About an hour before today's bomb scare at LAX, a man walked into the World Bank in Washington D.C. and went up to a security guard with a suspicious package claiming it was a bomb. The incident prompted nearby streets to close and people inside the bank were not allowed to leave. An hour later, a man walked up to an LA World Airports police officer and said he had a bomb in his backpack,......

Today's bomb threat at LAX played out smoothly with no harm to anyone except for heavily clogged traffic and airline customers experiencing some delayed or missed flights. Shortly before 11 a.m., a man approached airport police who were in the midst of a routine traffic stop and told them he was a "terrorist" and that he had a bomb in his backpack. He was detained immediately as officials shut down traffic and waited for LAPD's......

iPhone photo of people walking around the streets of LAX Update: View updated story and photo gallery here. Original post below.Traffic has been blocked and gridlocked at LAX at the upper and lower levels of the airport after a man, reportedly between the ages of 20 and 25, went up to police in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and claimed he was a terrorist with a bomb in his bag, according to......

*Update: The freeways have been reopened, according to KNX, after police either did not find any package or confirmed it was not a threat.For the second time in recent weeks, a major freeway is closed down because of a suspicious package. KNX1070 is reporting on air that both the 5 and 605 freeways are closed in a 2-mile radius from the epicenter of the junction. Traffic is backing up from five to twenty miles......

Photo by dsearls via Flickr Just after 6:00 this morning parts of Terminal 2 at LAX were evacuated following reports of bomb in the building. According to reports, a man told authorities he saw "writing in a restroom that said a bomb was in the women's restroom" (cbs2.com). Within an hour the police had conducted a full search of the area and determined there were no explosives and re-opened the terminal to passengers and employees.......

Photograph of police investigating the explosion scene in Times Square by Mary Altaffer/AP Update 8:25am, 3/7: "Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said an individual was questioned there about the letters to Congress and "there is no evidence linking the letters, which contained no threat, to the bombing," according to ABC7.This morning's explosion in New York City's Times Square has a possible Los Angeles connection in the form of a return address......

It may look like your average, everyday taco truck, but the Shabazz Good Foods truck is not slinging the usual carnitas. Every Sunday, you can find their truck parked on 43rd and Crenshaw at Leimert Plaza Park. They sell not only the infamous bean pies, but blueberry cream pies, pineapple cream pies, and a few soulful lunches. The red snapper sandwich is the easiest thing to eat in the park, and probably your best......

There are two movies that are being scandalously left off the year-end best lists. The first, Rescue Dawn, is already out on DVD. The second, Once, is available today. Simply put, this is one of the best musicals and love stories in years. Buy it and watch it immediately. The Simpsons Movie was much better than I expected. If only the same care was put into the TV series. Why did Stardust bomb? It......

An “acid bomb” is capable of a 300-foot blast radius. So why did a 12-year-old bring one to school today in the OC? Cal State Northridge (CSUN) is building a 1,700-seat, performing arts center and just received their largest donation of one million from Attorney and civic leader David Fleming and his wife, Jean. Oh noes! Charlize Theron's home got robbed last week! Save up those quarters, DASH will not be accepting Metro passes......

To no one's surprise, Enchanted handily won the weekend box-office crown. Though early estimates ranged as high as 58 million dollars for the 5-day holiday weekend, the actual returns were a still robust $50.048M. Excellent word of mouth and a strong appeal to families should ensure that the Disney fantasy flick continues to do good business during the Christmas season. Speaking of which, This Christmas surprised somewhat with a strong $27.1M since its Wednesday......

You know you're in the Valley when real estate options are that old porn studio over there or the former sex toy manufacturing plant over there. Well, the LAPD went for the latter in a $37 million project to build a new station in Canoga Park on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga. The station is tentatively called Northwest Area Division. The reason for this new station in the West Valley is getting officers......

The Los Angeles Police Department has decided against instituting a plan to "map" the city's Muslim communities, in what was being billed as a counter-terrorism effort. According to the LA Daily News: "It's been put aside," said LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady. "It became clear to us [that Muslim communities] were not comfortable with the word mapping and what they believed it meant: racial profiling." Instead, Grady said the Los Angeles Police Department would build......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

George Bush issued the fourth veto of his presidency today, nixing a bill that would have provided insurance to poor children. Bush said the program was too costly, apparently cool with the fact that the Iraq war now costs over $455-billion. That's B for billion. And B for Bitch. Curbed LA takes a gander at a new development planned for West LA. In as much as the structure looks like a monument to cubism,......

- Green LA Girl takes her show to the LA Times via The Emerald City - congrats Siel! - LAT - Laker center Kwame Brown gets popped for Disorderly Conduct in Georgia on Saturday after his cousin was charged with drunk driving after going the wrong way down a one-way street. Laker fans would like to see that sort of effort in the paint - AP - Even though it's only 56-years old, and......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Yesterday, 19-year-old MIT student Star Simpson walked into Terminal C at Logan Airport to meet her boyfriend. Everything was normal, except for the fact that she was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a computer circuit board and wiring sewed or otherwise attached to the chest area. She also held play-doh in her hands. To her, it was art or just the dorky shirt she wore to bed and didn't change the next morning.......

Angels 2, Devil Rays 1 - LAnaheim picked up a second straight 2-1 victory thanks to another solid outing from their rotation. Ervin Santana had 10Ks, and the Halos swept Tampa Bay to inch just a little bit closer to their third pennant in four years. Sitting at 90 wins, their magic number is down to three. Life isn't so sweet for the Devil Rays, who dressed their rookies in Hooters attire. Welcome to the......

It's starting to feel a little like Fall: an "unseasonably strong and cold storm system" is headed our way. Bundle up! How green was Burning Man this year? Elsa Wenzel from CNet's News.com explains her perspective: "As a first-time Burner, I've finally shaken the playa dust from my shoes and mind to conclude that it was perhaps the most and the least eco-friendly mega-event I've attended." With a name like Inland Empire, you deserve......

After not receiving a Creative Arts Emmy last year, Kathy Griffin stormed out, flipping off the winners from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, while shouting, ''I was robbed and you all know it! Everybody can suck it!'' You would think that would be a hard one to top. Especially this year, when she won. But Griffin is never one to disappoint. During her acceptance speech Saturday night, she shocked pious Catholics with the statement, "A lot......

With both college football and the NFL going ahead full steam, it’s been hard to really pay attention to the goings-on of the Dodgers. And there is a good reason for that. The Dodgers just plain stunk it up at Telecom-of-the-Moment Park against the Giants. Each game featured a Dodger pitcher giving up crucial runs late in the game. Jonathan Broxton gave up home runs in Friday’s and Sunday’s games, and David Wells managed......

Nationally, a new Bin Laden tape appears, a bomb scare at a U.S. Military base in Germany, William Saffire looks into how the meme 9/11 has taken hold in the language (A meme is “a unit of cultural information”) and NYC tries to move on. Here is a smattering of local September 11th news: There are four city events taking place today between 7 a.m. and the Dodgers Game tonight. More info at the Fire......

Last minute plans? Try some culture via ExperienceLA's calendar. Or try our picks for tonight: Canon at Union Station, Pee Wee's Big Adventure at Angel City Drive-In, or Tonight in Rock. Toady, Oprah Winfrey held a swanky fundraiser for Barack Obama south of Santa Barbara expecting to raise $3-million. Hot chick boards Southwest plane, finds her seat, gets kicked off for being too sexy. The LA Triathlon is tomorrow morning. Find out if you'll......

Nicole Kidman reveals details about her previous miscarriages and subsequent adoptions- Metro More Anna Nicole baby daddy drama - Explosive accusations in Rita Cosby's new tell all book of Larry Birkhead and Howard K Stern being lovers is setting off defamation lawsuits...I personally can't wait to read it - NY Post Jerry Lewis pulls an Isaiah Washington, using the "F" word during his live annual telethon for muscular dystrophy - TMZ Bill Murray explains his......

2,000 DWP customers lost power today in Sun Valley. At noon, power was threatened to be cut from large energy consumers. But as the afternoon progressed, the Stage 2 was unlikely to happen. Yes, this is a heat wave. At age 18, having a DUI conviction, being a tagger and dealing in drugs is bound to get you caught up in murder charges in Van Nuys. A brush fire broke out in Castaic today......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. I’m prejudiced. You mention the words “fusion cuisine” and I immediately reach for stereotypes. Pretentious. Overpriced. Lacking any culinary soul. Just altogether unappealing. Oh sure I’ve had good fusion meals once in awhile. But I’d never admit to it. I wouldn’t want to acknowledge......

A few weeks ago, a YouTube video popped up called "Car Bomb In West Los Angeles" in which it appears that some sort of crane-like robot (an extra Transformer that didn't quite make Michael Bay's cut?) pulls an unidentified object out of the trunk of a car. At about the four minute mark in the video, the robot sets the thing off to the side of a building, and a loud noise is heard,......

Sex is something that drives us, empowers us and gets us into really stupid situations with people we have no business seeing naked. Jen Sincero is the bestselling author and sexpert with the carnal knowledge you need. Ask her your questions (all are posted anonymously). Cuz there's no such thing as being too good in bed. Dear Jen, Recently it was revealed that the Pentagon, under Bill Clinton, was working on a secret Gay......

David Tamkin - 'Tuesday' Eskimohunter, The Pity Party, Deep Sea Diver @ Spaceland Tippers Gore, The Crawlers, La Piovra, Friendly Neighbors, Vomit Bomb @ The Knitting Factory Stevenson Ranch Davidians, Sons & Lovers, Lo-Fi Sugar, Nightfur @ Viper Room The Alchemist Element @ Zen Light FM, Miniature Tigers, Owl Owl & The Spinto Band @ Silverlake Lounge The Frank Capp Juggernaut Band with The Cunninghams @ Charlie O's Colin Blades, David Tamkin, Darren Marc......

Hundreds of weary, would-be passengers are wandering through parking lots or holed up in their planes at the Long Beach Airport thanks to something suspicious found in a piece of screened luggage. The bomb squad and their lil robot were called to the scene. The terminal and boarding lounges have been closed and outbound flights have been postponed, airport spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson said. The airport is still receiving incoming flights, but passengers will be......