This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which means tearjerker interviews on TV, terrifying images on loops, and "where were you when" conversations. And in L.A., it also means ramped up security -- but not because of any specific threat against the city. more ›

A California treasure hunter, salvage diver, and "patriotic American," seeks a deeply disturbing, deep sea prize -- the body of Osama bin Laden. 59-year-old Bill Warren has "vowed to scour the north Arabian Sea" until he finds the corpse, according to the New York Post. Says Warren, "We intend to locate/recover his body and photograph and video tape him, then do a DNA test on the ship," according to TMZ. more ›

If you thought it seemed a bit presumptuous on the part of Disney to file for trademark rights for the name "SEAL Team 6" a day after the elite Navy unit killed Osama bin Laden earlier this month, you weren't alone. Disney has withdrawn its application for rights to the name after the Navy stepped in to request that it keep the trademark, reports The Sacramento Bee. more ›

From beautiful Canoga Park, California comes this timely release about the coming together of current events and, well, porn. I mean--it's Canoga Park, after all. In what we would surely hail the "Press Release of the Day" if we were to do such a thing comes word from Hustler that "This Ain’t Bin Laden XXX" is coming to DVD this summer. Get out the lube! (Okay, that last part was our addition.) more ›

To be noted in the bloody annals of opportunistic franchising, The Walt Disney Company filed trademark applications on May 3, 2011 for “Seal Team 6,” the name of the Navy SEAL special forces team that killed Osama Bin Laden on May 1, 2011, reports Fishbowl NY. more ›

Documents and other intelligence gathered at the Pakistani compound of Osama bin Laden indicate that Los Angeles was among the possible targets for future attacks on the United States, according to CBS2. The memos, shared with the FBI and Homeland Security following the killing of bin Laden, discuss attack plans being concocted for Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. more ›

President Obama had a great week on TV which was capped by last night's announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death. From Hawaii's release of the President's long form birth certificate to the White House Correspondents' Dinner to pre-empting "Celebrity Apprentice" for some incredibly good news, President Barack Obama came out on top. more ›

The increased potential for retaliation by Al Qaeda operatives, as well as those with anti-American sentiments, has prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a travel alert following the announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden, according to Reuters. The State Department issued the following warning: "Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations." more ›

Last night's news of the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as part of a targeted attack by U.S. forces prompted powerful reactions from the American public, as some took to Twitter and Facebook to cheer, reflect, and joke. Leaders from around the state have begun to release statements about the death of Bin Laden; we'll update with more as they become available. more ›

"If Bin Laden wants to engineer a late-October surprise in 2008, an attack on a significant American economic target may be one of the most tempting opportunities he has had in recent years," wrote LAPD Chief Bratton in a New York Daily News op-ed today. Co-written with R.P. Eddy, former director of counter-terrorism at the National Security Council, they say Bin Laden may be seeking to sway the election towards the McCain/Palin camp since they would more "likely to engender Muslim anger and resentment than would his opponent." more ›

Oh, that nefarious and elusive Osama bin Laden is at it again... Someone tagged the side of a cargo container of a truck that arrived at the Long Beach Harbor. It read "Anthrax a gift from Osama." The mid-morning incident prompted a hazardous materials investigation while normal operations continued at the port after the truck was brought to a more secluded area. "The truck driver told authorities the container was picked up in nearby Wilmington and was empty." reported KNBC. more ›

For me, the Sundance Film Festival officially ended at the airport in Salt Lake City when I was waiting in line behind Bijou Phillips at the Quizno's in Terminal 1. She was politely arguing with the counter guy about why she couldn't get fresh mustard from behind the counter instead of having to use the the mustard packets by the napkin stand. In a heavy accent, he kept saying that all they had was "runny mustard" and she kept asking, "What is runny mustard?" before finally realizing he was saying "honey mustard" and asking him to give her some. Somehow, that moment perfectly captured the surreality of Sundance. more ›

While the features and shorts at Sundance are occasionally hit or miss, the documentaries are always strong across the board. Yesterday, I was able to see two that I have had my eye on since the festival schedule was originally released: by Morgan Spurlock. Considering all the frantic back-and-forths I've been doing since last Friday, it was a blessing that these two awesome documentaries were screening right after each other at the same theater. more ›

Ann Coulter is not a tasteless, trouble-making, uninformed, clueless bimbo, though she often plays one on TV. At least that's what we were led to believe during a nearly ten minute, extended Wikipedia-style introduction of the lawyer-turned-talking head at USC's Annenberg Auditorium. "I’ve never seen such a friendly crowd at a college campus," Coulter beamed as the standing-room audience of about 250 settled down after the majority greeted her with a standing ovation. Coulter... more ›

Q. Other than being big black football players, what do Garrison Hearst, Barry Sanders, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander all have in common? A. They were all on the cover of Madden football when they met tragedy and had to leave the game that year. The phenomenon is called The Madden Curse and yesterday when Madden '08 coverboy Vince Young was pulled for a "strained... more ›

On Friday night, Bill Maher spoke to Michael Scheuer, former head of the now defunct C.I.A. Bin Laden Unit and author of the upcoming book,Marching Toward Hell: America & Islam After Iraq. His previous book, Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, was mentioned in one of Bin Laden's recent tapes mentioning that if the U.S. wanted to understand why the Iraq War is a losing war, then they need... more ›

This excellent mashup inspires essential questions that remain unanswered years later, including: -- What exactly are we fighting for? -- Will these talking heads ever shut up? -- Can you acknowledge Rosh Hashanah on-air without knowing when Ramadan is? -- What song is that killer sample from? -- Where is Osama bin Laden? -- What would Jean-Luc Picard do? and more.... Courtesy Guerrilla News Network.... more ›

To some, Elvira Arellano is a leader among pro-immigration rights activists who think the federal government' immigration and trade policies are unfair. To others, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Arellano is just another attention-grabbing, "criminal alien and immigration fugitive," unfairly using her American-born son as an Elián González-like prop for pro immigration activism . Arellano spent an entire year inside Adalberto United Methodist Church on Chicago's West Side, defying a federal order to report... more ›

A comedian dressed as Osama Bin Ladin was spotted downtown trying to do a lame bit, but it made us realize something: fake Osamas are funny. We don't know why fake Osamas are funny. The real one is an evildoer and all. And he probably had something to do with 9/11, but given the lack of attention that our government is paying to him, we're starting to doubt it. Seriously, if bro really orchestrated... more ›

Are we out of the loop? How is it that we don't know about CNN Pipeline Anchor, Nicole Lapin? more ›

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was the coolest movie ever: Star Wars. As it was loved by men, women, and children of all ages, a year after the movie was released it was decided to produce a Christmas Special that would appear on CBS, some think aimed at kids. The two hour "holiday" special was so bad that even children hated it. Roundly panned, it was deemed by... more ›

GQ interviewed former VP Al Gore recently and he took whatever was stuck up his ass that made him appear wooden and beat the hell out of the current administration with it using some amazingly inconvenient truths: It is inconceivable to me that Bush would read a warning as stark and as clear [voice angry now] as the one he received on August 6th of 2001, and, according to some of the new histories,... more ›

- "CrackBerry" wins Webster's Word of the Year. Way better than the Oxford Word of the Year "bovvered" - PDA Street - Win a dozen CDs by adding a question or two to our LAist Interview questionnaire. - LAist - Tina Fey Disses LA: "Whenever we get to shoot in Manhattan proper, we're all super-excited. We can get good coffee and pizza." - Onion AV Club - Before They Were Perverts: Mark Foley, actor... more ›

Five years after 9/11 there are still plenty of unanswered questions. The White House has been defensive about any sort of investigations into the attacks, even doing their best to stop the formation of the 9/11 Committee. They refuse to allow captured suspected terrorists to have civilian trials which would be part of the public record, and are pressing for military tribunals which would be kept private, and even Saturday on Meet The Press,... more ›

Update: Among much 9/11 coverage on Gothamist, they also do The Inappropriate 9/11 Coverage Awards. Has anything changed in Hollywood? In Pop culture? LA Times' Patrick Goldstein reflects: ... it would take more than a horrific catastrophe to quench our thirst for the madcap antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Star Jones Reynolds, Jessica Simpson and all the other bobble heads bouncing around our celebrity universe.... I spend a lot of time around showbiz... more ›

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The United American Committee (UAC) is at it once again. This time, with an event tomorrow in front of the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City. They will hold a mock hanging of Osama bin Laden giving the "attendees an opportunity to throw old shoes at the effigy. The hitting or throwing of shoes at a person or object is one of the greatest insults within the Islamic world." According to the UAC, the... more ›

Where are the bad guys hiding? Where are they? We need to smoke them out of their holes and find them. Oh good news! I found them. They’re in my secret CIA prisons all over the world. I wonder if George hides his own Easter eggs too and then celebrates when he finds a hollow, chocolate bunny. The meat of yesterday’s Bush address was that we now have a bunch of top-notch terrorists being... more ›