CHRISTOPHER WEBER

13 - 12:07am

LOS ANGELES — Braving the cold and howling of coyotes, 9-year-old Celia Renteria was certain her father was still alive when she crawled out of a steep Southern California canyon and walked in the desert darkness to summon for help after a rollover crash. With temperatures dipping into the 40s, she hiked through rugged terrain to a nearby home. No one answered. Then she hiked up the rocky embankment and along the remote highway to a commuter rail station where she flagged down a passing motorist early Sunday.

Nick Cave mellows on new Bad Seeds album 02/27/13 - 1:05am

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Push the Sky Away” (Bad Seed Ltd) After the furious “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” and a pair of swaggering records from primal side project Grinderman, fans of Nick Cave may have expected another slab of guitar distortion and sex and death from the first Bad Seeds album in five years. Instead, “Push the Sky Away” delivers spare strings and electronic loops — and sex and death.

ZZ Top gets back to basics on 'La Futura' 09/14/12 - 12:10am

ZZ Top, “La Futura” (Universal Republic) With its distortion-heavy slabs of gritty blues-rock and title en espanol, ZZ Top’s first full-length album in nearly a decade could easily fit in the band’s catalog somewhere pre-1983, before “Eliminator” boldly embraced synthesizers and made the “little ol’ band from Texas” unlikely MTV personalities. To help evoke their less-polished ‘70s heyday for “La Futura,” the band enlisted superproducer Rick Rubin, who has an unparalleled reputation for reorienting artists who have lost their way a bit.

'Top Gun' director Tony Scott left behind notes to loved ones 08/20/12 - 10:59am

Autopsy is scheduled for Monday

LOS ANGELES — Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood hits as “Top Gun,” ‘’Days of Thunder” and “Beverly Hills Cop II,” died Sunday after jumping from a towering suspension bridge spanning Los Angeles harbor and leaving behind several notes to loved ones, authorities said. The 68-year-old Scott’s death was being investigated as a suicide, Los Angeles County Coroner’s Lt. Joe Bale said. “I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time,” Scott’s spokesman, Simon Halls, said in a statement.

Rodney King, key figure in LA riots, dies at 47 06/18/12 - 12:13am

LOS ANGELES — Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation’s history, was found at the bottom of his swimming pool early Sunday and later pronounced dead. He was 47. King’s fiance called 911 at 5:25 a.m. to report that she found him in the pool at their home in Rialto, Calif., police Lt. Dean Hardin said.

Moderate earthquake shakes Southern California 04/29/12 - 12:29am

LOS ANGELES — Some Southern Californians were shaken out of bed Saturday morning by a small earthquake that rattled homes across the Inland Empire region and caused buildings to sway in downtown Los Angeles. The magnitude-3.8 earthquake struck at 8:07 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey said it was centered about two miles northwest of Devore, in San Bernardino County. The quake was downgraded from an initial magnitude of 4.1.

Lowe's pulls adds from TV show about American Muslims after evangelicals protest 12/12/11 - 1:02am

LOS ANGELES — A decision by retail giant Lowe's Home Improvement to pull ads from a reality show about American Muslims following protests from an evangelical Christian group has sparked criticism and calls for a boycott against the chain. The retailer stopped advertising on TLC's "All-American Muslim" after a conservative group known as the Florida Family Association complained, saying the program was "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." The show premiered last month and chronicles the lives of five f

Hollywood gunman identified as man stung by recent breakup of long relationship 12/11/11 - 12:20am

LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities Saturday identified the gunman who was shot dead by police as he fired at cars on a Hollywood street — screaming he wanted to die. Friends said Tyler Brehm was stung by the breakup of a long relationship. One passing motorist, a music industry executive, was shot in the face by the gunman Friday and remained in critical condition Saturday. Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt.

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Famed pianist Roger Williams dies at 87 10/09/11 - 12:52am

Roger Williams, the virtuoso pianist who topped the Billboard pop chart in the 1950s and played for nine U.S. presidents during a long career, died Saturday. He was 87.

LOS ANGELES — Roger Williams, the virtuoso pianist who topped the Billboard pop chart in the 1950s and played for nine U.S. presidents during a long career, died Saturday. He was 87. Williams died at his home in Los Angeles of complications from pancreatic cancer, according to his former publicist, Rob Wilcox. Known as an electrifying stage performer and an adept improviser, Williams effortlessly switched between musical styles.

Two Disneyland legends die within day 06/05/11 - 10:47pm

ANAHEIM, Calif. - They shared a stage at Disneyland five days a week for nearly three decades and died within a day of each other. Betty Taylor, who played Slue Foot Sue in Disney's long-running Golden Horseshoe Revue, passed away Saturday - one day after the death of Wally Boag, who played her character's sweetheart, Pecos Bill. The 91-year-old Taylor died at her home in Washington state, Disneyland announced on its web site. Boag, who was 90, died Friday. He was a resident of Santa Monica, Calif.