Andy Sternberg

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito was released from the hospital Thursday morning after suffering minor injuries in a two-car crash in Hollywood. Zito, who has a home in the Hollywood Hills, was taken to Cedars-Sinai with a sore neck but claimed he won't miss his start Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Could this be the beginning of a downward spiral for the Giants, who left the Dodgers in the dust last year and somehow bearded their way to a World Championship? Happy Opening Day!

photo of the fountain at Confluence Plaza courtesy Wet Design Confluence Plaza officially opened Thursday with a full dedication complete with a brass band. The plaza, located at the corner of N. San Fernando Road and N. Figueroa Street, near Home Depot in Cypress Park, is part of a larger plan to beautify the stretch of the Los Angeles River that parallels the 5 Freeway and an industrial corridor. The plaza is highlighted by...

In this photo (by R. E. ~ via LAist Featured Photo Pool), non-radioactive milk is paired with non-atomic cookies. There's radiation in our milk!!! But unlike earlier this month the media is declaring it unquestionably non-threatening, as opposed to shocking viewers to induce vomiting and feverishly turn to adult breastfeeding in fallout shelters. The fact is, there's always radiation... everywhere. Likely more so if you take your milk from a paper or plastic carton...

Trader Joe's issued a recall for its Pizza al Pollo Asado product after being alerted that it may contain trace amounts of wheat, which is not listed in the ingredient panel. No adverse reactions have been reported, however anyone with a wheat allergy could be affected. Customers are welcome to bring back any and all Frozen Pizza Al Pollo Asado (sku 95811) to Trader Joe's for a full refund.

Now that the Lakers and the Clippers are regularly selling out Staples Center, why not bring a third NBA team into the fold? Anaheim City Council voted to approve $75 million in bonds for improvements to Honda Center and its surroundings in an effort to convince the owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, to up and vamoose. But there will be no "Anaheim Royals of Los Angeles' Neighboring County Orange in Southern California."

It's time to accept what we've known for so long. Traffic in Los Angeles sucks. Argument over, in fact, we may as well just quit whining and save our breath for smoggier (or more radiated) days ahead. A new Top 100 list released by INRIX puts Los Angeles at the very top. As in the #1 Worst. Number one most-congested metro.

Many thought James Cameron was capable of anything, not least of all the director of Avatar himself. But the 3-D imaging technology that transformed Avatar's fairy tale plot into the can't-miss, eye-popping moving experience of 2009 could not be adapted quickly enough for a visit to Mars. NASA put the brakes on the collaboration between Cameron and San Diego-based galactic camera builder Malin Space Science Systems this week, when it became clear that it...

Up to 80 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine were seized by L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies following a high-speed chase from Lynwood to Santa Fe Springs Tuesday night. The pursuit began after the suspect fled from detective surveillance in Lynwood around 9:25 p.m. and ended when the man crashed into a parked car at a Santa Fe Springs intersection. Sheriff's deputies found a duffel bag containing 50- to 80-pounds of cocaine and/or methamphetamine, according to reports. That's as much as 36 kilos.

Hah! The Oxford Dictionary got all hot with acronyms AND decided to take a swipe at our fine metropolis in the latest update to its bible of acceptable words and modern-day definitions. Setting the record straight once and for all and undoubtedly breaking the hearts of lovers of lollipops the world over, Oxford Dictionaries verified that LOL does indeed stand for "laughing out loud."

A semi-trailer truck jackknifed and overturned this morning, closing all lanes of the southbound 5 Freeway at Alameda in Burbank. CalTrans issued a sigalert before at 6:45 a.m. and has since extended it until at least 10:30 a.m. *UPDATE As of 11:50 a.m. all lanes were open.. Traffic was still slow-rollin' (between 10-20 m.p.h.) down the 5 between the 170 and 134.