippers are starting to revolve around one star (cough ... Lakers ... cough ... Galaxy). Unlike other teams, it's just temporary. Sam Cassell had 35 points, as Cuttino Mobley and Ruben Patterson were injured in the first quarter. Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston were already out hurt. What didn't hurt were Chris Kaman's 15 points and 22 rebounds ... Somehow the Clippers are... more ›

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist is really sick of that taco promo. And, while they're proud of John Williams, Bostonist is still trying to figure out Williams' "Very Special Arrangement" of the "Star Spangled Banner." more ›

I hate Crank That. I love rap and hip-hop as much as the next sheltered 20-something white dude, but c'mon. Am I the only one who finds Soulja Boy as repetitive as Jay Z? Maybe it's because I haven't learned the dance, but I think this song is terrible. more ›

Back in 2004 when both the University of Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech defected to the ACC from the Big East conference (and Boston College the following year), critics around the country proclaimed the Big East to be a dead football conference. The Big East had the threat of losing their BCS conference status especially after they added Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida to their ranks. What a difference several years make. While the... more ›

8-11pm CBS - All new episodes of: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory (series premiere!), Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami 8:00pm The War PBS - I think PBS completely effed this up by taking this great series head-to-head against a week of season and series premieres on the networks and cable. They should have shown it last week or the week before where there wasn't jack-shit... more ›

Two weeks into the college football season, and I’m disappointed. A lot of the top-ranked teams just haven’t been as dominating as I thought. USC’s win over Idaho last week left a bad taste in my mouth. California struggled this week against Colorado State. And where in the world was Louisville’s defense? And Wisconsin just squeaking by UNLV? But in the face of these underwhelming performances, there were a couple that really impressed me.... more ›