Federal government opposes bid by illegal immigrant to gain status as California lawyer

Gas pipe ruptures near site of deadly blast

High court upholds death penalty in school rampage

San Bernardino files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy

SAN BERNARDINO (AP) - Officials in San Bernardino, Calif., which is facing an expected $45.8 million budget deficit this year, have formally filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, a move that city leaders approved last month. Interim City Manager Andrea Travis-Miller said Wednesday that there would be "no immediate service reductions or changes in service to the community as a result of ...

Crowds swarm Chick-fil-A stores in support of owner’s free speech rights

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The chicken sandwich became a political statement for a day as supporters of the Chick-fil-A president's stance against gay marriage caused traffic jams at the fast-food chain's restaurants nationwide.

Court rejects developer’s attempt to build new road into Yosemite National Park

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court sided with environmentalists and ruled a California developer cannot build a new road into Yosemite National Park. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that Solvang developer Lewis Geyser does not have the rights to two stage-coach-era dirt roads connecting his property to Yosemite. Geyser wanted to build a resort ...

Deputy scales steep granite slope, saves hiker

PG&E engineer testifies utility knew that natural gas pipeline records were incomplete

REDWOOD CITY (AP) - A senior Pacific Gas & Electric Co. engineer testified that he repeatedly warned his supervisors before a fatal gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco suburb that the utility's gas records were incomplete, but they did nothing about it. Todd Arnett said in a deposition taken as part of a lawsuit against PG&E after the 2010 blast in ...

State close to completing review of special funds

State news briefs

Tahoe water shuttle starts Friday on north shore

School official accused of embezzlement pleads

WOODSIDE (AP) - A former school superintendent in San Mateo County accused of billing one school district for work done on his home and misappropriating funds from another district has reached a plea deal. The Palo Alto Daily News reports that Timothy Hanretty pleaded no contest on Tuesday to multiple counts of misappropriating funds in exchange for a prison sentence of no ...

Professor’s email reveals shooting plot

Lawmakers request audit of 9/11 fund, other plates

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers has formally requested a detailed review of the California specialty license plate program, the first in the program's 20-year history. The request comes in response to an investigation by The Associated ...

LA workers asked to stop watching Olympics online

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The top technology officer for Los Angeles is pleading with city workers to stop watching the Olympics online at work, saying it could cause a municipal computer meltdown.

Climate change report: Hotter & drier days plus a lot more fires

FRESNO (AP) - As California grows warmer, nowhere will the increased temperatures be starker than its arid Central Valley, where farmers will have to consider whether the crops ...

Bill would honor Buffalo Soldiers' role in parks

Unattended campfire caused Mariposa fire

MARIPOSA (AP) - An unattended campfire near a main route into Yosemite National Park has grown into a blaze that has led to the evacuations of 800 homes and 1,500 people, officials said Tuesday. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials released the cause of the fire Tuesday, as 2,200 firefighters - up from more than 700 Monday - worked to gain the upper hand on it amid windy, dry conditions. No other details ...

State news briefs

SURFER SHOT AT AMID EX-LAPD COP HUNT FILES LAWSUIT: LOS ANGELES (AP) - A surfer who was shot at by police during the manhunt for rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner has filed a lawsuit against a Los Angeles suburb and its police department.

Bay Area briefs

BOY, 6, KILLED BY RELATIVE'S DOG AT UNION CITY HOME: UNION CITY (AP) - A 6-year-old San Francisco Bay area boy died after he was attacked by a relative's dog, authorities said Tuesday.

Judge considers effect of fungus on inmates

Apple details nearly 500 government requests for user data over six months

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple says it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data for the six months ended in May. The company, like some other businesses, had asked the U.S government to be able to share how many requests it received related to national security and how it handled them. Those requests were made as part of Prism, the recently revealed highly classified National Security Agency program that seizes ...

Bill would let cities decide on open records

Wildfire burning near Hwy 140 near Mariposa

MARIPOSA (AP) - A wind-whipped wildfire near the main route into Yosemite National Park in the Central Sierra foothills forced the evacuation of about 150 houses and threatened others, a state fire official said on Monday. More than 700 firefighters are battling the Carstens fire which began Sunday afternoon and has burned about 1 1/2 square miles or 900 acres, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said. With more than 140 ...

State news briefs

Bay Area briefs

KAYAKER MISSING AFTER FALLING INTO LIVERMORE LAKE: LIVERMORE (AP) - A 30-year-old man is missing after falling out of a kayak at a lake in Livermore.

Four lawsuits filed against Delta Plan

Port of LA unveils plan for marine research center

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles port officials on Monday unveiled plans to create a $500 million marine research center called AltaSea. The project, developed through a public-private partnership between the port and universities, will be built on a 100-year-old wharf on the San Pedro waterfront. Officials cited Los Angeles' urban environment as a reason to invest in research at the port, which had been looking to diversify its uses - in addition to cargo ...

Cancer killed serial killer Richard Ramirez

LA elementary teacher arrested in estranged wife's stabbing death

Legislature passes $96.3B budget