California lawmakers pass budget on $15.7B deficit so they can still get paid

Original 1972 space shuttle mock-up to emerge

DOWNEY (AP) - Just when it seemed all the space shuttles had been doled out to museums for display, it turns out there's one more - sort of. A full-size mock-up built in 1972 by the shuttle contractor Rockwell has for years been under wraps in a dark and empty warehouse in Downey, a southeast Los Angeles County city where the spacecraft ...

State news briefs

PARENTS FIGHT AT LA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Parents were recently caught brawling at a Los Angeles ceremony marking the end of preschool for their children.

LA County courts begin downsizing

Bay Area briefs

Fire near BART station suspicious AC OAKLAND (AP) - Authorities are trying to determine whether a fire near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station that shut down train service between San Francisco and Oakland was intentionally set. Investigators are looking for three young men who were seen moments before the fire at a low-income senior building under construction began early Thursday. A security ...

State news briefs

MAN FILES SUIT AGAINST TV NETWORK, BRISTOL PALIN: LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles man is suing the Lifetime Network and Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, claiming he was taped heckling her for a planned reality show without his knowledge or consent.

Armed robbers can’t get out of store as doors wouldn’t open, surrender to police

INGLEWOOD (AP) - Police on Thursday detained three men after a bungled robbery at a Southern California clothing store where both the suspected robbers and at least eight employees had trouble getting out of the building. Three men entered the Burlington Coat Factory building about 7:30 a.m. and at least one was armed, police said. The store hadn't opened yet and when ...

California home sales, prices jump in May

Dispute over $1.2B in CalWORKS puts Democrats at odds with Brown

Fraud alleged at acclaimed Oakland charter schools that has some of state’s highest scores

OAKLAND (AP) - A nationally recognized charter school organization in California could face a criminal investigation after a state audit found evidence of financial fraud, conflicts of interest and other illegal activities. The report released Wednesday detailed allegations of unscrupulous activity at Oakland-based American Indian Model Schools, which operates three public schools whose standardized test scores are among the state's highest. <p ...

Lawmaker calls proposed legislation catch and release for drunk drivers

Bicyclist to be charged in death of SF pedestrian

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco prosecutors plan to charge a bicyclist who fatally struck a 71-year-old man in a San Francisco crosswalk with felony vehicular manslaughter. District Attorney George Gascon said Thursday his office plans to file the charge against Chris Bucchere early next week. Bucchere, 36, is expected to turn himself in in the next few ...

Bay Area briefs

POLICE SAY COUPLE KILLED SUSPECTED PIMP SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco couple faces murder charges for allegedly killing a man last week they suspected of pimping their teenage daughter. Barry Gilton and his girlfriend Lupe Mercado appeared in court Wednesday on murder and other charges for the shooting death of 22-year-old Calvin Sneed. Both are being held on $2 million bail. ...

NASA launches telescope to seek out black holes

Lake detected near equator of Saturn's Titan

OC officials keep inmate alive they want to ultimately execute

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A man charged with raping and killing a woman 30 years ago is being kept alive in Orange County with dialysis treatments until officials can win permission to execute him.

Bills aim to protect privacy in drone age

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers are attempting to stay ahead of science fiction-style technology as increasingly nimble unmanned aircraft are considered for use in tracking fleeing suspects and monitoring crowded public spaces.