Firefighters were battling an industrial building fire in Santa Fe Springs that was sending thick smoke into the sky Wednesday.

The blaze began burning around 5 p.m. in the 9600 block of John Street, which crosses Los Nietos Road. Officials said there may be titanium in the blaze.

The roof had partially collapsed.

A pile of rubbish in the yard area had also been on fire, as firefighters worked to control the blaze.

It wasn't immediately clear what started the fire.

Chess not checkers.

Craig Counsell sacrificed his knight, Dave Roberts surrendered his pawns, but the Los Angeles Dodgers moved Milwaukee's King into check, defeating the Brewers, 5-2, to take a stranglehold on the NL Championship Series, 3-2, on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. 

Clayton Kershaw re-wrote his postseason narrative as an ace who cracks under pressure, allowing just one-run on three hits, with nine strikeouts, over seven solid innings.

"I don't really think about the one before," said Kershaw who was roughed up to the tune of five runs in three innings in Game 1. "And after this one I'm not going to think about this one, either."

As one King left the mound, for perhaps the final time in a Dodger uniform, all eyes remained on the chess match with World Series stakes between the two managers that have taken baseball fans on an exhilarating and anxiety-inducing thrill ride throughout this series. 

That match may have reached it's apex in Game 5 on Wednesday when Counsell pulled off the ultimate poker move by bluffing his starting pitcher Wade Miley.

On Monday afternoon, ahead of Game 3 of the series at Dodger Stadium, Counsell announced that his Game 2 starter would take the mound again for Game 5 on short rest. 

In reality, Counsell was bluffing, and he went all-in with his chips to see if Roberts would unleash his starting lineup of right-handed hitters against a left-handed starter.

For the most part, that's what Roberts did and so Counsell started Miley for one batter, throwing just five pitches, knowing he had an ace in the hole.

Miley issued a walk to leadoff batter Cody Bellinger and then promptly left the game where he is expected to start Game 6 of the series in Milwaukee on Friday, presumably the plan all along. 

"That's what we were going to do all along," said Counsell of starting Miley but immediately going to right-hander Brandon Woodruff in the bullpen. "Wade is going to pitch Game 6."

In the process, Miley joined Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2012 NLDS as the only pitchers to start a postseason game and face only one batter.

Milwaukee starting pitchers have thrown just 14 total innings through five games of the NLCS, the lowest total in the history of the League Championship series.

The chess move initially worked as Roberts started right-handed hitters David Freese at first base, Chris Taylor in left field, Kiké Hernandez in right field, and Austin Barnes behind the plate.

"It was very unconventional, but we were prepared for anything," said Roberts. "Our lineup today was different than the other lineup when we faced Miley, so you have to prepare for the unexpected."

By the third inning, Roberts was forced to go to his bench, pinch-hitting Joc Pederson for Freese and rotating his defense all around the diamond.

"They're trying to get matchups, and we're trying to get matchups," added Counsell. "They're a very tough team to get matchups against and we weren't able to give Woody some matchups."

In a reversal of Tuesday night's epic extra-innings thriller, Milwaukee scored first in the top of the third on some puzzling decision making by the Dodgers.

Orlando Arcia hit a one-out single to left field, prompting a rematch between Kershaw and Woodruff, who famously took the three-time Cy Young Award winner deep in Game 1 of the series.

"When he first game in the game, I was just thinking that I have to get Woodruff out," joked Kershaw after the win. "The first inning was strange. There were a lot of challenges. Obviously, I didn't expect Miley to come out after one batter."

Woodruff went to lay down a bunt, but Freese refused to pick up the slow roller along the first base line, opting not to gain an out, instead forcing Woodruff back to the box. Only problem was Kershaw was hesitant to throw anything over the plate after what happened earlier in the series, and he walked Woodruff on five pitches.

One batter later, Lorenzo Cain belted an RBI double off the center field wall and the Brewers took an early 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers would tie the game in the bottom half of the fifth as Chris Taylor single-handedly attempted to jump start the Dodgers offense. 

"I was leading off the inning just trying to find a way to get on," said Taylor. "I knew the way Woodruff was throwing, I wanted to get something going and give us a good opportunity."

Taylor led off the inning with an infield single. Advanced to second on a throwing error by Arcia, promptly stole third without a throw, and then scored on a groundball by Barnes that Woodruff kicked into center field.

"That was huge," said Manny Machado of Taylor's fifth inning. "He brought that energy that we needed. Definitely gave us the momentum we needed and we're going to need that if we want to win."

The Dodgers finished 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position, the most hits in that situation than they've had the entire postseason.

"That's something we've talked about the whole series," said Justin Turner of hitting with runners in scoring position. "They obviously have good arms in their bullpen and it's not easy stuff. I thought we did a lot better job from Austin's at-bat on. The quality of at-bats were unbelievable compared to the rest of the series."

Max Muncy put the Dodgers in front when he surprised everyone by going the other way with a slider to beat the shift and score Turner from second.

Turner started the inning with a leadoff single, and moved into scoring position after Manny Machado was hit by a 95MPH fastball from Woodruff. 

The hit by pitch was likely unintentional because of the situation, but with the all extra antics and "dirty plays," from Machado throughout the series, it would come as a surprise to absolutely nobody if it wasn't.

Yasiel Puig followed with an insurance run that electrified the crowd, and Puig himself, as the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead. 

Puig appeared in his 51st postseason game for the Dodgers, tied with Andre Ethier for the most in franchise history.

"It means a lot," said Puig. "I don't know if Andre played every game, but I haven't played in all 51 games. That makes me really happy to play that much in the postseason."

Turner and pinch-hitter Brian Dozier, both brought home runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Boys in Blue took a commanding 5-1 lead, and a stranglehold on the series.

In the process, Kershaw momentarily exorcised some demons in what could have been his last start for the Dodgers. 

Kershaw is expected to opt-out of the final year of his contract after the season, making him an unrestricted free agent. If the Dodgers were to go on and lose the final two games of the series, Kershaw could have pitched his last game in Dodger blue. 

If so, he certainly left fans with a lasting memory as his curvevall and slider were working all afternoon long as he didn't allow a single Brewers baserunner past the third inning.

"He just came after guys," said Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes. "He's the ultimate competitor.

Added Kershaw with a wry smile: "Maybe I threw some more curveballs today than I did in Game 1."

The Brewers hit back-to-back doubles off reliever Ryan Madson in the top of the ninth to cut the lead to 5-2, before Roberts brought in closer Kenley Jansen for his third save of the postseason.

The Dodgers are on the precipice of going to back-to-back World Series, something the team hasn't done since losing to the New York Yankees in consecutive seasons in 1977 and '78.

Overall, the Dodgers are 5-1 when taking a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven series with their only loss coming against those same Yankees in the 1952 World Series.

Up Next:

The series shifts to Milwaukee where the Brewers are expected to start left-hander Wade Miley in back-to-back games. Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will start for Los Angeles as the Dodgers look to close out the series. First pitch is scheduled for 5:39PM PT on  Friday night on FS1.

If you can't view the embedded videos, click "VIEW THE FULL MOBILE SITE"  at the bottom of this page.

The "last piece" from missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was published late Wednesday by The Washington Post, his editor announced in a note.

Khashoggi has not been seen since visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2. The New York Times reported that Turkey has recorded audio that indicates he was killed inside the consulate, and NBC News reported Wednesday that President Trump said he has asked Turkish authorities for this recording, "if it exists."

Post global opinions editor Karen Attiah is convinced her colleague met a untimely end, writing, "The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together. Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post."

The journalist's piece addresses the lack of a free press in all but a few corners of the Arab world.

Westminster police said they were looking for a man who allegedly assaulted a 39-year-old special needs man outside an In-n-Out in Westminster last month.

The victim's mother didn't want to reveal hers or her son's face, saying they're hoping to move passed the incident, but applauded Westminster police for its attempt to get the video out over social media.

"A man came out to our right and he was upset at the people at In-n-Out because they weren't speaking loud enough and he didn't hear his drink order," the victim's mother said.

She said they were waiting for their own order, and when the number was called, they didn't hear it right away either.

"Apparently we were slow to respond and then our son walked up to get the food and he started screaming at our son," she said. "And he just screamed you f---ing slow retard. And I was stunned."

Her son is autistic and is considered special needs.

But he's also an athlete, and a volunteer with his local police department, which is why he intuitively knew what to do.

"We were concerned about what our son's reaction would be. He put his hand out to stop the man. But he didn't hit him," she said.

Before the man could take off, she says her son started rolling video on his phone.

"He watches all the shows," she said. "He knew you're supposed to do that for the police."

The video doesn't show the alleged assault. His mom says the man punched him in the face twice.

In the video, the man can be heard calling the victim a "retard."

Westminster police to know who the man in the video is and put a message on Facebook, saying: If you're the suspect and watching this, come and turn yourself in, otherwise, we'll find you.

Terranea Resort sits on a picturesque, dream-like plot of land on the cliffs of Rancho Palos Verdes, but a woman is alleging that working there turned into a nightmare that included sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Silvia Jasmin Sanchez, 26 filed an amended complaint to her lawsuit against the resort Wednesday and has come forward to detail to NBC4 the harassment she experienced and the negative impact her time at Terranea Resort had on her life.

Sanchez says she was a uniform attendant, a job she loved because it allowed her to interact with all the resort employees. However, she says her interaction with one supervisor was both unwelcome and unacceptable.

Sanchez shared a text message exchange that her complaint alleges occurred in 2016 with her harasser, a security manager. The manager tells Sanchez he's watching her on camera. 

"He says, 'I keep getting aroused thinking about it,'" Sanchez reads the text messages, which continue on to detail an explicit act almost too raunchy to repeat in any setting.

"I can't believe it happened to me," Sanchez says.

The complaint alleges that the unwanted behavior escalated until the security manager cornered her and groped her. Sanchez says the sexual assault came after Human Resources brushed off her concerns.

Terranea Resort sent NBC4 a statement that said, in part, that it vehemently denies the allegations and has a zero-tolerance police toward harassment of any kind.

Sanchez, however, is not alone and is now one of several hospitality workers with assault and harassment claims against the resort. The others coming forward, Sanchez says, inspired her to speak out.

Sanchez will join seven other women, all former and current employees at Terranea Resort with similar claims, at a news conference Thursday.

Family members pleaded Wednesday for help to find an elderly couple who's been missing for more than 24 hours.

They're worried the couple might have gotten lost or taken advantage of. The last time the couple was seen was in their home Tuesday morning. When their grandson came home at the end of the day, they were gone and family members say there's no way they would stay out this long because of their frailty.

"I don't like this," said Lori Clark, about her parents, Keith Davis, 87, who has Alzheimer's and his wife Pauline, 91, who has vision and hearing problems.

Clark and the couple's granddaughter say the Davis' only make occasional short trips to the supermarket or to a local restaurant in their maroon 2011 Ford Fusion. So it doesn't make any sense that they would be gone now for more than 30 hours.

"They're never out this late," said Bonnie Davis, their granddaughter. "The car's too old. There's no GPS. There's no cellphones. We don't have computers in this house so we have no idea."

Davis is described as 6 feet tall, 185 pounds. His wife is 5 foot 4 and 140 pounds. Their family members even more worried because she doesn’t have her medication.

Family members were hoping Davis' license expires next month at the age of 88 that will put a stop to his driving.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts was urged to call (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

Officials say White House Counsel Don McGahn left the Trump administration Wednesday, NBC News reported. 

News of McGahn's departure from the White House was first reported by The New York Times, which cited two people close to him. Two White House officials confirmed to NBC News that Wednesday was McGahn's last day.

McGahn's departure comes a day after President Donald Trump told The Associated Press in a Tuesday interview that Washington lawyer Pat Cipollone to serve as his next White House counsel.

Trump in August said McGahn would levae the White House in the fall. 

If ever in need of a last-minute Halloween must-have, like disco dancing shoes with goldfish frozen in time in the heel, or that obscure wig that will definitely convince fellow revelers that you have possessed the soul of Jim Morrison for your holiday haunt, there was but one place to go in the South Bay.

For nearly five decades, Aaardvark's in Hermosa and ultimately Redondo Beach served a unique purpose. Open year round, the small shop had unique vintage pieces, Halloween costumes, theme party accoutrements and a whole lot of South Bay charm.

As Pinkberry's come and go, and sandy feet pad past quirky shop after shop, there was one that managed to not only survive, but thrive.

Now it's the clichéd "end of an era."

Aaardvark is closing up shop after 47 years, and offering 50 percent or more off on all items in an effort to empty the store cluttered with purple wigs, witchy shoes, masquerade masks, 50s style bathing suits and much more.

It's a store that was once frequented by Robin Williams - you may be able to guess it was his signature wacky Hawaiian shirts that he snagged from Aaardvark's.

There was also that time Shaquille O'Neal dropped a stink bomb in the Hermosa store.

"Everybody remembers that," Jon McCormack, co-owner, said.

Prior to becoming a Laker, Shaq had just bought a million dollar house in Manhattan Beach -- back when it was just around $1 million to live there.

"He came in the store and set off a bomb, and thought it was real cute," Jon said. "We thought it was less than that," Jon said, with a chuckle.

The store opened when Jon and Donna McCormack were fresh out of school. Donna, just 18 years old with a natural talent as a seamstress, made "scarf blouses" - a big hit at Aaardvark's in the 70s in Hermosa Beach.

Joe Stromei started the store out of an old panel truck called "the Odd Ark" at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in between college classes, according to his obituary. He added the third "a" in Aaardvark so he would be at the very top of the phone list when it came to antique and used clothing.

In 1972, the store was originally called Aaardvark's Odd Ark and it was nestled in the colorful little beach town of Hermosa, in the 800 block of Hermosa Ave.

Jon and Donna spotted clothes in the window and after chatting with the owner, Joe, one thing led to another, and they were hired.

The twosome worked at Aaardvark's Odd Ark for 12 years before buying the store in 1984 from Joe.

Nine stores around Southern California soon popped up.

"It was THE name in vintage clothing," Jon said.

Although, at the time, the late 70s, it wasn't just vintage. In true LA fashion, the clothing was called re-purposed, or recycled. Even "gently used" was a popular term.

"People were just becoming aware of how important it was to recycle," Jon said.

"Can I just say something?" asks Donna, as she and Jon respond during the interview like only a couple married for the better part of their lives do, as if they're playing jazz, respectfully waiting for the perfect moment to play on her partner's last sentence.

"Before Joe opened these stores, it was pretty much that you went to Goodwill, and there was stuff that looked like your grandma wore it," Donna said.

Jon and Donna, along with the original owner Joe, turned it into something special.

Aaardvark's made it cool to wear vintage.

"He revolutionized everything - he made it cool. It was a better grade of clothing," Jon said of Joe.

The Hollywood store saw "just about everybody" in terms of celebrities.

Robin Williams, Bruce Springsteen - who loved buying Aaardvark's over-dyes, black jackets, and Levi vests - and plenty of celebrity athletes living at the beach, including Luke Walton, LA Kings' Jeff Carter, and admittedly, some people Jon and Donna don't even recognize.

"There are several music people who, I admit, I don't know their names, but the girls who work here get all 'did you see that?!'" Jon said.

But as the years passed, the Aaardvarks kept dying off - leaving only the final Redondo location. A white rhino - or white aardvark, if you will.

"This Aaardvark is the only one left of the originals," Jon said.

There was once one in Canoga Park, one in North Hollywood, and Silver Lake.

By 2006, the McCormacks had moved to the Redondo store, cemented between the bustling traffic of Inglewood Avenue and the Galleria Mall to the far eastern end, and the warm, orange glow of the beach to the western end.

"Aaardvark really was the trendsetter. It was the name in vintage. If you were going to get vintage, you were going to Aaardvark," Jon said.

But all things must come to an end.

Jon and Donna considered selling it.

"But it's not a business you can just step into," Donna said. "There's a lot of us in it."

The two have learned their very unique process of acquiring atypical clothing or pieces for their store over 46 years.

"When we started on this journey, she was 18," Jon said. "It is a very long time to be doing this."

The Halloween season can be demanding as well. So the two are hanging up their vintage cowboy hats, and retiring.

"I told him after last Halloween, I just can't do another one," Donna said.

Every year, the lines wrap around the store and back out through the front door.

"I'm glad it's the last season, but I'm a little sad it's the last Aaardvark," Donna said.

And the end of the Aaardvark era isn't without protest. Jon spoke of a woman who came by the store, in tears, and had to leave and compose herself. He said she came by not to take advantage of the clearance sale, as most might, but to just say "thank you."

"If people didn't care that we're closing, we didn't do our job," Jon said.

What's next for the building where Aaardvark stands? Jon says one man pitched an idea of making it an escape room.

The more important question will be, where will everyone go for their last-minute costume needs.

Of course, there are Halloween shops that pop up every season.

Yeah, you can scour line after line of clothing at Goodwill, or the Salvation Army.

And it's possible to seek out the quirkier shops in the mall.

But the absence of Aaardvark in the South Bay will leave a colorful, gabardine, silk-covered, frayed, tie-dyed void that will change something fundamental in the beach cities forever.

"Come buy a piece of history," Jon said, a little sarcastically. "It's kind of hokey, just come by and say hi. I can't tell you how many people have come by just to say thanks."

As Jon and Donna say their farewells, along with Godfrey, the ever-present vintage mannequin posted out front, they take with them a treasure chest of memories.

"We haven't gotten rich off this, but it's been a decent way to earn a living," Jon said.

The Los Angeles Lakers begin their 2018-19 NBA season in Portland, and LeBron James makes his debut with the Lakers. (Shahan Ahmed)

There was no winner in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, leaving the jackpot swell to an estimated $430 million.

Between that pot and the estimated $900 million Mega Millions lottery prize, there are more than $1.3 billion up for grabs in the coming drawings — though the odds of winning remain extremely long.

The winning numbers in the Powerball drawing were 3, 57, 64, 68 and 69, with a Powerball of 15. The prize was $378 million. The next drawing is Saturday.

The current estimated Powerball jackpot doesn't crack the top 10 largest in U.S. history, but Friday's Mega Million drawing offers the second largest.

The largest was a $1.6 billion Powerball game from January 2016 that was split between three tickets purchased in California, Florida and Tennessee.

A family dog believed to be dead after a brick wall collapsed off of a home in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood was found buried alive under rubble two days later.

Sections of a three-story brick wall on Emerald Street collapsed into the yard of neighbor Jose Gonzalez on Monday.

Gonzalez believed his dog Magic, a 16-year-old American Pit bull Terrier, died in the accident. The family tried digging through the rubble by hand, but couldn't locate Magic.

Then Tuesday, construction workers cleaning up the debris found the canine under bricks. Gonzales said he cried when heard his trusted pet was still here. 

"We are all happy about that, that nobody was hurt. That’s was the main thing. But when I found out my dog was here, it was the same thing as somebody getting hurt," Gonzales said Wednesday.

Magic has head trauma and is dehydrated. The family is taking him to a veterinarian for a full examination.

The city's Department of Licenses and Inspections has told renters to stay out of the neighboring building, as they investigate what happened.

A San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputy was hospitalized early Thursday after shots were fired from an apartment building in the Mojave Desert community of Adelanto.

Details about the deputy's condition were not immediately available.

The deputy was struck by gunfire during a law enforcement call to an apartment in Adelanto in the Victor Valley areas of the Mojave Desert. The deputy was struck by multiple rounds, according to the sheriff's department.

The deputy was described as conscious and alert. 

It was not immediately clear why deputies responded to the residence, where SWAT members were involved in a standoff with the shooter. 

Refresh this page and watch Today in LA for updates.

Netflix executives have been telling employees to brace for a Wall Street Journal investigation that takes a critical view of the company's corporate culture, people with knowledge of the matter tell NBC News. 

Executives are expecting the piece to be similar to The New York Times' 2015 investigation into Amazon, which described a hyper-competitive and "bruising" workplace where employees were said to be held to "unreasonably high" standards, said the sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. 

Such a piece threatens to sap morale at a company that has been widely portrayed as the envy of the media industry, given the lucrative six- and seven-figure salaries it offers to employees, to say nothing of the hundreds of millions it offers to showrunners. 

A Netflix spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meet Jax, the pet of the week for Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018.

Jax is a 4-month-old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. He is a bundle of energy. If you have an active lifestyle and want a puppy with lots of energy, then Jax is the dog for you. He gets along well with his kennel mates and walks pretty well on a leash. He'll require additional training, but he will be worth it.

ID: A1818942

West Valley Center
20655 Plummer Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
(818) 756-9325 (center)

Knotts Berry Farm wants to give a little back to the millions of United States service members and veterans who have given their service to our country. 

The Buena Vista amusement park's "Military Tribute Days" returns for another year of free admission for active and retired U.S. military personnel. 

All service members and veterans need to do to enjoy Knott's thrill-inducing rides is show their military identification card or discharge form at the park's main gate, located at 8039 Beach Blvd., on any day from Nov. 1 through 15 or Nov. 26 through Dec. 21. 

Yep, you read that right. Knott's is offering this deal during their holiday "Knott's Merry Farm" season, which runs on select nights from November to January. 

Service members will also be able to invite their loved ones to join in the deal. Additional discounted tickets will be available for purchase for those with proof of military service. 

Spouses of deployed military members can gain free admission and the option to purchase up to six additional discounted tickets by providing deployment papers.

The offering coincides with Veterans Day, which falls on Nov. 11. 

Deep in a playoff run and only one win away from a second straight World Series appearance, the sports gods decreed that baseball would take a break because LeBron James debuts with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

The 2018-19 season finally tips off for James and the Lakers, though the debut curiously arrives two nights after the season officially started, on the road and in a rather hostile environment.

The Lakers have been swept by the Blazers in each of the past four seasons, and the last time the Lakers won in Oregon was way back in March of 2014 in a game that can best be described as a fluke.

Mike D'Antoni coached a team that started Pau Gasol, Wesley Johnson, Kendall Marshall, Jodie Meeks and Kent Bazemore, with Ryan Kelly, Robert Sacre, Marshon Brooks and Xavier Henry serving as the only contributors off the bench. That freak game can be described as D'Antoni's greatest coaching performance or the true measure of Gasol's greatness.

Since that miracle March night, the Lakers have lost 15 straight times to the Blazers. So, James has a rare opportunity to immediately turn the symbolic tide for the Lakers with a debut victory in an city that has historically haunted the Lakers.

More than most cities, Portland chants "Beat LA" with conviction, passion and consistency.

While Lakers' fans have permeated every NBA arena, Portland remains one of the few arenas where the home crowd is seemingly always in control of the atmosphere--even when the purple and gold come to visit.

Portland has a team that can start the season in a dead sprint with Damian Lillard coming off an All-NBA First Team selection, C.J. McCollum making an argument to be an All-Star, Jusuf Nurkic possessing a unique skill set and a roster that has retained role players and maintained relative cohesion in the offseason.

The Lakers, meanwhile, are barely learning to crawl with James' arrival serving as a catalyst for massive roster changes. Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee both expect to start on Thursday, and neither of them look like they belonged in Lakers' jersey until preseason rolled around and they took the court--especially former Boston Celtic Rondo.

The additions of Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson are the equivalent of cooking meat over a fire. If all goes well, the two veterans could turn out to be positive, digestible additions that serve a purpose. If all does not go well, though, the experiment could result in a stomach turning scene that features a heavy dose of regret and a promise never to attempt anything as reckless in the future.

If James is a porterhouse cooked at the finest of restaurants in an upscale Beverly Hills restaurant, Brandon Ingram is a hipster food truck in Silver Lake that is drawing longer and longer lines by the day. Ingram's got a special, attractive flavor to his game, and while a great deal can be learned in sports with a hard work ethic, which the Kinston, North Carolina native has plenty of by all accounts, Ingram's natural length cannot be taught.

Fewer than two months past his 21st birthday, Ingram is already the second most important player on a team that can legitimately be considered one of the handful of championship contenders to start the season.

To start the 2018-19 season, the Lakers only trail the Rockets, Celtics and Warriors based on Las Vegas odds. The Raptors and Sixers have longer odds to win a title in 2019 than the Lakers according to oddsmakers.

Beyond James, Rondo's addition seems to be heralded with coaches and teammates fawning over the 2008 NBA champion's mental capacity and leadership on the court.

Rondo's addition not only eased the pressure on Ball not to rush back from offseason knee injury; it also allowed Ball to likely slot into a second unit with fellow sophomore Kyle Kuzma and, probably, Josh Hart. The trio has chemistry on and off the court, and three of the "core four" Lakers playing together on the second unit should be perceived as a positive in the long term.

How, exactly, the Lakers fit together will likely be a work in progress, but the Lakers' greatest assets are depth and youth--apart from James, of course.

Youth, depth and, most importantly, James will be take the court on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Live in Los Angeles long enough and you're going to come across that one person who knows the seven different restaurants that have occupied that one building down the block over 90 years.

And can explain each menu, from each restaurant, in detail.

They're also going to know all about your neighborhood, the reasons streets are named what they're named, and the backstory on every major landmark in town.

Call them LAggheads, in the best and most complimentary sense. Or LA-eggheads, if you prefer.

If you've aspired to be such an awesomely eggheady pro in the LA arena, the kind of know-it-all who really does know it all where our local history is concerned, best clear your plate on Saturday, Oct. 20 for the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar.

It's a day-long happening at the Doheny Memorial Library at USC, one that brings together numerous agencies and groups that all have had a hand in saving, cataloguing, researching, and spotlighting the countless stories and details that comprise our colossal city.

Exhibitors will include the California African American Museum and Research Library, Hollywood Heritage, Old Spanish Trail Association, and Little Tokyo Historical Society.

No need to pay admission, if you want to jump into some of the materials on hand, and look up your favorite area, a business you support, or a character you'd like to know better: It's free to attend.

And when you need a break from looking at the periodicals, photos, and other artifacts brought in by the exhibitors? And chatting up all of the smart historians representing dozens of organizations?

Look for the "workshops and enlightening presentations," on a host of historical topics, that will fill the day's schedule.

L.A. as Subject, "an association of archives and collections hosted by the USC Libraries," is once again behind this expand-your-local-knowledge event, which is marking its 13th year.