Lisa Brenner

NOAA File: Waterspout off the Florida Keys photographed from an aircraft. (via NWS) According to the National Weather Service, police in Huntington Beach received a call just after 11 a.m. on Monday about a waterspout sighting about a dozen miles northwest of Newport Beach, reports the Daily News. ABC7 weather reports via Twitter that a waterspout was sighted off of Newport Beach according police. On Friday, a waterspout off of San Francisco's Ocean Beach...

Most of these aren't food. True. In fact, many are likely poisonous, so please do not rush out to your lawn and start mowing mushrooms with your face. The little fungi just seemed like a perfect rainy day food-ish phenomenon to feature. Promise you'll only eat the ones from the market. Or the ones you receive in a bag from a generous friend. Our take a cue from the (fun) guy who's been to...

Photo by conner395 via Flickr A few hundred demonstrators attended a Claremont for Peace rally this weekend at Memorial Park while a few hundred more immigration rights activists counter-protested on the scene of a neo-Nazi rally at Foothill and Indian Hill boulevards held by white supremacists affiliated with the National Socialist Movement. According to police, about 30 people attended the neo-Nazi rally, reports KPCC held by a group described by the Southern Poverty Law...

Gaia comes to Chicago (Photo by TEFennell4 via Flickr) Chicagoist was very visual-themed this week. Art Shay's weekly peek into his photography archives focused on his time in postwar Japan with the MacArthur Occupation. They found a map that, while not taking the lay of the land into consideration, did give some idea of how a tsunami the magnitude of the one that hit Japan could damage Chicago. Another map they discovered (for $600)...

Photo by Mr. T in DC via Flickr Officials say a family of four, including a baby and a dog, were rescued by the Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol after their sailboat broke free of its mooring early Sunday in Santa Barbara, reports KTLA. With wind gusts of 30-40 knots and sea swells between 6-8 feet, according to the United States Coast Guard, an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer onto the...

Photo by Sundogg via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr What do you think of Dr. Goldfoot so far? Pretty entertaining, right? If you haven't gotten around to it yet, don't worry, showers are expected to come and go through the afternoon with a possibility of a thunderstorm and heavy rainfall. The high today is expected near 61 with winds 15-20 mph and gusts as high as 30 mph (up to 75 in the...

Photo by STERLINGDAVISPHOTO via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Despite cold weather and heavy rain, first-timer Markos Genet of Ethiopia won the Los Angeles Marathon this morning, breaking the course record by almost two minutes with a finish time of 2:06:35. The 26.2 mile race from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica was Geneti’s first competitive marathon, reports NBC Local. Buzunesh Deba, also from Ethiopia, captured the women’s division with a time of 2:26:34...

Tonight in Extra, Extra!! An attempted bank robbery in Echo Park, Neo-nazis in Claremont, the biggest Newport beach boat circle, Tang's Donut bike ride, pets in Japan, Costa Mesa employee suicide, and the death of a Navajo code-talker. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

(Photo by monkeytime | brachiator via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) Thunder, lightening, marathon. Unless you're running or cheering along the route, perhaps this lazy Sunday would be better spent in the the great indoors. Here are some suggestions should you prefer to save yourself the frustration of relocation on such a winter's day. Umm, I mean, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!! Fembot A Go-Go: If you have the internet, you can have...

Photo by GarySe7en via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Garden Grove police are investigating the death of a woman who reportedly fell or jumped from a moving vehicle headed eastbound near Magnolia Street on the 22 Freeway just before 3:00 a.m. on Saturday. The OC Register reports that the driver of the vehicle told police he stopped, put the victim back in the car, and took her to his residence in Santa Ana...

Photo by Culture Shlock via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Fistful of Dollars: The First Los Angeles Spaghetti Western Festival takes place today at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The all-day event features screenings of classic spaghetti western, rare spaghetti western trailers, a special guest panel of heyday actors, a book signing breakout, and, of course, a live musical tribute to Ennio Morricone! 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601,...

According to free speech advocates and some legal pros, UCLA was correct in the decision to not discipline student Alexandra Wallace for her controversial, three-minute, video manifesto about Asian students talking on cell phones in the library, reports LA Now. An expert on the 1st Amendment, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said "This woman expressed her opinion, an offensive opinion to be sure," notes LA Now, but did not harass anyone nor did she...