The Daily Beast

Charlie Sheen Is Winning with Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III

Sheen's new film, made with childhood friend Roman Coppola, was his first acting gig after his notorious meltdown

Taft School Shooting NOT In L.A.'s San Fernando Valley

Following another school shooting, this one at Taft High School near Bakersfield, the LAPD has had to clarify that this DIDN'T happen at the Taft campus in the San Fernando Valley. Really. The media is so East Coast-biased (it's not like more than 15 million people live in the area from Bakersfiel ... More >>

Aurora Snow: Rare Working Porn Star Bravely Says Yes To L.A. County Condom Measure

Porn star Aurora Snow might have just made herself a pariah in the adult video industry. That's because she not only bravely endorsed a reviled mandatory-condom initiative that will be on the L.A. county ballot next month, but because she outed infrequent but nonetheless troubling situations in whi ... More >>

Chris Benton, Pepperdine President's Son, Facing Two Years in Prison for Threatening to Kill His Dad

The troubled son of esteemed Pepperdine University President Andrew K. Benton will serve two years in prison, says the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, for threatening his father at the family's on-campus home and "possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict." Chris Benton, 27, allegedly br ... More >>

Newsweek Lists The 101 Best Places To Eat In The World and The L.A. Winner Is... Farmshop?

This week's Newsweek cover story is titled "The 101 Best Places to Eat In The World." The restaurants were chosen by well-known chefs. You can see the list on the Daily Beast, Newsweek's partner website. There are a couple of problems with the issue, however, one of them being the cover image, whi ... More >>

Pot Wine = Pot Wine (and a New Trend?)

Roll up a towel, wedge it under the door, and put on a record -- Alice Coltrane or some pre-disco Bee Gees.  You may have to part the paisley curtains on your way in.  And find a comfy cushion to melt into.  Are we smoking weed?  Nah, we're drinking wine, man. According to a report in The Daily ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Chefs for Hire, Spice Table Recipes Passion for Cilantro

Technology: Why cook when you can hire professional chefs to make dinner via Kitchit. In L.A., choose among Neal Fraser (BLD, Grace), Mark Gold (Eva), Nyesha Arrington (Wilshire), and others. Food & Wine: Three Spice Table recipes (simplified!) from Bryant Ng, with photos by Anne Fishbein. Gilt Ta ... More >>

Restaurant Industry Treats Women Poorly: Can Tom Robbins Save Us?

Waiting tables has never been known as a glamorous job, but a new study released Monday indicates that conditions are especially shitty for women, who are not only paid less but also subjected to sexual harassment at a staggering rate, reports The Daily Beast. (Via Jezebel.) Where's Tom Robbins' "Da ... More >>

Victoria Jackson's Excellent Tea Party Adventure

The Day The Internet Stopped

See our piece on how Anonymous attacked Hollywood here. Get ready guys. Jan. 18 might become known in the future as the day the Internet went dark. Several websites, including L.A.'s own Boing Boing, are vowing to go offline Wednesday to protest Congress' consideration of the Stop Online Piracy Ac ... More >>

Harry Burkhart's Mother Dorothee Linked to Erotic Massage Business: Alleged L.A. Arsonist Reportedly Upset Over Her Possible Extradition

Updated at the bottom with allegations that the mom committed fraud as a member of a gang. Really. First posted at 2:08 p.m. The mother of L.A. serial arson suspect Harry Burkhart has been linked to a massage services website and to online advertisements for "body rub" services. A woman with the ... More >>

Los Angeles Fails to Rank as Drinking Hot Spot: What Gives?

We sometimes relish the salty sting of L.A.'s poor-performing ways when it comes to city rankings that range from traffic to penis size. We can take it. But we have to call b.s. on this particular list. The Daily Beast's latest "America's Drunkest Cities" roundup, just published, does not even p ... More >>

Sex Action Peaks During Winter Holidays, One Writer Says (And September Babies Aren't Arguing With That)

istolethetv​We know, it's icky to think about. But us late summer/early fall babies -- our parents were doing it for the holidays. Yeah, we just unwrapped that mental package of repressed imagery. (You're welcome). We always equated hot sex with the season of hot-and-sticky weather and less ... More >>

Food News Roundup: The 20 Most Gluttonous Cities, Paula Deen's Potatoes, Getting Fired From El Bulli Why We Love Sunday Suppers at Lucques

The New York Times Magazine: The Food and Drink Issue If You Could Have Only One Cookbook, What Should It Be? (Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques.) Zester Daily: When Did Soul Food Get Too Hot to Handle? The Daily Beast: José Andrés on getting fired from El Bulli. Food52: Congressiona ... More >>

Sidney Harman, L.A.-Based Stereo Pioneer, Dies At 92

Sidney Harman​Sidney Harman, stereo pioneer and philanthropist, died last night at the age of 92. Harman split time between Washington, D.C., and L.A. -- where he and wife, former Congresswoman Jane Harman, kept a home in Venice.Harman's passing leaves a question mark over Newsweek, which he bough ... More >>

Grim Sleeper: Eight More Victims Linked to Case of Alleged Serial Killer Lonnie Franklin Jr., Cops Say

Lonnie Franklin Jr.​Updated: In an exclusive, Christine Pelisek of the Daily Beast has the names and photos of the new victims connected to the investigation -- here. We also update after the jump with some of the names police have subsequently put forward. LAPD detectives say they [added:] m ... More >>

Obama en Español: U.S. President Tours Latin America, Talks Chilean Miners, His Own Stellar Immigration Policy (Really?)

The Daily BeastBarack and Michelle, lookin' the part​Updated after the jump: The president makes his last stop in El Salvador. If there's one thing our POTUS can do, it's talk. Barack Obama could talk himself out of Guantanamo Bay through a thick swatch of duct tape. In perfect form, he tur ... More >>

Top 5 Things to Do This Weekend in L.A.

​ The weather is doing that weird thing we hate wherein there is a forty degree swing in temperature between noon and midnight. Advice: dress in layers if you're going to go out after work on Friday, or you'll be one of those poor fools standing in line outside the club in flip flops and a ta ... More >>

Hef Admits To Not-So-Safe, Condom-Free Sex With Multiple Girlfriends (Like A Porn Star) At The Playboy Mansion

playboy.comShocking: Crystal Harris, Hef's bride-to-be, is blonde.​In the wake of his announcement that he'll marry a 24-year-old girlfriend, Angeleno Hugh Hefner defended himself against regurgitated dirt about life at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, although he seemed to confirm many of ... More >>

[UPDATED WITH PHOTOS] 180 Naked Women In 'Grim Sleeper' Serial Killer's Photo Collection Might Be More Victims

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIFrom left: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Councilman Bernard Parks, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck​LAPDJanecia Peters, the Sleeper's last proven victim​Updated after the jump: No. 119 has been identified as Janecia Peters (pictured, right) -- one of the Sleeper's known victi ... More >>

If The Grim Sleeper's Victims Were Mostly White, Would It Have Taken Nearly Three Decades To Find A Suspect?

​The LAPD this week unleashed 180 eerie boudoir photos they say were kept by "Grim Sleeper" serial murder suspect Lonnie Franklin, Jr. Detectives are concerned that some of the creepy pictures could represent more possible victims in a crime spree they say spanned the 1980s to the 2000s. Cop ... More >>

Year in Review: Top Food and Pot Stories of 2010

N. GalutenThe famed KFC dispensary, which even spawned a South Park episode​Marijuana has been in the news a lot this year. Prop 19 brought the legalization debate to the national forefront, even though it never had much of a shot at passing (despite our Governator's well-documented use during ... More >>

Surprise: Six Of 10 Highest-Earning Reality-TV Stars Are Based In Los Angeles

The $6 million talent​Not that we didn't know this already. Or that we're very proud of it, in the end. But for better or worse, the Daily Beast has compiled a list the top 10 reality-TV earners, and over half are living (at least part-time) right here in the entertainment capital of the worl ... More >>

Muslim Journalist Asra Nomani To TSA: Racially Profile Me; Profile My Family

Georgetown UniversityIs Asra Nomani's journalistic reputation at stake?​If you're a non-Muslim male, we recommend you don't spew offensive stereotypes about Muslims on national television. That is, if you're keen on keeping your job as a left-wing journalist. If you're a Muslim woman, though ... More >>

Los Angeles Has A New Serial Murderer On The Loose: Authorities Connect Three Victims Killed Within 20-Year Span

Christine Pelisek helped to bring the 'Grim Sleeper' serial murder case to light in 2008.​Leave it to Christine Pelisek, the killer reporter who used work at the Weekly, to uncover a new serial murderer who's on-the-loose in Southern California. From her new base at the Daily Beast, Pelisek ... More >>

Former LA Weekly Staffer Christine Pelisek Praised By Columbia Journalism Review For Her Coverage Of 'Grim Sleeper' Serial Murder Case

Former LA Weekly staffer Christine Pelisek continues to receive praise for her 'Grim Sleeper' coverage.​The latest edition of CJR (Columbia Journalism Review) recognizes former LA Weekly staff writer Christine Pelisek for her work on the "Grim Sleeper" case. Woman hasn't been around the office ... More >>

Bristol Palin Accused Of Using Political Connects To Advance On 'DWTS' Despite Crap Dance Moves

OK MagazineSecond-generation MILF in red​Tea Party mascot and walking pro-choice ad Bristol Palin can't seem to catch a break. First, Mama Palin's strict hockey-mom platform ruled out an abortion. Next, Bristol had to call it quits with baby daddy when the world found out she wasn't the only ... More >>

Is L.A. Deserving Of Being Ranked In Bottom Half Of America's 'Smartest Cities' List?

Angelyne is L.A.'s poet laureate.​Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the nation and home to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (the home of true rocket science), Caltech, UCLA, USC and President Obama's alma mater, Occidental College. Our entertainment industry, high-tech hubs and Pacific ... More >>

Los Angeles Ranks Among America's Dumbest Cities

Does L.A. belong in the dumb half of America?​We like fake-bake tanning, pet yoga and the Real Housewives of anywhere. But come on -- is L.A. really that dumb? And getting stupider? (Yeah, anybody who uses "stupider" in a sentence must be from here, right?). The latest "Smartest Cities" in Am ... More >>

Does The Lesbian Sister Of Christine O'Donnell, Delaware Tea Party Senate Candidate, Live In L.A.?

Christine O'Donell​Christine O'Donnell is the eccentric Tea Partier who shocked the world this week by beating Establishment Republican Mike Castle in the Delaware primary, thus likely ruining whatever outside shot the GOP had at taking the Senate. O'Donnell has spent most of her ramshackle pu ... More >>

IF YOU SAW ALICE IN WONDERLAND, YOU CAN RELATE