Snoop Dogg, famous for his pot prowess, was busted this weekend for traveling with marijuana on his tour bus. Snoop's tour bus was stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in the small West Texas town of Sierra Blanca. In a reportedly standard border patrol inspection, a drug-sniffing dog uncovered a red prescription bottle in a trashcan containing several joints, totaling under a half-ounce of weed. more ›

After being taken into custody on Friday, a Santa Ana man is accused of coaxing three underage girls out of the Lone Star State and transporting them to the OC with the intention of selling them into prostitution, reports the OC Register. The man, 26-year-old Samuel Martinez Gonzalez, reportedly invited the girls to California for a beach trip. more ›

Do yourself a favor and watch as many of these video lunch rarities as your Saturday will allow. The long running Willie Neslon 4th of July Picnic had to start somewhere and on the second year of its existence, this film was created. Some time between 1974 and today, it fell into a a series of rights-related quicksand pits and has yet to see an official distribution. Check out IMDB for at least one version of the debacle. Or just get mellow and enjoy the show. Happy Birthday, Willie. more ›

A Fontana teen gave her parents a heart attack after telling them she was going to Coachella and then heading to Texas, reports KABC. 19-year-old Andrea Adame did not return home after the music festival, prompting mom and dad Adame to to report her missing. According to KABC, she was found in a warehouse in Waco after hitching rides halfway across the country from semi-truck drivers. more ›

A woman is missing from Simi Valley, and police are on the hunt for her ex-boyfriend, believed to be responsible for her kidnapping. The Daily News reports that Keisha Marshall, 24, was taken from her home last night by Rashaun Bailey, 27. The couple had a history of domestic violence, and a trail of blood was left in her wake, leading police to speculate that she was seriously injured at the time of the kidnapping. more ›

Sometimes surprise/secret shows are truly just that. What was billed as a headlining showcase for the Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group turned into an impromptu Mars Volta performance when Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala joined co-founder Lopez for the show. Even before the addition of Bixler-Zavala to the group, the line was one of the longest seen at the festival with fans without badges lining up for the 12:50am show at around 2pm for the small chance that they would have the opportunity to get in. Once the show started and it was clear what the show really was crowds gathered in the alleys and fences lining the makeshift Emo's Annex venue to hear a taste of the new Mars Volta sound. more ›

At least eight In-N-Out restaurants are planning to open in Texas with the first locations set to open in as soon as two months, reports the OC Register. When In-N-Out announced it was conquering Utah three years ago, the regional chain reportedly said it had no additional plans for US domination. Does this mean we can expect an In-N-Out in Philadelphia?? For now, the answer is no. However, the Lone Star state is about to get less lonely. more ›

Do not gobble! Approximately 2,600 pounds of fully cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breasts products sold by New Braunfels Smokehouse in Texas and distributed distributed nationwide may be contaminated with the dangerous bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, reports KTLA. more ›

Jessica Drake or "jessica drake" as she prefers to have her name appear in all lower-case letters (she says, "It's actually trademarked." Adding, "I just prefer it that way, it's cuter.") is an adult film actress who has appeared in hundreds of films. Along with performing in front of the camera, the AVN Hall of Famer has also worked as a writer, director and several other roles behind the camera. more ›

Interesting. According to chatter on Facebook, the news and sports copy desks at the Ventura County Star are moving to Corpus Chrisi, says to Kevin Roderick at LA Observed. The 15 to 20 local editors and designers will likely lose their jobs in future months and will have the opportunity to apply for their jobs out in Texas. "This also means, of course, that the local flavor of Ventura will be applied in the Lone Star state," notes Roderick. more ›

A nearly 2-year-old boy from Mexico City died Monday night in Houston while visiting relatives. He first began showing symptoms on April 8th, four days after he arrived into the states. Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said today that " it's too soon to tell how fast the swine flu virus is spreading. He said it's too soon to speculate as to whether the virus would become a nationwide problem, and that he doesn't believe the flu strain has become more dangerous." The CDC reports 14 confirmed cases of the strain in California. more ›

It's St. Patrick's Day and where am I? In a pub toasting a nation I technically have no kinship with or have ever had the pleasure of going? No. Out in the bushes pretending to "look for leprechauns" while I retch my guts out in a strong green stream? Nope. This year was spent at the Echoplex with Funeral Party and ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead henceforce known in this piece as Trail of Dead. I was not alone in my decision to forgo or at least postpone the holiday's traditional activities in order to see the show. The Echoplex on Tuesday was fuller than I expected and there was absolutely no green to be seen. more ›

On Halloween, New York-based shoegazers Asobi Seksu (MySpace), whose previous Southern California appearance was two years ago at The Echo (MySpace), returned there to complete the final stop on their current domestic tour, performing songs from their existing repertoire and the new album that is tentatively scheduled to street in February. The show was a homecoming for frontwoman Yuki Chikudate, as she grew up in Gardena and her relatives were in the audience. more ›

Texas is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, now downgraded to a tropical storm, which made landfall last night and wrecked havoc in the state. Many individuals did not heed warnings to evacuate, and rescue teams are going door-to-door in cities such as Galveston to try to get aid to those in need. In Houston the streets are flooded with stormwaters and debris. more ›

That tiny notation at the bottom of your calendar tells you today is indeed Flag Day. And while many Angelenos are inadvertently and loosely interpreting that to mean "stick a Lakers flag on your car" it is actually (and obviously) a bigger deal on a national level. Besides waving your own Stars and Stripes or taking part in a parade, it's tough to commemorate the adoption of the flag. more ›

With Memorial Day just around the corner, backyard and balcony chefs are cleaning their grills; at least you hope they are if you’re invited to a BBQ, to kick off the summer. I love to grill it up, but sometimes I’m a lazy, lazy man. Sometimes I just want some good BBQ with lots o’ meats and a place where my kid can be…well…a kid. Since Toy R Us isn’t serving tri-tip, as far as I know, I ventured east to the land of traditional BBQ stopping just short of the Texas border in, you guessed it, Pasadena. Everybody who’s anybody knows Pasadena is known worldwide for the Rose Bowl, the Rose Parade, and sausage. Well, maybe I’m stretching it a bit, but I found a great place to kick back with boots on and enjoy some good ol’ meat and sauce. more ›

Well, it was only a matter of time. Authorities who raided the polygamist compound in Texas are now releasing the salacious details of which full-grown man had sex with which underage girl, and it is being lecherously reported - pretty soon we should have the exact hows, whens, how oftens, and in what positions. Of course, this is all being released out of the public’s genuine concern over those poor, naïve, oversexed, underaged, supple young girls…um…right? more ›

Human Giant unleashed itself upon an unsuspecting public last year via MTV and the bell just rang for Round 2 - are you ready? There's sketch comedy, there's underground sketch comedy, there's in your face on-the-streets sketch comedy, and then there's Human Giant, a team that presents, in each episode, collections of bits that are more like experimental movies than the sketch comedy we've been seeing for the last 15 years. There's plenty of parody to be sure although none of it is familiar-feeling, "safe", or boring - which is perfect for Human Giant's 11:00pm slot (what, the kids can't handle this at 10:00pm?). more ›

*Update 12:03 p.m.: Hillary Clinton is now the declared winner in Texas according to the LA Times. They also have a complete breakdown, state by state, for all the state primaries including yesterday

Not that we did not know already, but now it is official: Mike Huckabee announced shortly before 6:30 p.m. PST that he is dropping out of the race. The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain is expected to hold his victory speech later tonight in Dallas (UPDATE: McCain began his victory speech at 6:48 p.m. PST -- "Stand up and fight for America, the contest begins tonight" MSNBC live on air reports that his teleprompter failed during the speech). more ›

more ›

Tuesdays are usually slow nights in LA for music and as bands prep to head Texas-way for SXSW, we'll probably see even fewer choices like tonight. But fewer doesn't mean worse. Mountain Goats and Jeffrey Lewis (great video below) play at the Troubadour tonight (and tomorrow), Working For A Nuclear Free City is back with another concert, this time at Cinespace (though it's a private premier party. Crash?) and LA Weekly says to head over to Glendale and check out The Scene. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has once again set off for another city that is not his own to help a candidate that has no stake in running Los Angeles. And you could be paying for it. more ›

• A steady stream of Koreans moving into the northwest San Fernando Valley suburbs is giving the traditional K-Town in LA City a run for its money. Now you Valley-ists might not have to travel over the hill for karaoke bars.
• Japanese and Los Angeles police detectives solved a 26-year-old case of a Japanese business man who allegedly shot his wife while the two were on vacation here. Apparently, the long arm of the law uses chopsticks.
• Following Steven Spielberg's diss to the Chinese government when he refused to work with them in the run up to the Beijing Olympics, the state-run media there is returning the favor.
• So much pork was secured by California state legislators last year you would be remiss if you thought Sacramento was a meat packing town. More than $1 billion in pork barrel spending was set aside for pet projects by California lawmakers last year who funneled money to their district. Thirty-five Democrats collectively secured about twice as much money as California's 19 Republicans, but many of the state's individual GOP lawmakers received more money than their counterparts in the majority.
• A man fired a gun into his neighbors home in North Hollywood today, killing him. While the gunman was subdued, a witness stabbed him. How's that for poetic justice?
• Is Hillary Clinton losing it? At a rally today in Ohio, a "visibly angry" Clinton chided Obama for putting out materials she said he knows are "blatantly false." She also derided Obama for having "speeches and the big rallies." "Hillary knows it's over," LA Daily Blog said. The polls are very close in Texas while Clinton maintains a larger lead in Ohio, where both states will vote March 4, which Bill Schneider of CNN called "an end-game" for Clinton.
• Tonight SNL's newest cast member, Casey Wilson, who honed her skills at the Los Angeles Upright Citizen's Brigade, will make her debut, and just in time to play Hillary Clinton. Good Luck Casey!

LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They also play Alex's Bar in Long Beach tomorrow night. Also, Brian Wahl picks the "rare appearance" of Buddy Collette Big Band, who will be playing at the Terrace Court on the second level of Paseo Colorado at 8 p.m. more ›

The last time, it was locally based artist Shepard Fairey. This time, it's the Coachella Valley natives Carlos Ramirez and Armando Lerma, known as The Date Farmers. more ›

more ›