Photo by Angela Radulescu via flickr. "Somebody forgot to tell Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential race is over and Barack Obama won." So began Reuters political correspondent John Whitesides' analysis of the presidential campaign this morning. Ever since Super Tuesday, when Obama won the majority of states but lost key states like New York, California, and New Jersey, it's seemed as if no political doublespeak or even MSM pandering could stem the Obama tide.......

Looks like the Academy Awards don't have the same in with Mother Nature and the big meteorologist in the sky the way the Tournament of Roses Parade does. It's a wet Sunday morning in the city known around the world for its perpetual sunshine, and when everyone's tuned into the 80th Annual Academy Awards this afternoon, the ugly truth will be revealed: It rains in Los Angeles! And it's probably going to keep raining. Cbs2.com......

Outside the Kodak Theatre last year | Photo by nailmaker via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Yesterday we launched a series of polls to see who you would give the Oscar to in the big four acting categories. Now let's look at the other sets of nominees who will be gnashing their teeth and squirming in their seats at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Sunday at the 80th Annual Academy Awards. So let's......

Rollin' out the Red Carpet |Photo © Copyright 2008 by Jonathan Alcorn (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr The 80th Annual Academy Awards are this weekend and it's time to break out the ballots and play the at-home game, which is probably second only in fun to making booze-enhanced color commentary from the couch for the red carpet arrivals. (We'll leave you to your own devices on that one.) So let's......

Don't forget: LAist Super Tuesday Election Party tonight at Seven Grand! Details and RSVP here. Did you have any problems voting in Los Angeles today? The Los Angeles Times and LAist report on problems in the precincts, especially for non-partisan voters. Is it still a long strange trip if it's only just begun? The last remaining members of the Grateful Dead are reuniting tonight in San Francisco to show their support for Obama. The......

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Go on, grab a cup of coffee, meet those neighbors you never knew, and vote. Nearly 9 million voters are predicted to hit the polls today in California. A record. Don't miss out on the party. Later on, make the most of this Super FAT Tuesday at our party. In a hurry? Review a sample ballot. You can also text your picks to your e-mail......

Barney's Beanery gets rocks the vote. Kind of. RED, WHITE AND BEER If you didn't get enough beer yesterday, Barney's Beanery in Santa Monica is hosting a "Super Tuesday Countdown Beer Vote" today and tomorrow. Alcoholics Drinkers vote for their favorite candidates by choosing which tap to draw their $3 beer from. They'll be serving up plenty of Hillarys and Obamas for sure. A running total will be announced as the votes are tallied.......

(l-r) Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Maria Elena Durazo, Michelle Obama "If Barack Obama was a state," California's First Lady said, "he'd be California." The ecstatic crowd at the 3/4-full Pauley Pavilion punctuated each of Maria Shriver's follow-up descriptors with a resounding "YEAH!" "Diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition. Innovative. Inspirational. Dreamer. Leader." Michelle Obama's lengthy introduction for Maria Shriver had everyone looking around. The crowd erupted when Shriver appeared (see the video......

Barack is on a roll. He doubled Hillary Clinton's vote count in South Carolina's primary election yesterday. And Caroline Kennedy's op-ed (titled "A President Like My Father") in this morning's New York Times is adding fuel to the fire as pundits across the ideological spectrum ponder the B.O. mo-mo like they haven't since Iowa, a long three-and-a-half weeks ago. Now it's all about February 5. Consider your feelings about the primary today and think about......

Fresh off her New Hampshire Primary win Tuesday night, Democratic presidential candidate and New York Senator Hillary Clinton will be in Los Angeles today stumping for votes in anticipation of California's Feb. 5 Primary. Team Clinton will speak at the IBEW-ETI training site, where she will talk about environmentally friendly jobs. From her site: Join Hillary and fellow Hillary supporters for an informational dialogue on the importance of creating more environmental jobs in California.......

While the presidential election is the sexy supermodel on the Feb. 5 California Primary ballot, there are three important propositions asking you to say Yes or No when you walk in to that polling place or mail in your vote. Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Therefore, in the spirit of voting, let us take some time to open your minds to the wonderful world......

Let's party on the streets! The homicide rate is set to match its lowest number since 1970. The overall homicide rate is down 17 percent from last year. (More about it on LAist here.) With all this peace and, well, non-murder, Snoop might have to find something else to sing about. More good news: Gas prices dropped about 3 cents over the last two weeks. The average price of regular gasoline on Friday was......

Approximately 5,000 people came to the Gibson in Universal City and paid between $25-$250 to hear presidential hopeful (and TRAILS the California frontrunner, if you believe recent polls) Barack Obama explain why he's in the race. His speech brought tears from women, commanded several standing ovations, and even made this little kid near us shut his trap for 45 minutes. Bon Jovi wannabe's The Goo Goo Dolls played, James Brown wannabe Ne-Yo performed, and......

While the rains yesterday helped alleviate some of the dryness under which southern California has been hampered, it did little to lessen the worries of those in fire-stricken areas. Streaming rivers of rain created mudslides and prompted officials to call for mass evacuations. Flash flood warnings remain in effect. But, hey, it's LA, and today was clear and beautiful. A woman who poisoned her Marine husband to buy a boob job with the insurance......

The man responsible for killing a woman and her two young children in a street-racing accident last month has been tracked down and arrested in Mexico; Martin Marones is expected to be charged with three counts of murder. So many questions! Has "Heroes: Origins" been shelved? Or just "postponed" due to the writers strikes? Will we ever find out who's been offing the group of twelve? And what's up with this ADAM guy??? Two......

Last week's devastating Agua Dulce/Santa Clarita Valley wildfire was started accidentally by a "male juvenile" playing with matches, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday. The Buckweed Fire blackened over 38,000 acres, destroyed more than 60 structures, and led to an estimated $7.4 million in damages. On October 22, one day after the blaze began, a detective questioned a "boy" who "admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," according to the Sheriff's......

Somehow "The Tonight Show" scored a trifecta of controversy tonight as they were able to book the most punk rock of punk rock bands, the most conservative member of Congress, and the wackiest Scientologist all to appear on its air in the same hour. Tonight the Sex Pistols, Ron Paul, and Tom Cruise will all be in Burbank to tape the late night chat show. Strangely, whatever wire service the LA Daily News used......

What do you get when you mix a sponsor (AOL Spinner), a holiday (Halloween), a label (DefJux), and a DJ (Juggaknot's DJ Boo)? Of course, a free mixtape. Peep: DJ Boo - The Definitive Jux Halloween Candy Before Dinner Mixtape [DOWNLOAD] Tracklist: Aesop Rock, 'Citronella' El-P, 'Smithereens' Rob Sonic, 'Rock The Convoy' Junk Science,'Do It Easy' Hangar 18, 'West Wing' Rob Sonic, 'Dead As Disco' Junk Science, 'Hey!' Hangar 18, 'Bakin' Soda' Junk Science, 'Jerry......

Fires raged across Southern California for the second day in a row. Helicopters joined the effort as did a Boeing 747, according to NBC TV. Also, 250,000 San Diegans were told to evacuate their homes. LAist is on top of recent developments. Fires in the region always make me think of when NBC newscaster Chuck Henry reported on the forest fires in 2003. His news van caught on fire and he and his crew had......

After the Trojans' plummet in the polls following the loss to Stanford and the release of the first BCS poll, many thought the team couldn't or wouldn't drop any further. Not so, as the AP is reporting that a chartered plane with 82 players aboard, headed to Indiana for tomorrow's Notre Dame game experienced an extreme drop while flying through a severe thunderstorm. Weather was so bad that the pilot had to abandon his first......

According to an MSNBC online poll participated by over 16,000 people, Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the GOP Michigan debate in a landslide. Sister-station, CNBC, who hosted the debate also had an online poll but they, like Pajamas Media, took it down when they saw that the most conservative congressman in office was winning by such a wide margin. When asked who they thought was standing out from the pack, Paul, who favors the......

How good is the USC football team? The AP poll says the SC is the second best team in the country... this week. Regardless of the polls, there is evidence that even while playing the worst possible game they could, SC is still pretty good. It might seem hard to defend their performance on Saturday, but I'm going to try. The Trojans were penalized 16 times for 161 yards, yet still finished with more than......

LA-based Pajamas Media hates their poll so much that recently it had to remove its winners so that the politicians that they're rooting for will have a chance. PJ Media, who has had a tragic history of fuckups, embarrassments, and going nowhere despite raising millions of dollars, have been holding online straw polls for months. After results of a poll that started the week of September 16th were tallied, anti-war Democratic presidential nominee Dennis Kucinich's......

Here at LAist we believe in democracy, and allowing our readers to voice their opinions. East L.A.'s (least) favorite son, Oscar De La Hoya, got caught with his pants down and fishnets up. Everyone from Mario Lopez to ODLH's lawyer have claimed that these photos are fake, but other girls are coming out with pictures of ODLH in fishnets. The latest pictures have ODLH wearing white fishnets while the first one has him wearing......

From 8pm to It-Seems-Like-Eternity on Fox. But hey, whoa, this is the first carbon neutral Emmys, co-sponsored by Fox - but isn't acknowledging that they should attempt to become carbon neutral against the positions of every news and opinion personality in all Fox networks? I guess that's the kind of hypocrisy we like. HERE's the primetime awards website. Some nutty company called AirPlay lets you do live predictions of who might win, with trivia,......

Texas congressman Ron Paul pointed his pen at his fellow conservatives at the New Hampshire presidential debates yesterday and won the Fox News text message poll, a day after winning the Maryland Republican Straw Vote, to the outrage of Fox mouthpiece, Sean Hannity. Hannity, who clearly hates freedom and obviously believes that all elections and polls that aren't rigged by Karl Rove must be rigged, flat out accused the American people of cheating when......

With such a groundswell of support for Ron Paul, why isn't the GOP embracing the most conservative congressman on the hill? According to this video, seen on Capitol Annex, Paul delegates who arrived on time at an event in Texas were not allowed to vote. Why wouldn't the GOP be interested in a candidate who could get a lot of Democrats to vote "this one time only" for a man who wants to get......

After taking a plea and admitting to participating in and sponsoring dogfighting on his own property, the NFL has finally convened on the matter and decided to suspend Michael Vick indefinitely without pay. In plain English this means that he is done playing football in the NFL. So what now? Maybe when he is turned loose in 12--18 months, Arena Football will get its hands on their very own Beckham! Except Beckham never tortured and......

There's been some talk of making the Purple Line subway for Wilshire Blvd. actually veer off and go through West Hollywood or even making an additional line, say the Pink Line. As Wad explains on MetroRiderLA:The Purple Line is a 21-hour system committed to solving a 6-hour problem. The bulk of ridership would be coming from rush-hour work trips. But the offices generate very little activity during mid-days and virtually none on weekends... [snip]......

In what is likely to be just the second amongst many casualties in the presidential race (if you'll remember, Democratic hopeful and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack already dropped out in late February), Republican candidate James Gilmore formally announced that he was dropping his 2008 bid a few days ago, citing low fund-raising numbers. While several of his Republican rivals had already managed to raise tens of millions of dollars in the previous quarter,......