Lisa Brenner

Photo by Joey Maloney, Used with permission Showbiz 411 reported last evening that The Big Man, The Biggest Man You've Ever Seen & One Of The 3 Most Important People In The World, Clarence Clemons, was "seriously ill" after suffering a stroke at his home in Florida on Sunday. The legendary, saxophone great of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band has had health complications in the past but this situation, was as described as "dire,"...

Photo Courtesy of the Orange County District Attorney Mandak Kohn Griffin, a 30-year-old BMX coach accused of sexually assaulting three boys and exchanging child pornography over the internet, was arraigned Monday for crimes authorities say occurred between 2000 and 2002, according the KTLA. If convicted, Griffin could serve a maximum sentence of 85 years to life in state prison. [...]Griffin faces charges of felony sodomy with a child under 10, oral copulation of a...

Tonight in Extra, Extra... Firefighters vs potty seat, Amtrak ridership, snow+hot = flood, missing Disney cruise worker, a Lego-making machine made of Legos, union murmurs at the Apple store. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Vesta is coming into focus. Scientists working with The Dawn mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena have created a new, Twilight Zone-looking video showing the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta as "the spacecraft approaches this unexplored world in the main asteroid belt," reports NASA.

Photo by Eddy Van 3000 via Flickr New opportunities are rising as mortuaries begin exploring the business of recycling of metal implants and other prosthetics, according to the Daily Breeze. "We see more implants, and we'd like to see them recycled," said Vidal Herrera, the founder of 1-800-Autopsy. "There's no state law that says they have to be recycled." It's a trend those in the mortuary business also see. The accessibility of shoulder, hip...

Photo by Robbie via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A flock of herons has Pico Rivera residents squawking about a 50-foot ficus tree on the 9500 block of Bert Street that's been a migratory stop for the marine birds for over a decade. Residents living below say "they are are fed up with the marine birds they find on the street every day and the endless sound of avian droppings," according to the...

Saturday saw the return of the Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Race and Ocean Festival as thousands of spectators watched hundreds of competitors from age 9-70+ honor the once popular Southern California sport of paddleboarding, according to Surfline.

Photo by cgkinla via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Initially thought to be a drug overdose, three people were hospitalized Saturday after suffering apparent food poisoning while attending the 33rd Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Raul Jovel, according to CBS Local. Witnesses reported the concert-goers fell ill quickly, prompting calls to 911 just after 7:00 p.m. One of the victims was listed in critical condition;...

Photo by Tales of an LA Addict via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Don't Lose Your Head, Augustus: A tasty new offering, Chocolate: The Exhibition, now open at MUZEO in downtown Anaheim, explores "the plant, the products, the history, and the culture of chocolate through the lenses of botany and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture." To enter the exhibit, look for a lush, tropical rainforest. Runs through September 11. Free...

Tonight in Extra Extra! Deputy drunk in court during DUI sentencing, the big whoop about whooping cough, Channel Islands get a shake, Horse herpes outbreak contained, prescription drugs shortage. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Angeles Crest Highway at Islip Saddle photo by justinm via flickr. Closed for nearly 18 months following the Station Fire, the newly reopened section of Angeles Crest Highway registered two fatal accidents on Friday, according to L.A. Now and 818 Now. A 48-year-old man plunged approximately 675 feet to his death after driving his car over the edge of the highway above La Cañada Flintridge at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday. According to the...

Photo via LAPD A 3-year-old girl arriving in Los Angeles with her father has disappeared following a revised custody agreement, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. Elizabeth Day was expected to land at LAX with her father, Galen Michael Day, on June 10. The girl's mother, Jenna Johnston, said their luggage eventually showed up in baggage claim but they did not. Los Angeles police are asking for the public's help to...