Lisa Brenner

Accidental Hostage Crisis: Delta pilot was locked in the cockpit for nearly 4 hours at LAX.88-year-old man with .38-caliber revolver killed an 86-year-old woman at convalescent home.A "Mad Chef" on the loose in Venice is cocooning cars in Saran Wrap and other kitchen goodies.

See you on the dark side of the Mouse. Disney's new "Epic Mickey" game features an edgier rodent.Poll finds Latinos, Asians significantly more worried than white dudes about the environment.Pope says condoms a-ok for male prostitutes, everyone else, good luck.

The former Pasadena home of Elmer Grey, the architect who designed the Pasadena Playhouse, Huntington Art Gallery, and Beverly Hills Hotel, is back on the market after 50 years, reports The Huffington Post. The 3,400 square foot, 4 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom estate is currently listed at $1.8 million and "sits on private, landscaped grounds" with an emphasis on "indoor/outdoor living." According to Curbed LA, only two families have ever owned the residence. Have yourself...

Photo by Benjamin Page via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A Saturday night fire at Echo Park Boulevard and Morton Avenue caused serious damaged to a duplex owned by The Eastsider's publisher and author, Jesús Sanchez, reports his blog. The fire started in the upper unit near the floor furnace shortly before midnight and the property suffered heavy fire, smoke and water damage. No one was in the unit at the time of...

Photo via LIFE Archive The teenage busboy, Juan Romero, who "knelt beside a mortally wounded Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles," paid his respects, 42 years later," reports L.A. Now. On Saturday morning he knelt beside RFK's Arlington Cemetery grave on what would have been Kennedy's 85th birthday. Romero was reported to be wearing a suit for the first time in his life, saying it was, "the proper way to show...

Authorities rescued a man on Sunday, "from the rain-swollen Los Angeles River after drifting about four miles downstream," reports CBS Local. LA Fire Department says the man was spotted before 8 a.m. east of downtown and drifted past police during a failed rescue attempt at Sixth Street and Olympic Boulevard. A police helicopter was able later able to grab him in the water near Vernon, "where the river widens and the currents get slower."...

The funeral for Ronni Chasen has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, reports The Beverly Hills Courier. Memorial Donations can be sent the Tower Cancer Research Foundation in Beverly Hills. The slaying of veteran publicist Ronni Chasen is still grounds for wide-spread speculation. The 64-year old was shot five times in the chest while driving home through Beverly Hills after the premiere and party for "Burlesque," early Tuesday morning.

Federal regulators reached a $7-million agreement with companies to clean up a toxic site in Whittier, reports CBS Local. The EPA and Justice Department announced on Friday that an agreement was reached with the 169 parties who used the Omega Chemical Corp between 1976 and 1991 as a recycling and treatment center for hazardous chemicals. Soil and groundwater at the site are, "tainted with Freon, trichloroethylene and other solvents and refrigerants."...

Eyes front, foodies. CBS Local has stared down the beast of the holiday gourd and lived to tell the tale. They think they know the top 5 pumpkin pies in the city. What do you think? Here's what they're chowing down: Maison Richard's "pumpkin mousse"-ish pie in Hollywood.Four’N 20 for the valley's, "massive slice buried under an inch of whipped cream."The $40 Urth Caffé "hungry man" version.

Photo by nicadlr via LAist Featured Photos pool on FlickR La Canada Flintridge and other mountain and foothill communities are bracing for possible mudslides, reports ABC Local. A flash flood warning went into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, and residents are hoping measures like bolting down K-rails will provide slide protection in areas and roads affected by the 2009 Station Fire. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood watches and winter storm...

According to police, a hit-and-run motorist in Koreatown struck and killed an elderly woman early Saturday morning, reports ABC Local. Officers responding to the accident, "found the woman wedged near a parked vehicle at Olympic and Harvard boulevards." Authorities believe the woman was hit by a 1990s Toyota 4-Runner and are searching for the vehicle last seen heading southbound on Harvard Boulevard around 2:30 a.m....

A body was discovered floating in the main Venice canal this morning, reports KTLA. According to LA Now, firefighters, police and lifeguards are working to recover a corpse of male in his 20s or 30s found near at the 2300 block of Grand Canal Court. LAPD homicide detectives are investigating on the scene....