Andy Sternberg

Agoura Hills-based video game empire THQ's big plans for promoting its latest first-person shooter game turned out being the epic fail of this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. About 10,000 red balloons were released into stormy skies Wednesday afternoon, according to SFist. Each balloon contained a GameStop coupon for the game, Homefront, however, the balloons were quickly swept out to the San Francisco Bay by the prevailing winds. The highly visible promotion-gone-wrong...

It seemed like it was just yesterday that Kutcher and Larry King were going head-to-head -- in a publicity stunt raising money for charity -- to see who could be the first to 1 million Twitter followers. That was April 2009. Today it takes less than 24 hours to reach one million -- if you're Charlie Sheen -- and apparently only the charity of Charlie Sheen's #tigerblood benefits in this case.

This year's prize winner is JR, an anonymous French street artist whose black-and-white portraits have been appearing across Los Angeles in recent weeks. We'll find out at 5pm exactly what JR's wish is (watch it live here). But what we do know is that he'll kick off his wish tomorrow at Phantom Galleries in Long Beach and you're invited.

Mazda is recalling 50,000 Mazda6 sedans after announcing that a spider could weave a web that might inhibit fuel tank ventilation which could lead to a crack that might lead to a fire. In other words, if you're the driver of a model year 2009 or 2010 Mazda6, zoom on over to your nearest dealer after March 25th for a de-spidering.

A dog-fighting training center, complete with surgical equipment, treadmills, a portable fighting ring with dried blood on the posts and more than a dozen pit bulls was shut down by L.A. County sheriffs deputies in the Antelope Valley Wednesday. L.A. Sheriff's deputies coordinated the raid over the past month, based on an anonymous tip left on the county's 24-hour Dog Fighting Hotline.

A 17-year-old Riverside County high school student was arrested Wednesday morning after threatening a teacher at his former school armed with a shotgun, knives and ammunition. The teen appeared at Lakeside High School in Lake Elsinore around 7:30 a.m. in the classroom of a former teacher who was able to alert another teacher. The teen, whose name hasn't been released because he is a minor, was quickly detained by police and booked into juvenile hall without incident, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Six charter schools will be shut down after being accused of cheating on 2010 standardized tests. The Los Angeles Board of Education voted this week to close the schools, saying there was insufficient response to the allegations. The schools are part of the Crescendo Organization.

Today would've been the 107th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), best known for his words of wisdom inked under the nom de plume Dr. Seuss. Creator of the Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, the Places You'll Go and so many more, it's refreshing if not just for sentimental purposes to celebrate Seuss' birthday by recalling his great one-liners.

Hundreds of nurses picketed outside Kaiser Permanente on Sunset, citing unfair labor practices and a lack of adequate staffing regulations. At least 90 percent of the 1,100 unionized nurses signed up for the walkout, a union spokesperson told the AP.

Moby, The Crystal Method and Shepard Fairey headline tonight's Dance For Equality at Avalon. The MoveOn.org / Courage Campaign fundraiser benefits continued efforts to overturn Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California after being approved by a majority of voters in 2008.