Najmedin Meshkati, a professor and safety expert at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering says that several street crossings along the 7.9-mile light-rail route are awkwardly designed and confusing. more ›

The men suspected of fatally shooting two USC graduate students from China were charged today with capital murder. more ›

Two men were taken into custody today in the fatal shootings of two USC engineering students last month. more ›

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission approved a lease agreement today that gives USC control of day-to-day operations. more ›

The search for Erik Affholter, a former wide receiver for USC and the Green Bay Packers, was called off today after authorities learned that he contacted his family and was safe. more ›

Following the slayings of two students and the armed mugging of four, the LAPD has decided to beef up police presence at USC. A total of 30 LAPD officers will be added to the Southwest division, which includes USC. Four officers will be specifically assigned to neighborhoods bordering the campus. more ›

LAist's own Christine Ziemba captured a few highlights of the 17th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on video, including a reading by Michael Ian Black and an interview with John Cusack. more ›

An armed felon on probation accused of robbing four USC students at gunpoint early Wednesday morning was charged today with seven felonies. more ›

In the wake of the April 11 slaying of two USC students, another shooting occurred early Wednesday morning involving an armed robber, four students and a USC police officer. Three male students and one female student were approached by a 24-year-old black male suspect while walking westbound on 28th Street from Figueroa Street around 12:40am. more ›

Let the onslaught of all things literary in Los Angeles begin. The Los Angeles Times Festival of books is descending on our city this weekend and it promises to pack a seriously bookish punch. From fiction and poetry, to cooking, to a children’s stage and more, the 2012 LATFOB is only a few days away—and we can hardly wait. To tide you over until the gates open, here’s a rundown of all you need to know for this year’s festivities. more ›

Parents and relatives of the two USC grad students that were shot and killed near campus last week visited the scene of the crime yesterday, reports the LA Times. Ming Qu and Ying Wu were shot while sitting in a parked car in the early hours of the morning last Wednesday. It's not clear what the motivation for the shooting was, and no suspects have been identified. more ›

USC students recently became the butts of an elaborate prank spearheaded by the campus' secret society Skull and Dagger. The campus-wide letdown began at noon on Tuesday when the group blacked out campus TV monitors and replaced content with a 24-hour countdown to a bogus football sweepstakes to see the Trojans play football in Hawaii in the fall. more ›

So much to do today so get out and play at Caine's Arcade, learn about Woody Guthrie's legacy or check out a bunch of art openings in Chinatown. more ›

This morning, the LAPD announced that they would be offering a $125,000 reward for information about the fatal shooting of two USC grad students. But Fishbowl LA tipped us off to the fact that on Wednesday, an anonymous caller dialed in to a local radio station purporting to have all kinds of information about the shooter, what exactly when down before Ming Qu and Ying Wu were killed, and why kids at USC are being targeted. more ›

Police and USC officials will announce a $125,000 reward Friday during a 1pm news conference for information leading to the suspect/s who shot and killed two USC graduate students Wednesday morning. Electrical-engineering students Ying Wu and Ming Qu were discovered by summoned police officers about two miles from campus in the 2700 block of Raymond Avenue shortly after 1am suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. more ›

Singer-songwriter-musician Woody Guthrie will be honored today with his very own Downtown Los Angeles intersection at Fourth and Main Streets. The intersection will be known as Woody Guthrie Square. Councilwoman Jan Perry, Guthrie's relatives and Grammy Museum representatives will gather today at 10am for a dedication ceremony in connection with the city's eight-day centennial celebration of the late folk singer's birth. more ›

A vigil was held at USC last night for two students who were shot and killed near campus. NBC Los Angeles reports that hundreds of mourners showed up to honor Ming Qu and Ying Wu, both 23-year-old electrical engineering students. Qu and Wu were international students from China. more ›

Authorities have released the identities of two victims of a shooting that took place early Wednesday morning in a vehicle near the USC campus. A woman, Ying Wu, and a man, Ming Qu, were found shot to death at the scene of what may have been a botched carjacking. Both victims, in their 20s, are graduate engineering students from China. more ›

Two people were shot to death inside a vehicle in the West Adams area, and authorities suspect the killing was a botched carjacking attempt. more ›

Literary evangelists of Los Angeles, let the countdown begin. April has officially arrived, which means our city’s most cherished annual literary extravaganza, The 17th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, is only a few weeks away (April 21-22, to be exact). more ›

The body of a USC student who went missing 11 days ago was found floating in a river channel this week. Elgin Stafford was a 23-year-old USC graduate student working on a master's degree in public policy when he went missing from his home in Carson on March 20. more ›

The late Dino De Laurentiis' legacy as producer extraordinaire spans decades, continents and genres. This weekend, USC's Visions and Voices Initiative offers a fittingly epic tribute. Friday kicks off the festivities with a classic Italian cheese and beefcake buffet, when Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy (1968) is paired with the original Conan the Barbarian (1982). more ›

How would you design the ideal urban park? What features would you add to the wishlist? The Los Angeles Parks Foundation (LAPF) and the USC School of Landscape and Architecture teamed up to conduct a study with USC students to develop the "Ideal Urban Park" for the City of Los Angeles. A dedication ceremony is slated for this afternoon. more ›

Ralph Kirshbaum, world renown pedagogue and performer, recently moved to L.A. to take over the Gregor Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in Violoncello at the USC Thornton School of Music. We got to chat with Kirshbaum about his role as artistic director for the Festival, and the music scene among other things in L.A. more ›

A new report, "Racially Balanced Cities in Southern California, 1999 to 2010," released by the University of Southern California (USC) today shows that SoCal cities are on average more racially balanced than they were 20 years ago. However, the study also reveals that some cities show a decline in multiracial balance. more ›

KPCC just released a new video, "Transactivations," that shows two local artists using "their bodies as canvases to defy gender norms," as the caption below the video so perfectly states. And both artists will present their works - themselves - at USC tonight. more ›

The finalists were announced today for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. The awards will be given out in a ceremony at USC on April 20.There are five finalists in each category -- current interest, fiction, first fiction, biography, history, mystery-thriller, science and technology, graphic novel, poetry and young adult literature. more ›

Rejoice! For James Franco has a new web series. It's called "Undergrads," and it follows a bunch of overwhelmingly white co-eds at USC as they drink, hook up, and play games on the grass of the quad. And guess what? The show looks completely and utterly boring. more ›

New court papers filed in the case against University of Southern California's athletic program include an expert's allegations that coaching mistakes caused football player Stafon Johnson's 2009 on-campus weightlifting accident. more ›

UCLA announced today that they have fired their head football coach, Rick Neuheisel -- or, in PR parlance, Neuheisel has been "relieved of his duties." The firing comes on the heels of UCLA's brutal 50-0 loss to USC over the weekend. more ›