Emma G. Gallegos

Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48, the singer's publicist confirmed with the Associated Press this evening.

The weight of paying tribute to Whitney Houston's legacy at the Grammys tonight is falling on the shoulders of Jennifer Hudson, who agreed to perform Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You" at the awards ceremony.

A man is in critical condition after being struck by a Metro Blue Line train this afternoon, firefighters said. The man was struck by a southbound train around 2:15pm.

In tonight's Extra, Extra, the head L.A. librarian defects to USC, Baby Blue Ivy pops up on tumblr and plaintiff's attorney in the Miramonte abuse case butts head with the sheriff's department. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Get out so you can celebrate art with your heart, check out a book from a lending library or check out some very old books in our especially literary edition of get out.

A South Pasadena father came home to a horrifying scene early Wednesday morning: a man was sitting on his 18-year-old daughter's back and holding a knife. The assailant had apparently cut through a window screen and was attempting to sexually assault the woman in her bed.

When I first moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, I dashed across the street downtown not long after the "don't walk" sign began flashing. A woman on the other side of the crosswalk called me out: I was going to get a ticket if I kept doing that. That was my first clue that the rules are a little different for pedestrians in Los Angeles than other big cities.

A driver suspected of driving drunk crashed into a church van early this morning in Koreatown. Twelve people in New Life Vision Church's van were transported to the hospital, one of them with critical injuries.

This year die-hard fans of Pliny the Younger camped out in soggy conditions in front of the Santa Rosa brewery—just so they could get the first taste of the limited edition triple IPA. So when can Angelenos get a taste of this year's batch from Russian River Brewing Co.?

"13" was an unlucky number for an Orange County resident who has been sentenced to six years in prison for his decades of drunk-driving. Dennis Patrick Malavasi, 55, of Huntington Beach got a string of DUIs dating back to the 1970s (fortunately, he never hurt or injured anyone), according to the Orange County Register.

Researchers looked at some of the studies that have already been conducted on driving under the influence of weed while also digging into actual car crash data. Its analysis showed that drivers smoking pot are about twice as likely to get into a crash as sober drivers.

In tonight's Extra, Extra, what LAUSD paid out to a Miramonte teacher under investigation, whether the AG's deal with banks was good for homeowners and what's going on at the sheriff's department behind the scenes. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.