Callie Miller

It's a traditional Korean vaginal steam bath called chai-yok and if holistic spas in Los Angeles get their wish, you'll be indulging in one soon, according to the LA Times. The steam baths typically include a boiling pot of tea that contains special herbs for what ails you. These herbs often include the Harry Potter-esque mugwort for balancing female hormones and wormwood to detoxify and cool.

Suspected package thief (Photo by KTLA-TV) A real-life Grinch is among us! Melanie Kathleen Astin has been arrested in Newport Beach for stealing UPS, FedEx and other packages from the porches of homes all over the city, according to KTLA. After packages started missing and being tampered with a few weeks ago, a family setup a hidden security camera to keep watch on their porch. The camera captured a woman as she pulled up...

The daily scenes of downed trees, washed-away homes, mud-caked hillsides and flooded streets will be expensive. Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency yesterday for Los Angeles and damage from the storm is expected to reach $60 million, according to LA Now. How did we get to $60 million so quickly? Two key areas need most of the resources.

Santa Monica resident Damon Vix has put up a large public sign that says "Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies" in protest of the nativity scene in Palisades Park, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. He says religious displays should not be on public property and questions "the city's decision to allow an entire city block to be taken over for a month so that Christians can put up...

George Lopez announced yesterday on Good Day L.A. that he wants to run for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2018. He said that although he might not pass the background check at the moment, he didn't see any reason why he couldn't ultimately become mayor if Arnold Schwarzenegger could become California's Governor. Lopez even deemed himself a "Lo-bama" that would be less focused on effecting change and more focused on collecting actual change in the form of coins. It was all funny. It was all sort of unreal. Some didn't believe it.

Photo by Renee Silverman via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr GET SOCIAL Royal/T is hosting Tokyo Social Club: Christmas Edition tonight with specialty cocktails, free sweets, live music, some schwag bag love from Love Shack Parties and gourmet tacos by Chef Sean Chaney. Get your tickets to this Japanese-Style holiday party and roll on out at 7 p.m. GET DEEP FRIED & DONATE If you're not heading out of town and could...

Photo by okarol via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr You know that exquisite torture of trying to find a parking spot in Hollywood that's anywhere vaguely close to your actual destination? As of 2pm this afternoon, there will be an app for that, according to LA Now. City officials will unveil "Parker" - an iPhone app that will help you find open parking spots in Hollywood that are closest to your circling-about-in-a-frenzy...

The latest storm in a series of storms has made the weather so nutso out there, we need a special logo and a catchy sound byte for Mega Christmas Stormwatch 2010. Stay safe out there and use this handy map of road closures and evacuations to plan alternate routes as you travel for these wet and wild holidays. How mad is it out there? The evidence:

President Obama signed a bill today that makes the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy a thing of the past for gays in the military, according to the LA Times. Obama said this was yet another step in a long string of civil rights struggles to bring about a unified nation. He spoke to a crowd of 500 military leaders as well as members of Congress, gay rights advocates and service men and women and said upon signing, "We are not a nation that says 'don't ask, don't tell.'

After serving all or part of multiple prison sentences in other countries for sexual misconduct convictions and being extradited back to the U.S., Michael James Dodd, 61, was sentenced in Los Angeles yesterday to nine years in prison for traveling to Cambodia to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, according to LA Now. Dodd had a "financial relationship" with the girl's family and gave them food and $200 a month while conducting a sexual...