Kate DurocherThere's always something happening in L.A., and there's no exception to that statement this week. We investigated the ouster of Fire Marshal John Vidovich. A suspect in the Kid Cali murder was arrested. A Woodland Hills man was shot and killed while waiting for his pizza to be delivered. And we made some Trojan fans' day by letting them know that they've outranked UCLA in academics this year.
Here are our most buzz-worthy news stories taking place right here in the City of Angels for this week.
Spiderman Verses Deadpool Scuffle Highlights Turf Wars on Hollywood Boulevard
Imagine Deadpool and Spiderman, two of the highest-grossing superheroes of the Marvel Universe, squared off for combat, hand to hand and toe to toe. To a Hollywood studio exec, it has the makings of the next summer blockbuster. To the LAPD, it was a humdrum report to dispatch Friday afternoon as two costumed characters duked it out on Hollywood Boulevard.
Read all about the rogue superhero antics here.
Credit: YouTube
SNL Hires Its First Latina Cast Member and She's From L.A.
Earlier this year a loose coalition of national Latino leaders met with two top executives at NBC's Saturday Night Live. The mission was to get the show, which has had a terrible diversity record, to hire some Latinos. The execs indicated that within a year to a year and a half, favorable changes would be made to the show's cast and writing staff. Well, that change came early. The show announced today that Whittier comedian and performer Melissa Villaseñor is among three new cast members for the 42nd season, which kicks off Oct. 1.
Read the full L.A. Weekly article here.
The smartest guy in town; Credit: Richard Ha/Flickr
USC Beats UCLA — in Academic Prestige
NCAA powerhouse USC beating UCLA in football wouldn't be much of an upset in recent years, but academically? That's another story. The Westwood school has far outranked USC in global university rankings. Earlier this summer the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) said UCLA was the 15th best University on the planet. Even U.S. News & World Report's inaugural “Best Global Universities” rankings in 2014 placed UCLA at No. 8.
Read the full L.A. Weekly article here.
An image from the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in 1994; Credit: Ted Soqui/L.A. Weekly
A Big Earthquake Could Create a Domino Effect of Doom
Experts have for years said that the Big One — an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 to 8 or higher — is long overdue in urban Southern California. When it comes, it will be bad: A local 7.8 shaker, the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated, could result in 1,800 deaths, 50,000 injuries, 300,000 damaged buildings, 1,600 fires and perhaps more than $200 billion in total damage.
Read the full L.A. Weekly article here.
Cops say there could be more victims of a revenge porn suspect out there.; Credit: billsoPHOTO/Flickr
L.A. Victims of Revenge Porn Could Be Out There and Not Know It
Cops warned that pornographic videos of eight unidentified women have been disseminated online by a Los Angeles man charged with suspicion of distributing intimate imagery. The Los Angeles Police Department said that 32-year-old Sergio Ortiz has been charged by City Attorney's prosecutors with violating the revenge porn law signed in late 2013 by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Read the full L.A. Weekly article here.
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