USA Films Benicio Del Toro (left) and Jacob Vargas star as Mexican policemen who get caught in a web of corruption in Steven Soderbergh’s highly acclaimed new film about the drug trade in North America, "Traffic." By Emilia Hwang Daily Bruin Senior Staff Stephen Gaghan has been interested in writing a screenplay about drug trafficking, addiction and legislation for more than 20 years. Read more...

Monday 8 – Tuesday 9: Steve Altman, "The Digital Comedian," performs at the Ice House. Call (626) 577-1894 for show times and tickets, or visit www.icehouseonline.com. Read more...

  Illustration by HINGYI KHONG/Daily Bruin By Kristen Lara Daily Bruin Contributor The practice of swapping ““ trading goods for other goods ““ was one of the earliest forms of commerce. Read more...

BOOK INFORMATION   Title: White Rose: Una Rosa Blanca Author: Amy Ephron Publisher: The Ballantine Publishing Group Price: $12 Pages: 259 By Kristen Lara Daily Bruin Contributor Long before the story of Elian Gonzales captured the attention of the global community, the story of a young Cuban woman proved to be just as politically and emotionally divisive. Read more...

  COURTNEY STEWART Awaken A Cappella sings some holiday tunes inside the Westwood Brewing Company for customers. The group, consisting of 15 members, will be caroling in Westwood Village for the next two weekends. Read more...

  Happy Christmas www.happychristmas.com Fa la la la la, la la la la. Christmas is coming. If you’re one of the many people who aren’t quite up to speed for the holidays, www.happychristmas.com has just about everything you need to get into the Christmas spirit. Read more...

  Ambrosia Murder Mysteries In "Buried to the Mob," an interactive whodunit murder mystery show, audience members are given the chance to win a prize by figuring out who the killer is while wining and dining. Read more...