Bay Area briefs

TESTS ON BAY BRIDGE BOLTS SO FAR SHOW NO FAILURE: OAKLAND AP) - After dozens of seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge broke, tests on remaining bolts have so far shown no sign of failure.

San Jose to pay $150k for use of phony lab report

SAN JOSE (AP) - A Northern California city is expected Tuesday to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man accused of rape who was the subject of a phony lab report prepared by police.

SF Airport won't be renamed Harvey Milk

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco lawmaker said Tuesday that he has abandoned a proposal to rename San Francisco International Airport after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk and instead plans to pursue getting an airport terminal named in Milk's honor.

Brown: Public still confident in Bay Bridge

WEST SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he believes the public still has confidence in the safety of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge despite concerns about construction of the $6.4 billion span that is scheduled to open later this year.

209 News

MINN. HIKER FOUND DEAD AT CLIFF BOTTOM IN YOSEMITE: YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) - A hiker who went missing in Yosemite National Park has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff, authorities said.

Groups want details on license plate readers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two privacy rights groups questioning law enforcement's use of automated license plate readers asked a judge Monday to order the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to provide more details on how they use the technology.

Brown mystified at continuing prison legal case; faces possible contempt

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday defended his combative approach to the federal court case over California's prison system by saying the state has undergone an "incredible transformation" since the courts took over the inmate health care system.

Court: Cities can ban medical pot shops

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that cities and counties can ban medical marijuana dispensaries, a decision likely to further diminish the network of storefront pot shops and fuel efforts to have the state regulate the industry.

State news briefs

Background on the case, recent developments and what happens next: What is the court case at issue?

A special panel of three federal judges ruled in 2009 that a reduction in the population of California's crowded prisons was necessary to bring treatment of sick and mentally ill inmates up to constitutionally acceptable standards. Some of the state's 33 adult prisons had housed more than double the number of inmates they were designed to hold. After weighing experts' recommendations, the judges ordered that the statewide average be reduced to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The original deadline for reducing the population to that level was June 30, 2013, but the judges extended the deadline to ...

CPUC: PG&E should pay $2.25B for blast

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California agency investigating the deadly 2010 gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood recommended Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pay a $2.25 billion fine for its negligence leading to the blast.

Crews mop up coastal mountain wildfire as rain falls

CAMARILLO (AP) - Rain showers moved across Southern California on Monday, dousing remnants of a wildfire that blackened thousands of acres in coastal mountains and bringing much-needed moisture to a region left parched by a dry winter.

Truckee River flows peak, 3rd lowest in four decades

TRUCKEE (AP) - Some of the lowest season flows in the Truckee River in four decades are raising concerns about Nevada's lingering drought.

If you buy over Internet you’re probably a tax cheat

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Buy anything on the Internet lately without paying sales tax? In all but a few states, you're probably a tax cheat.

Central Coast rancher wins right to help homeless after court fight

SAN LUIS OBISPO (AP) - A Central Coast rancher and local hero to the homeless vowed to finally to build the Sunny Acres sober living facility after more than a decade in court and conflicts.

15 medical professionals indicted in $25M scheme

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Fifteen doctors, pharmacists and others medical professionals in Southern California have been charged in a $25 million workers' compensation scam that prosecutors say was linked to the death of a baby.

NTSB faults pilot in Asiana flight

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mismanagement by the pilots of Asiana Flight 214, including confusion over whether one of the airliner's key controls was maintaining airspeed, caused the plane to crash while landing in San Francisco last year, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Tuesday.

Lawmakers modify sex-assault bill targeting teens

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill responding to the sexual assault of a Northern California teenager who committed suicide after a photo of the attack was posted on social media was amended Tuesday to remove a mandatory two-year sentence for juvenile offenders.

Auditor finds four campus’ sexual assault efforts inadequate

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California's public universities need to do a better job of educating students and staff members about campus sexual harassment and violence policies and then keeping students who bring complaints informed about the status of their cases, the state auditor said Thursday.

NEWS FROM ACROSS CALIFORNIA

• LUCAS CHOOSES CHICAGO FOR 'STARS WARS' MUSEUM: "Star Wars" creator George Lucas has selected Chicago to build his museum of art and movie memorabilia. Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, confirmed the decision Tuesday. McCaffrey did not have any immediate details about the much-anticipated decision by the filmmaker. But the choice is a major victory for Emanuel and the city, which was competing with San Francisco for the museum.

Stores don’t have to carry defibrillators

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that large retailers aren't required to have defibrillators on hand to help treat customers and workers who suffer sudden cardiac arrest.

No ‘Monkey’ business

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco's city attorney issued a cease-and-desist demand Monday to a mobile app called Monkey Parking, which allows people to auction off public parking spaces that they're using to other nearby drivers.

Agencies crack down on child sex trafficking

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Federal, state and local authorities in California have made more than three dozen arrests and recovered 27 juveniles as part of an annual national crackdown on child sex trafficking.

Drought helping in fight against sudden oak death

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California's drought appears to be reducing the spread of a disease that threatens to wipe out huge swaths of oak trees in the state, a newspaper reported.

Young farmers, ranchers get assistance

FRESNO (AP) - The country's next generation of farmers and ranchers may have a better chance at success with extra help that the federal government recently unveiled.

NEWS FROM ACROSS CALIFORNIA

• MOUNTAIN LION FOUND IN BACKYARD: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A mountain lion is back in the wild after it was found in the backyard of a Sacramento home. The Sacramento Bee reports that the animal was discovered on Saturday night inside the fenced in yard. Sacramento police and a California Department of Fish and Wildlife warden helped tranquilize and capture it. It was released back into the wild on Sunday. The young male mountain lion weighed 70 pounds and was about 1 and ½ years old.

VA falls short on female medical issues

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Already pilloried for long wait times for medical appointments, the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs has fallen short of another commitment: to attend to the needs of the rising ranks of female veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them of child-bearing age.

Checking in: ABA says lawyers allowed to scour jurors’ social media sites

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Lawyers have been given the green light to scan the social media sites of jurors.

US overseas missile test a direct hit

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (AP) - The U.S. military intercepted a target over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday in a test of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Alleged San Diego vandal accused of tagging court

SAN DIEGO (AP) - San Diego County authorities have filed new charges against a suspected vandal they believe scrawled graffiti in the courtroom where he was being prosecuted.