Former 'Goodfellas' gangster Henry Hill dies in Los Angeles

Daughter's alleged Mother's Day attack recounted

DENAIR (AP) - A judge heard grisly details of blood-splattered walls and a mother's cries during a preliminary hearing for an 18-year-old Northern California woman accused of attacking her parents last year on Mother's Day. Susan Wills testified Tuesday that her daughter Shanna Will had been acting strangely for a week leading up to the assault, claiming she was the "Messiah." <p ...

SF to unleash puppies-for-panhandlers program with pay up to $75 a week

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco hopes a cold nose and a warm heart will help end the problem of panhandling. In what could be the first program of its kind in the nation, the city beginning in August will offer panhandlers up to $75 a week to stop begging and foster puppies from the city animal shelter until the pups are ...

Falling rock risk forces Yosemite closures

State news briefs

THOUSANDS OF POT PLANTS SEIZED IN TULARE COUNTY: TULARE (AP) - Authorities in the Central Valley have seized more than 8,500 pot plants that would have produced marijuana with a street value in excess of $25 million.

California's prison population now eclipsed by Texas; down to 136,000

Southern California home prices, sales rise during May

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Sales in expensive coastal regions pushed Southern California home prices to a 20-month high in May as low-priced foreclosed properties made up a smaller part of overall sales, a research firm said Wednesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condos reached $295,000 in May, up 5.4 percent from $280,000 the same period last year, DataQuick ...

Democrats plan budget vote as Brown demands cuts to cover $17.5B deficit

Bay Area briefs

Occupy the Farm protesters won't face charges ALBANY (AP) - The last two of nine protesters arrested last month during an occupation of UC Berkeley land will also not face charges. Alameda County prosecutors said on Tuesday they have decided not to file charges against the two women, who were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Prosecutors have previously said ...

Disney California unveils $1B theme park redo

ANAHEIM (AP) - Disney is done with its do-over of Disney California Adventure. Wednesday marks the end of a five-year, $1 billion-plus overhaul to correct problems at the park. The venue, which was supposed to turn the Disneyland Resort into a multiple-day destination like Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., had become a source of embarrassment for the company almost from the moment it opened in 2001. Visitors grumbled that it had little connection to ...

‘Gone With the Wind’" actress Ann Rutherford dies

Genetically modified foods may get label in California if voters approve

1 in 4 on LA's Skid Row carry hepatitis C

Ex-Indian officer who shot, killed his family was living in US illegally

Democrats continue talks amid protests over $225M in cuts for disabled program

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.