A cannonball fired by the “Mythbusters” TV show plowed through a Northern California house, struck the roof of another house and smashed through a minivan’s window in a science experiment gone wrong. Story(Doug Duran / Associated Press)
A video recording of an altercation between a man dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants and two women on Hollywood Boulevard shows a physical confrontation that ended with the police stepping in. Story(Steve Boelhouwer)
Stephen Estes, 23, saw the empty 405 Freeway as an opportunity to start “planking.” The USC graduate appeared to be the first “Carmageddon plank.” Story(Donna Estes Antebi)
A capybara was sighted coming out of a wastewater pond in Paso Robles this summer. It paddled around in the water before reaching the Salinas River. Capybaras are the worlds largest rodents -- they can reach the size of a small dog -- and are often described as a mix between a rat and a guinea pig. Theyre nocturnal and semi-aquatic, and prefer habitats with dense vegetation and access to water. It is illegal to own them as pets in California. Story(Nick Camp)
An admitted avocado thief in north San Diego County has been ordered to stay away from any groves bearing the popular fruit, and he was prohibited from possessing more than 10 avocados at a time. Story(David Karp)
The coroner originally ruled the actress’ 1981 death an accident, but investigators want to talk to the captain of the yacht that Wood, her husband Robert Wagner and costar Christopher Walken were on the weekend she died off Santa Catalina Island. The new inquiry was announced less than two weeks before the 30th anniversary of her death at age 43. Full coverage | Photos: Natalie Wood : 1938 | 1981(Los Angeles Times)
Three Covina men were arrested in September after they allegedly stole a 30-pack of Tecate beer from a market and attempted to escape but crashed a car and hit an employee who chased them, then one ran through a car wash and another left behind his ID. Story(Covina Police Department)
While many Angelenos stayed off the roads during the weekend closure of part of the 405 Freeway called “Carmageddon,” one Sherman Oaks couple and their college friend marked the event with a dinner party. On the empty freeway. Story(Jesse Glucksman)
Inked on the chest of a Pico Rivera gang member was the detailed depiction of a liquor store slaying that had stumped an L.A. County sheriff’s investigator for more than four years. The tattoo led to a jailhouse confession from Anthony Garcia -- and a first-degree murder conviction. Story(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Yvette Vickers, 82, an early Playboy playmate whose credits as a B-movie actress included such cult films as “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman” and “Attack of the Giant Leeches,” was found dead at her Benedict Canyon home. The mummified state of her body suggested she could have been dead for close to a year, police said. Story | Full obituary(File photo)
