Lindsay William-Ross

13-year-old Brandon Zucker was found dead yesterday at home in Anaheim. In 2000, the then-4-year-old made headlines when he was pinned beneath the Roger Rabbit ride at Disneyland. As a result of the accident, he "suffered a torn liver, spleen and diaphragm, a collapsed left lung and a fractured pelvis," according to the LA Times. Zucker's accident left him brain damaged and he was in "a medically induced coma," says the Press-Telegram. Reports of...

There's no nice way to put it: Things are pretty lousy in our state's economy. From state-issued payments not going out to people leaving in record numbers, it seems our sunny skies had some pretty depressing clouds hanging in them. Turns out our clouds do have a silver lining after all. With all the focus on state budget woes, it can very well lead to a positive outcome. "Economists say the state has long...

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will take place in a couple of weeks here in LA at the Staples Center, and the Recording Academy has announced another batch of artists slated to perform live as part of the show, the Daily News reports. In addition to previously named performers Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, and Carrie Underwood, comes word some of music's heavy-hitters will take the stage: Rock...

Photo by Tom Lewis/LAist The red carpet is buzzing at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which is taking place at the Shrine Auditiorium. The show will be broadcast on TNT/TBS at 8:00 p.m. tonight, which will be live for Angelenos who have satellite cable with east coast feeds, but the usual 3 hours late for the rest of us who live where the show is happening, and in the town that is...

Photo from Tuesday's Inauguration by Marcus Gilmer/Chicagoist Chicagoist hit Washington D.C. for President Obama's inauguration festivities. Phillyist wondered just how much a star ball player is actually worth. DCist is still recovering from all things inaugural, including bird's eye view coverage of the craziness on the National Mall and the Swearing-In Ceremony of President Barack Obama. Oh, and they got Anthony Bourdain to say some controversial things about Alice Waters. LAist asked a hard-hitting...

me and the sysop/Flickr The Los Angeles Police Department are searching for a bank robber they've dubbed the "Salt & Pepper Bandit" (because of his hair). Authorities believe he is behind at least 12 bank robberies from a variety of local banking institutions that have taken place between January 5-22, and one today at just after noon at the Bank of America located at 11501 Santa Monica Boulevard. According to an LAPD press release,...

It seems the San Andreas fault has a habit of shaking us up pretty badly once every 137 years, and scientists from UC Irvine believe we are long overdue for the "Big One." The last "massive" earthquake to rumble along the infamous fault line was in 1857, "when one struck at an estimated magnitude of 7.9," according to an AP article in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. That means the next major quake is now...

Photo by SkullRingPics via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr a 28-year-old man was stabbed last night in Boyle Heights, and managed to flag down a passerby to help him to the hospital. All lanes of the 405 near the Skirball Center were closed for over 2 hours last night following the death of a 29-year-old woman who was trying to walk across the freeway after being involved in an accident. The burglary...

There will be a sobriety checkpoint set up tonight from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m. on Harbor Boulevard between 5th and 1st Street, run by the South Traffic Division’s Crime Task Force/Driving Under the Influence Enforcement Detail. Why? Well, besides the fact that drunk driving is as dangerous as it is lame, the authorities would like to say that: "This operation will be conducted in an effort to reduce the incident of injuries, death,...

Remember those ads that ran between 1997-2000 featuring a sassy chihuahua who was crazy about Taco Bell? Turns out the Irvine-based company turned down a pitch made in the 1990s by Michigan ad men Joseph Shields and Tom Rinks for a "psycho chihuahua" but "later hired another ad agency that wound up using the talking animal in the now famous 'Yo quiero Taco Bell' ads," reports the OC Register. In an attempt to pass...

Perhaps not fingering, per se, but Miguel Martinez Rivera of the LAPD is a "high-ranking fingerprint expert" who "has been charged with sexually assaulting one of his tenants in a South Los Angeles apartment," reports cbs2.com. "Rivera is charged with four felony counts, including assault with the intent to rape. If convicted, faces up to nine years in prison." He is accused of having "accosted the 26-year-old woman earlier this month," and was arrested...

Photo: sfllaw/Flickr The LA County Department of Public Health has issued a warning about frozen cookie dough that was sold in several area schools as part of a fundraiser. Aside from the fact that raising funds by selling frozen cookie dough is kind of weird, the problem is that the dough could possibly be tainted with salmonella. Tasty! Okay, it's not tasty at all, it's a major health risk, and anyone who purchased Peanut...