Police are looking for an 18-year-old high school student from New Jersey who went missing and never boarded his flight home this week. Julian Thompkins was on a trip visiting USC with his mother, but the last time she saw him was on November 6 near LAX. more ›

Quenby Hall Blue Stilton Cheese, a nationally distributed product by Schratter Foods Incorporated in Fairfield, New Jersey, is being recalled because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The organism, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly people, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women, was revealed during routine testing by the company, notes the FDA. more ›

In a song that speaks to Los Angeles, birthday boy David Byrne reflects on the blight of nature as it overtakes the majesty of Earth's Pizza Huts, Dairy Queens, and honky-tonks in this 1988 faux-anti-green anthem (Nothing But) Flowers from the Talking Heads' final album Naked. Today's video lunch is a solo performance from 1992 that includes an important history lesson about Jurassic technology, "From the age of the dinosaurs, cars have run on gasoline. Where, where have they gone? Now, it's nothing but flowers." more ›

Our warming trend isn't immune to an impact from East Coast blizzards today, as a few airlines servicing Los Angeles International Airport have had to cancel or delay flights to destinations on the other side of the country where the snow has descended in full force. Airports affected include New York's Kennedy, New Jersey's Newark and Boston's Logan, according to CBS2. more ›

Rain will drain, but snow turns to ice. Good luck Antarctica, I mean New Jersey. This time-lapse video documents the white flakey drama as it piled up in one dude's back yard in Belmar, NJ. Using a Canon DLSR on a tripod and remote timer, Michael Black took one photo every five minutes for approximately 20 hours. Enjoy the 40 second version of nearly 40 inches. California dreaming... more ›

A little news from the other coast. Both of New Jersey's state houses voted to legalize medical marijuana, letting the state become the sole dealer. Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign it before leaving office next Tuesday, reports Gothamist. more ›

The land of Bruce and Bon Jovi is Full of...wimps. Southern California is no stranger to daily microquakes. In fact, just in the past week, we've had 15 of them. But when a quake shakes the bridge and tunnel crowd--like the 3.0 quake did last night--they freak. Via Gothamist, the Star-Ledger reports, "It sounded like an explosion, houses shook and dogs started barking." Other residents said it felt like a "bomb" and one man told WCBS 2, "I was upstairs on my computer, and all of a sudden I hear a boom, boom, boom, then a bang, bang, bang. My monitor almost fell off of my computer desk. So I immediately went downstairs to check on my grandma and ask her if she was alright or if she fell." more ›

Last month, San Diego-based singer-songwriter Anya Marina (MySpace) headlined at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, with support from Molly Jenson (MySpace) and New Jersey-based Laura Warshauer (MySpace). more ›

Last Monday, New Jersey-based singer-songwriter and Perez Hilton favorite Jenny Owen Youngs (MySpace) -- previously mentioned here -- headlined at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood. Opening for her was local singer-songwriter Greg Laswell (MySpace) and Minneapolis-based The Abdomen (MySpace). more ›

Just as I reached Fab Hot Dogs in Reseda, forty-five painful minutes on the 101 from Los Feliz, my iPod kicked up Bruce Springsteen, the unofficial state poet of New Jersey. It was a good omen, given all the noise about hot dog excellence on LAist lately. more ›

The thing about author Junot Diaz is, one minute he’s on the phone with you, rapping about meringue, Malcolm X, comic books, and how shit never gets done on time in the Dominican Republic – and the next minute, he’s winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. He describes himself as just another ordinary, poor immigrant kid from Jersey, but the book tells a different story: that of an author alive with passion for his roots, for language, and for the moments of silence, linguistic and cultural, that can bring a family together and also tear it apart. more ›

It's about time. As of today, NYC Streets Renaissance's StreetsBlog has officially franchised out to our city, that is, you know, duhhhh, full of streets and the love and hate of them. NYC Blogger Aaron Naparstek welcomes the LA Editor and so do we! more ›

Lakers 111, Sonics 91 - Seattle had no chance against the surging Lake Show. Kobe was ejected in the third and it didn't matter (double technical after arguing a call -- not a huge deal). LA has won 11 of their last 13 and all but one was on the road. The Lakers got double digit contributions from seven players, led by Pau Gasol's 22. more ›

UCLA 67, Washington State 59 - The #5 Bruins returned a favor by knocking off the #17 Cougars on their home court. Darren Collison scored all 18 of his points in the second half and Kevin Love had 16 on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. UCLA improves to 21-2 overall, and at 9-1 in the Pac-10 hold on to first place by a game over Stanford. more ›

Clippers 103, Knicks 94 - Los Angeles won on the road for the first time in nine games, beating up on one of the only NBA teams that may be worse than the Clips. Two key players, Correy Maggette (19 points) and Chris Kaman (15 points), returned for the first time in several games. Coach Mike Dunleavy, however, was sick and stayed in the team hotel. He did have enough energy to issue an apology for bashing the Knicks in a statement earlier in the week. more ›

Lakers 103, Washington Wizards 91 - The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The Lakers led by 22 at halftime, and led by as much as 25 points in the third quarter. Kobe Bryant, who outscored the Wizards in the first quarter 19-15, ended up with 30 points on 10-15 shooting with eight free throws. Vladamir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf rounded out the starters with double-figure scoring, and Sasha Vujacic came off the bench with 12 points (contract year anyone?). 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 ›

The Oscars are set to be announced tomorrow in Beverly Hills, but today, this Holiday day, the uber-California music festival experience will be announced. From Mexico City, no less. more ›

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Suns 106, Lakers 98 - Maybe Mitch Kupchak isn't a cupcake, but an evil genius. After mis-managing the Lakers in recent years, it turns out he was right about Andrew Bynum. He refused to trade the young center, and all of a sudden the kid got GOOD. Unfortunately, he's out with an injury and his backup was worthless against Phoenix (hence the evil part). Kwame Brown had seven turnovers and missed an open dunk. Bravo. He was already being booed in the first quarter, and was booed when he sat down for good in the third after committing his fifth foul. It's a tough cowd, and he's got large shoes to fill. Literally. As for the rest of the game, Kobe had a typical 30 point night, and Steve Nash had a typical 20 assist night. more ›

Happy New Year from LAist and your brand new Food Editor! I've arrived home refreshed from a fantastic vacation in the Philly/New Jersey area, and now I'm revved up and ready for the New Food Year. It was difficult to leave Philadelphia and its fabulous dining options behind (cheesesteaks are only the tip of the iceberg), but nothing beats Los Angeles for its range of offerings. Here's my wish list for places to go, ingredients to cook, and meals to eat in 2008. What's tops on your list of must-eat destinations and recipes this year? more ›

Today, our great state filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the Bush administration's opinion that states cannot set emission standards.

The EPA denied California a waiver that it needs under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks. At least 16 other states had been expected to follow California's lead and adopt the state's tougher emission limits. [CBS2/AP]

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• A body was found yesterday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest, off Highway 2 near Big Pines. The identity of the person has not been revealed.
• Now you can get all the penis-biting snake action you want on the web: the next "Jackass" sequel is set to premiere on the web through Blockbuster's new online movie service.
• In New Jersey, the state assembly has voted to outlaw the death penalty, "poising the state to become the first since 1965 to eliminate capital punishment.The state Senate earlier this week also voted to end executions and replace them with sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole."
• Do not mix illegal camping with alcohol and fires! Arrests are being made in the Malibu Corral Canyon arsons: "the suspects were having an illegal late-night campfire near a cave when the blaze broke out. Investigators found evidence such as alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs."
• The contest for Rufus Wainwright and Belinda Carlisle on New Years Eve ends tonight! Enter to win! Enter to win!
• LA Weekly reports on gang activity in LA and elsewhere -- it's bad and getting worse.
• So the Golden Globe noms were announced...but if the writer strikes are still going, who's gonna show up for the ceremony? Wow I actually might watch this year. Is that wrong?
• ESPN is on top of fallout from the this morning's report on steroid use in the big leagues: "Baseball slow to react."

Clippers 91, Nets 82 - Nothing like a trip to New Jersey to make you feel better about yourself. Los Angeles came into East Rutherford having lost 8-of-9. By the end of the night, it was the Nets who had lost 8-of-9. The struggling Clippers were able to pull off the W even without Elton Brand and Sam Cassell. Chris Kaman continued to impress with a team-high 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. USC... more ›

Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 3, OT - The Ducks managed to kill 7-of-9 power plays and converted three of their own to take down Columbus in overtime. Samuel Pahlsson scored for the OC boys on a penalty shot. Anaheim has won three of their last four and moved into a three-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference, just two points behind second place Dallas, who leads the Pacific Division. Kings 4, Canucks 2 -... more ›

Three losses in a row. A close loss in Milwaukee. A thrashing at the hands of the Boston. Then losing a 14-point lead and the game to New Jersey. That’s what last week brought the Lakers, pain and misery. And now a 7-6 record after a promising start. more ›

As I prepared to move here from New Jersey in 1988, I kept hearing the same thing: “It’s all plastic Hollywood showbiz hair-metal people trying to make it big. You will not succeed and you will hate it.” more ›

New Jersey singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs (MySpace), whose song "Fuck Was I" was on , is arguably best known for her connection with the controversial and self-described "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton, whose championing of her music led to visits on her MySpace page reportedly leaping from 2,000 plays a day to a whopping 60,000. more ›

When's the last time a book made you cry? And I don't mean a slight welling in the tear ducts, I don't mean a sniffle here or there, I mean a REAL god damn cry, the leaky, sobbing, snotty kind of cry, the likes of which you haven't experienced since your fourth grade teacher read Where the Red Fern Grows aloud to the class and even the boys were sniveling into their t-shirts when... more ›