A magnitude 7.8 earthquake scenario could play out like this The Great Southern California ShakeOut was officially announced today where millions of Southern Californians will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” (register at www.ShakeOut.org) as thousands of emergency responders statewide take part in the largest-ever earthquake response drill called "Golden Guardian." The hypothetical magnitude 7.8 earthquake will rupture the San Andreas Fault at 10 a.m. on November 13. "An enormous earthquake is definitely in our......

The media has been reporting various small quakes over the last week. But is that really something to worry about? "It’s not uncommon for Orange County to experience several microquakes every week," Sciencedude Gary Robbins said at the OC Register in a brief about the three recent microquakes in Orange County. His statement goes for all of Southern California -- small quakes happen all the time. A daily viewing of the USGS' recent earthquake map......

Jan. 17, 1994: the covered body of Los Angeles motorcycle officer Clarence W. Dean lays near his motorcycle which plunged off Highway 14 overpass that collapsed onto Interstate 5 (AP Photo/Doug Pizac) Hollywood studios are not the ones behind the latest script detailing a massive future earthquake hitting Los Angeles. This time, it's scientists and other quake experts... over 300 of them. Specifically, the U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological Survey have collaborated to......

Ruby, the 46-year-old African elephant who has been a mainstay at the LA Zoo for years, is retiring. In an announcement today, LA Zoo officials and Mayor Villaraigosa said that while the decision was a difficult one, it is the right one for Ruby. She will be transferred to PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society), a non-profit 2,300 acre sanctuary for captive wildlife located in San Andreas. Though zoo visitors are saddened to see Ruby go,......

Naveen Andrews loves Los Angeles: It kind of has an element of rootlessness, and it attracts rootless people. Google and the Da Vinci Code. We have to confess, starting off with an easy sudoku clone was a good way to get us hooked. The game began today. There's shaking going on at the San Andreas fault and seismologists aren't quite sure why. We do know that it wasn't why the Hotel San Diego fell......

The controversy surrounding the so-called "Hot Coffee" mod that allows you to see sexy material in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has come to a boiling point. In an unprecedented decision, the Entertainment Software Rating Board Wednesday changed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ rating from M for "Mature" to AO for "Adults Only" and advised retailers like Wal-Mart and GameStop to stop selling the game. This change came after an investigation by the ESRB,......

Your morning begins with Good Day L.A. where Steve Edwards jumps to every scene of violence and mayhem across the city and the world while Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Barbarie horrify you with gossipy pop culture hijinks and bad local fashion; you read every news blog you can find so you know what to be afraid of; You turn on 24 where for three years running, LA has been a hotbed of successful terrorist......

Videogames are big business, grossing more than $9 Billion in 2004. The top 2 games of 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo2, each alone earned $250 Million. And, some of the largest videogame companies, such as Electronic Arts, have a huge presence here in Los Angeles. As games get more and more popular, the demand for A-list acting talent to lend their voices and faces to games, has increased. According to showbiz......

[Be sure to check out the coverage of San Fierro over at SFist!] Most, if not all, Angelenos understand the bond between an LA resident and their car. It is, for most people, the only guarantee that you can get to anywhere in Los Angeles in a (relatively) timely manner and without all the stops and starts necessary in public transportation. For those of us not shackled to the whims of the MTA, driving......

While the results of the presidential election may not be known just yet (despite what Fox News is reporting), two local measures have been decided by LA voters. Voters in the City of LA overwhelmingly supported Proposition O, a $500 million bond measure to fund projects that will prevent ocean and beach pollution and put us in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. The Los Angeles Times described Prop. O as “unexciting, expensive,......

LAist has a question for our readers: What's not fun about jacking a car and driving around LA robbing, killing, and generally causing mayhem? The answer? Nothing. Nothing is not fun about that. It's awesome! Our friends to the north (no, not Fresno), don't see it the same way for some reason. The Canadian government has issued a warning to parents that "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" is, among other things, "vile and violent".......