The latest addition to Universal Studios' backlot tour makes passengers feel like they've driven onto the set of a Fast and Furious film.

Shandelle Battersby discovers an unusual local delicacy on the drinks menus of the storied Californian island.

Farmers with rights to California water dating back more than a century face sharp cutbacks, the first reduction in their water use since 1977.

Megan Singleton uncovers five of the best places to eat in LA, from chic celebrity hot spots to gourmet burgers and $1 tacos.

A New Zealand storm has been blamed for monster waves smashing California today.

Desalination projects are gaining resonance as drought-proof hydration solutions in parched California.

In LA, where residents use an average of 265 litres of water a day, an academic study found that the most affluent neighbourhoods used up to three times more than others.

It takes a gallon (3.785 litres) of water to produce an almond, and almond growers use about 10 per cent of California's water supply every year.

Megan Singleton suggests a string of California adventures to try.

Many electronic and miscellaneous objects are never fully turned "off," and thus consume power all the time.

Less than an hour's drive from San Francisco is Napa's Sonoma County, where Megan Singleton sips, cooks and walks.

Visiting the Happiest Place on Earth is better with a plan, advises Shandelle Battersby.

A Chicago to San Francisco journey gives Pamela Wade time to eat, relax ... and talk.

As his daughter is left star-struck by the princesses of Disneyland, Winston Aldworth finds his Frozen heart melts.

Mark Zuckerberg is in a dispute with a property developer who claims the Facebook chief executive broke his promise.

New Zealand surfer watches in horror as his friend is dragged under the water by a great white shark off a Californian beach.

It is a quarter of a century since Straight Outta Compton, the seminal gangsta rap album, made a 25 sq km area of Los Angeles synonymous with gang violence and murder.

The US Pacific coast's most ferocious storm in years has moved south, bringing hurricane force winds and heavy downpours to southern California one day after claiming two lives in the Northwest.

Police have clashed with protesters in California on the fourth night of demonstrations across the United States against recent killings of African American suspects by white police.

It might seem the stuff of science fiction, but a mind-reading device is being developed by scientists which can eavesdrop on your inner voice.

Got a spare few hours before flying out of LAX? Try this hub of food and fun, writes Jesse Mulligan.

Seen Los Angeles? Head to one of these spots to see what else California has to offer.

Josh Burgess checks into a 'bohemian chic' studio apartment in Hollywood.

Danielle McGrane has some tips to help with starlet spotting in Hollywood.

Aucklander Scott Dixon ended the IndyCar season with a second placing in the season finale in Fontana, California yesterday to finish in fifth place on the final standings.