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 ›

It was December 1999 when Ahmed Ressam was caught trying to smuggle explosives over the Canadian border with plans to detonate them at LAX on New Year's Eve. He was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison by a Seattle judge, but that today was overturned by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel of judges said it was so lenient that it constituted as a procedural error and failure by the Seattle judge to adequately protect the public, according to the LA Times. The resentencing will be done by a different judge. more ›

Increased security measures were put into place shortly after a Nigerian man flying into Detroit from Amsterdam attempted to set off explosives under the guise of a terrorist act earlier this week, according to the LA Times. While air travel within the US remains unchanged for passengers, those traveling into the US from international airports are already facing new procedures and restrictions. more ›

Yesterday in Seattle, a judge resentenced Ahmed Ressam, the "millennium bomber" who was convicted for planning to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Years Eve in 1999, to 22 years. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour did not believe that Ressam had gone back to his Al Qaeda ways after working with the feds catch other terrorists, therefore he would not be a danger when released in 2019. But prosecutors say he did not live up to his deal by retracting everything he said to help the government up until 2003 when he stopped talking. Ultimately, that cost them two high-profile terrorism prosecutions, they said. more ›

When Levar Haney Washington and Gregory Patterson were taken into custody in 2005 after robbing a Torrance gas station, police searched the men's South LA home finding documents that tied them to the terrorist group Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh. Washington had already received 22 years in December for his participation in the plots to attack LAX and local military bases, but when he recently went to court for the robbery and was found guilty (and now for the third time under the state's "three strikes" rules), he earned an another 22 years to his sentence totaling 44 years of prison time. more ›

About an hour before today's bomb scare at LAX, a man walked into the World Bank in Washington D.C. and went up to a security guard with a suspicious package claiming it was a bomb. The incident prompted nearby streets to close and people inside the bank were not allowed to leave. An hour later, a man walked up to an LA World Airports police officer and said he had a bomb in his backpack, which prompted the roads around LAX's terminal's to close. It was later found, like the incident in DC, that the bag did not have a bomb. more ›

Today's bomb threat at LAX played out smoothly with no harm to anyone except for heavily clogged traffic and airline customers experiencing some delayed or missed flights. Shortly before 11 a.m., a man approached airport police who were in the midst of a routine traffic stop and told them he was a "terrorist" and that he had a bomb in his backpack. He was detained immediately as officials shut down traffic and waited for LAPD's bomb squad to arrive. Upon searching the bag (some reports say it may have been detonated), police found that it only contained "junk" and operations at the airport began to go back to normal. Throughout the incident, travelers seemed to remain in high spirits. more ›

Bradley International Terminal and claimed he was a terrorist with a bomb in his bag, according to ABC7. He was immediately arrested and a bomb squad was dispatched to the airport. more ›

• Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing.
• Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets" in Southern California. The two men face 20-25 years in prison.
• Oh noes! The hipsters will be so dry now! The DWP will be draining Elysian Park and Silver Lake reservoirs because of high levels of toxic chemicals in the water.
• Gas prices soar, consumer inflation also goes up: "Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
• It's the PLAGUE!!! Actually, no, it's just the flu, and a child in the Valley is the first to be diagnosed this season. Get your flu shots! Unless you're like me and treat every illness with a few stiff shots of whiskey.
• Rhino Records is open again! Not at their storied Westwood location (sniff sniff), but they're operating a "pop-up" store during the month of December only over at Third and Fairfax.
• A "guns-for-gifts" exchange will be held tomorrow in Compton: "People turning in a gun to sheriff's personnel will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. $100 gift cards will be given for each of the first 50 guns turned in. About 400 guns were turned in at a similar exchange in 2005".
• Conan O'Brien and NBC are getting sued...by a bodybuilder...over a Clay Aiken gay joke. Do we live on the moon or something? Oh no, that's right -- Hollywood.
• Midnight Ridazz are doing an all-city Bring-A-Toy-For-Charity bike ride tonight. Check their website for details.

The state says the Mayor should get an automatic $8,283 salary increase retroactive to July 1. The mayor says not so fast: “With the City of Los Angeles facing a tough budget year, I do not believe now is the time for me to accept an automatic and retroactive pay raise. Being Mayor of Los Angeles is reward enough, and I’m committed to working twenty-four-seven to protect essential services.” (via a press release) The... more ›

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. more ›

This is why we do all of our Christmas shopping online: first the FBI reported possible terrorist threats to Chicago and Los Angeles malls this holiday season, then took it back. Hey kids! You too can grow up to be a pervert with a social conscience! Dov Charney just signed on for a deal with American Apparel's partner company that could net him millions per year. A Small World it's not: Disneyland is remodeling... more ›

For what seems like the 300th time this year, Hollywood is giving us a movie based on a graphic novel. That movie is 30 Days of Night and stars the lethally inexpressive Josh Hartnett as a small-town sheriff charged with the task of protecting Barrow, Alaska from a rampaging horde of hungry (or is thirsty?) vampires. All I can say is, "at least it's rated R". I'll probably sit this one out and wait... 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 ›

Ever wonder how your local news anchor could read the horrifying details of the latest terrorist attack, natural disaster or political scandal without breaking down and screaming their head off? Playwright, Kyle T. Wilson did, and penned a very funny play in the process, “Walking Into Traffic.” Directed by Chris Covics who was recently named one of the top ten artists to watch in Los Angeles by L.A. Stage Magazine, “Walking into Traffic” is... more ›

Some fresh AIR would be really great right about now. Har har har!!! I'm such a card. Now, really, how about Air at the Greek this month, courtesy of LAist: head on over to enter our Labor Day Weekend Air Contest. In the category of Thank God It Hasn't Happened to Us Yet: over twenty thousand homes and businesses have lost power this weekend. If you're on the roads tonight, please drive safely, use... more ›

Photo by Adamina via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

43 people suspected of being members of the Eastside Pain Bloods gang were arrested by more than 400 police officers in predawn raids yesterday. More staff cuts coming at the Daily News: zone coverage of Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley to be eliminated. Yikes! How much did Tony spend to help get his three candidates onto the school board? The L.A. City Council has just approved a ban on smoking in city parks.... more ›

The path of terror and destruction heads to Los Angeles with a Dwarves show coming to Safari Sam's on July 20th. The Dwarves are a punk band going strong since the late 80's originating out of Chicago, who are legendary for their wild shows. If you go to a Dwarves show someone's wiener is coming out, and if you're in the front row... you're prolly going to get "involved". Blag Dahlia, the guy without bikini... more ›

The infamous leader of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, the PTL, the National Liberty Journal, Liberty University, and the Moral Majority was found dead this morning in his office at Liberty Univeristy in Virginia. more ›

Just a few minutes ago, we had a little earthquake here in The Valley. There were about three of them yesterday as well. While these microquakes could be a good sign of tension release, which could help avoid a major one, we still think you need to think about preparing yourself with a bare minimum of water. In The News: Earthquake warnings on the way (LA Daily News) Recent Quake in Chile Prepare & Educate... more ›

Never saw the show. Loved the movie. And I suspect having no frame of reference in which to interpret the behavior of flying french fries and/or the motivations of an amorphous meatwad might have actually added to my experience. This landmark film is like the search for the holy grail meets the Terminator for a string-theory stroll through time and space with pregnant, gym-techno loving robots, poodles with laser beam eyes, creepy Abe Lincoln,... more ›

Plans to tear down the hideous 17-story Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Boulevard are moving swiftly. Before you get all excited about the tearing down of ugliness in the hopes that such ugliness will be replaced by a Gehry-esque fantasy of steel and movement or a Meier-esque tribute to clarity and light, consider that it could get uglier. That's right. The FBI plans to setup shop in its place. See...we told you it could... more ›

- Howard Stern's regulars Rev. Bob Levy, Sal "Whaaaa I Fell Off The Stage" Governale, Richard Christy, Shuli, Yucko the Clown & Beetlejuice will grace LA with two shows in May. What, no fat Artie? Hi Fred - Killers of Comedy - Art Brut will be coming to the Troubadour on 4/2. Has he moved here yet? - Pitchfork - Jane Pratt outs Drew Barrymore by saying that she and Drew got it on... more ›

Sometimes I feel like the Gossip Roundups should be renamed the Britney Roundups... Like when she visited a hair salon this weekend to discuss extension choices to attach to her short do once it grows out a little more, she's having major hair shaving regret- Star Or her first brunette wigged-post rehab outing to a dance class and then sushi with girlfriends - People Clearly, dance class and sushi were not dramatic enough, because... more ›

Current Record: 29-30, 3rd Pacific, T-7th West Last Week: If LAist didn’t know any better, we would have assumed the latest rash of injuries to hit sports stars across LA was just another insidious terrorist plot hatched up on 24, given the number of attacks our fair city has received over the years on the show. We saw Becks go down before even getting to LA. We saw Lamar Odom getting injured again and joining... more ›

Watching one of the best action TV shows, The Unit, on Tuesday night, we got nerdy for a second. As the elite military group known as The Unit (who only answer to the President), attempt to foil a plan of a terrorist's foul play in a Hamburg, Germany subway station, we could not help but notice Hamburg's subway station is just like the Universal Red Line. And as we all know, LA's subway stations... more ›

Ted Haggard came out of his magical three-week excursion and today announced that he's 100% heterosexual. No more dick for him. Nope, none. Now you might laugh and think we're just teasing the good pastor, but strangely we believe him! Which doesn't frighten us as much as the ramifications of the next step, which is-- if Ted Haggard can stop being gay in just three weeks, can you become gay in just three weeks... more ›

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. more ›