Mariah Carey joins 'American Idol' as new judge, props up show with star power

State news briefs

HEAD MOUSKETEER GINNY TYLER DIES AT 86: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former Disney head Mousketeer and voice actress Ginny Tyler has died in Washington at 86.

State park groups fret over secret fund debacle as they try to keep 70 parks open

Fingerprint expert shortage causes LA backlog

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Detectives investigating burglaries, auto thefts and other property-related crimes in Los Angeles have been forced to wait an average two to three months to get fingerprints analyzed because of an employee shortage at the Police Department's Latent Print Unit. The backlog of 2,200 cases means fingerprint analysis in some active criminal investigations is being delayed more than a ...

Bay Area briefs

Oakland ends 82-year-old ban on dance marathons

21 burned in walk over hot coals at Robbins’ motivational event

SAN JOSE (AP) - Fire officials said 21 people at an event hosted by motivational speaker Tony Robbins suffered burns while walking across hot coals and three of the injured were treated at hospitals.

Vallejo: Mixed picture after bankruptcy

VALLEJO (AP) - Cobblestones show through the decrepit pavement in Sheila Dodson's downtown neighborhood, prostitutes ply the sidewalks in broad daylight and many of the century-old Victorians stand empty. Yet this is where Dodson wants to raise her family.

Surgeons banned from human research after failing to secure UC Davis permission

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Two University of California, Davis neurosurgeons have been banned from performing medical research on humans after they were accused of experimenting on dying brain cancer patients without university permission, the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday.

Santa Monica trailer park community threatened by upscale growth plan

SANTA MONICA (AP) - Sandwiched between a brake shop, gritty industrial buildings and a few modest storefronts is a little neighborhood that time has seemingly forgotten.

Marines create law enforcement battalions

CAMP PENDLETON (AP) - The Marine Corps has created its first law enforcement battalions - a lean, specialized force of military police officers that it hopes can quickly deploy worldwide to help investigate crimes from terrorism to drug trafficking and train fledgling security forces in allied nations.

State news briefs

• HAYASHI TO RUN FOR VACANT ALAMEDA COUNTY SEAT: SAN JOSE (AP) - California Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi says she's planning to run for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors seat vacated by Nadia Lockyer.

It could one day cost Bay Area vehicle owners a dime a mile in taxes to drive

OAKLAND (AP) - San Francisco Bay area officials will study a proposal to charge motorists a tax on every mile they drive in the nine-county region as a way to raise money for roads and public transit while reducing traffic and pollution from car emissions. Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments approved going forward with ...

California parks director resigns amid scandal; department sat on $54 million

Lawmakers hand out pay raises amid cuts

LA drivers told to prepare for 'Carmageddon II'

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Remember "Carmageddon"? Get ready for the sequel. Southern California drivers were urged Thursday to stay off the roads when a 10-mile section of busy Interstate 405 is closed this fall. Crews will finish tearing down a bridge in the Sepulveda Pass, which links West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley and carries nearly ...

Vulnerable inmates ordered out of 2 Central Valley prisons

Nesting swallows could delay Petaluma bridge work

State news briefs

SANTA CLARA THREATENS AMBULANCE TERMINATION: SAN JOSE. (AP) - Santa Clara County officials are threatening to terminate the contract of an ambulance company that they say has repeatedly responded too slowly to emergencies.

Killer on the loose: Valley Springs on lockdown

Lawmakers consider moratorium on oil fracking in San Joaquin Valley

3 divers killed over weekend abalone diving off California

SF Bay Bridge has bolts similar to banned bolts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has more than 1,200 bolts made from galvanized steel that is virtually identical to a high-strength alloy that a nationwide group of transportation officials banned for use on bridges because the bolts can crack, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

Fatal stabbing of girl, 8, prompts manhunt

VALLEY SPRINGS (AP) - Residents of a rural Northern California county were being told Sunday to keep their doors locked and report anyone considered suspicious as authorities continued the search for the killer of an 8-year-old girl.

Some are overlooked in overhaul

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Carlos Gonzalez has lived nearly all his 29 years in a country he considers home but now finds himself on the wrong side of the border - and the wrong side of a proposed overhaul of the U.S. immigration system that would grant legal status to millions of people.

California weighs first state ban on lead ammo

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In November, one of the oldest condors in Central California died from lead poisoning after being found with tiny bullet fragments and a .22-caliber slug in his gullet that he apparently swallowed with a mouthful of meat.

Rolling Stones rock small LA club

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

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.