LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A powerful wind storm with gale-force gusts left much of the Los Angeles area strewn with toppled trees and downed power lines on Thursday, slowing traffic, damaging homes and knocking out electricity to over 350,000 customers.

An hourlong power outage at Los Angeles International Airport forced nearly two dozen inbound commercial flights to divert to other airports, and flight delays lingered even after electricity was restored, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A powerful wind storm with gale-force gusts left much of the Los Angeles area strewn with toppled trees and downed power lines on Thursday, slowing rush-hour traffic and knocking out electricity to over 300,000 customers.

An hourlong power outage at Los Angeles International Airport forced nearly two dozen inbound commercial flights to be diverted to other airports, and flight delays lingered after electricity was restored at about 8 a.m. local time, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A teenager who advertised babysitting services over the Internet and was believed to have “conversed” with scores of parents has been jailed on charges of sexually abusing two boys of a Los Angeles-area client, police said on Tuesday.

Jordan Liu, 19, was arrested after one of the boys told his mother about being molested during a discussion she was having with her him about the Penn State University sex abuse scandal, police in suburban Glendale said.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters who have camped outside Los Angeles City Hall for weeks faced a midnight eviction deadline on Sunday with plans to throw a party they hoped might forestall a raid.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on Friday that the Occupy LA protesters would be given until 12:01 a.m. on Monday to dismantle their tents, pack up their belongings and clear out — or face forcible removal.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A prominent forensic pathologist said a woman found hanged, bound and nude at the mansion of her wealthy boyfriend was less likely a victim of suicide, as police concluded, than of murder, and he urged a reopening of the case.

Dr. Cyril Wecht, a private consultant in high-profile investigations ranging from the Kennedy assassination to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, made a nationally televised appearance on Tuesday on the “Dr. Phil” show to render his opinion about the bizarre death of Rebecca Zahau.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country music singer Hank Williams Jr. canceled a Fox News Channel interview on Tuesday and said he was sorry for any offense given by his recent statement comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.

The apology of sorts was posted on his website a day after the Disney-owned cable sports channel ESPN pulled Williams’ theme song from its latest “Monday Night Football” broadcast in a rebuke to the country star for his Hitler remark.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Some 2,500 nurses and other medical workers walked off the job at Kaiser Permanente facilities in southern California on Wednesday in a three-day planned strike protesting benefit cuts sought by the nonprofit healthcare giant.

The striking employees are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which began negotiations about 18 months ago on its first labor contract with Kaiser facilities in Los Angeles, San Diego and other locations.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California astronomers have found the closest, brightest supernova of its kind in 25 years, catching the glimmer of a tiny self-destructing star a mere 21 million light years from Earth and soon visible to amateur skywatchers.

The discovery, announced on Wednesday, was made in what was believed to be the first hours of the rare cosmic explosion using a special telescope at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego and powerful supercomputers at a government laboratory in Berkeley.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fire crews made decisive gains on Tuesday against a fierce blaze that destroyed 12 homes after it was ignited by a small-plane crash in Southern California, and evacuation orders were lifted late in the day for hundreds of dwellings.

The fire had grown by roughly 5,000 acres between nightfall Monday and daybreak Tuesday as strong, erratic winds fanned the flames across steep, rugged terrain near the mountain town of Tehachapi, about 150 miles north of Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A brush fire ignited by a fatal small-plane crash in Southern California has destroyed 12 homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of others, leaving over 13,000 acres charred on Tuesday as it flared out of control for a third day.

The fire devoured another 5,000 acres overnight and into Tuesday morning as strong, erratic winds fanned the flames across steep, rugged terrain near the mountain town of Tehachapi, about 150 miles north of Los Angeles,