Sally Ride sparks posthumous debate over revealing of sexual orientation

California counties report fewer fugitive felons skipping out on probation after shift

Brown breaks silence on state parks fund debacle

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown broke his silence Wednesday on the discovery of hidden money at California's cash-strapped state parks department. The Democratic governor downplayed the scandal, saying it was the first time he's seen government get in trouble for saving money. "When somebody comes and says, 'Hey, guess what, we have some money over here,' that's ...

Bay Area briefs

SAN JOSE THEATER EVACUATED DURING BATMAN SCREENING: SAN JOSE (AP) - San Jose police say a movie theater was evacuated when someone threw a suspicious package into a screening of the new Batman film.

State news briefs

CAMP STAFFERS RESIGN IN SUPPORT OF GAY EAGLE SCOUT: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Ten staff members at a Boy Scouts camp in Northern California have resigned to protest the firing of a 22-year-old Eagle Scout who says he was let go because he is gay.

More than 5,000 pot plants seized in SoCal

SAN MARCOS . (AP) - Authorities say they've seized more than 5,000 marijuana plants in two Southern California raids. About 1,500 immature plants were taken from private land Tuesday in Temecula in Riverside County. A task force of federal and local agents spotted the plants by helicopter a few days earlier. About 3,800 immature plants were taken Monday ...

Ships told to slow for whales while navigating aorund San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal officials are asking large ships to slow down near San Francisco Bay to avoid killing the droves of whales feeding near the Northern California coast. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the advisory Tuesday. It wants large vessels to reduce their speed to 10 knots, or about 11.5 mph, in the Gulf of the Farallones and ...

Judge appoints temp guardian for Jackson kids

Couple hospitalized after bee attack

INDIO (AP) - Killer bees have swarmed a gardener and homeowner in the Southern California desert, stinging them dozens of times. The man and woman are hospitalized. The gardener was stung 80 times, and the woman has more than 100 bee stings. The Desert Sun of Palm Springs reports the gardener was trimming a ...

California farms export $22.1B in food

Low on funds: City plans sugary drink tax

EL MONTE (AP) - City leaders are looking for a sugar fix. The City Council on Tuesday was scheduled to consider declaring a fiscal emergency so it can place a proposed soda tax on the Nov. 6 special election ballot. Businesses would be charged a penny per ounce on beverages they sell that are sweetened with sugar, such ...

Crowd heckles police for fatal shootings

Foreclosure rate for California homes slows, eases fears of housing recovery hit

Chilling video confession in dismemberment killing

FRESNO (AP) - A Fresno County murder defendant acknowledged beating his alleged victim with a metal pipe before dismembering his body with a knife and hacksaw in a bathtub in a chilling video confession played in court. Brian Waldron, 54, is accused of killing Jonathan Taylor at Waldron's home on Oct. 24, 2008. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and mutilation ...

State news briefs

FEDERAL OFFICER KILLED IN MODESTO SHOOTING: MODESTO (AP) - Authorities have identified the victim of a weekend bar shooting in Modesto as a 34-year-old police officer for the Department of Defense.

Bolts on Bay Bridge that haven't failed may go

OAKLAND (AP) - Long seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that haven't failed may have to be replaced nonetheless, a regional transportation official said Wednesday.

State news briefs

GROCER TRIES TO PROFIT OFF BOTCHED BURGLARY: REDDING (AP) - A Northern California grocery store owner is trying to profit from a suspected thief's botched burglary attempt that was caught on video and went viral.

2 a.m. still last call for alcohol in California

Educators sued over English instruction