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

Former 'Goodfellas' gangster Henry Hill dies in Los Angeles

State Side

FREEWAY SANDSTORM CAUSES MULTIPLE WRECKS, 6 HURT: LANCASTER (AP) - The California Highway Patrol has closed a freeway north of Los Angeles after a sandstorm in Lancaster led to several car wrecks that injured six people.

Calif. bill would expand who can perform abortions

Justin Bieber investigated for reckless driving

CALABASAS (AP) - Los Angeles County Sheriff's detectives are investigating Justin Bieber for reckless driving after witnesses, including former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson, complained. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says at 8 p.m. Monday Bieber allegedly drove his white Ferrari at freeway speeds in his north Los Angeles County gated community. Johnson was outside with his 3-year-old daughter who was preparing to get into a small electric car when Bieber zoomed by. Johnson followed Bieber to ...

Norcal News

PG&E SUED OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CANAL BREAK: COLFAX, (AP) - Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has been hit by a pair of lawsuits over its handling of a canal failure two years ago that forced thousands of Placer County residents to ration water.

Bay Area briefs

3 WOUNDED IN SAN FRANCISCO SHOOTING: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco police have arrested three people in connection with an early morning robbery attempt that left three others with gunshot wounds.

209 News

BODIES PULLED FROM WATERWAY WEST OF STOCKTON: STOCKTON (AP) - San Joaquin County Sheriff's officials are searching a waterway west of Stockton where an SUV crashed over the weekend.

Wal-Mart guilty in hazardous waste case

Tribal veterans gather to honor sacrifice

SANTA NELLA (AP) - American Indian veterans wearing tribal dress gathered to honor the sacrifice of their fighting men and women in an emotional ceremony at a Central California cemetery.

Surging wildfire forces evacuations in mountains north of Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA (AP) - A surging wildfire forced thousands of people, most of them Memorial Day campers, to evacuate the mountains of California's Santa Barbara County, officials said.

5 die as car slams into tree, splits in half before it catches on fire

NEWPORT BEACH (AP) - Police say five people from a single car were killed when it ran off an Orange County street, hit a tree and split into two pieces.

Squeezing every drop out of Colorado River topic for gathering

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Top water decision-makers from seven Western states plan to join conservation groups and Indian tribes in San Diego on Tuesday to begin hammering out rules for squeezing every useable drop from the overtaxed Colorado River.

Auction of lunch with Buffett starts Sunday

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Warren Buffett has already helped raise nearly $15 million over the years for a San Francisco homeless charity, and the group hopes someone will again be willing to pay more than $2 million for a private lunch with the Omaha, Neb., investor.

Bay Area news briefs

&bull; POLICE SEEK SUSPECTS IN 3 SAN JOSE SLAYINGS: SAN JOSE (AP) - Police are seeking suspects wanted in the shooting deaths of two San Jose teenagers and a man from the southern part of the city who were slain on Sunday.

State news briefs

&bull; MAN SHOOTS DAUGHTER WITH 3 KIDS IN HOME: OROSI (AP) - A California man shot his two adult daughters on Monday, killing one and critically injuring the other before apparently committing suicide while his three young grandchildren were in the home, authorities said.