Yacht accident survivor wants more focus on safety

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A survivor of the fatal grounding of a racing yacht on rocky islands west of San Francisco is calling on the sailing community to make safety a higher priority. In a lengthy letter posted online Tuesday, Bryan Chong, 38, offered a detailed account of what happened the day the sailboat Low Speed Chase wrecked during an April 14 ...

Marines discharge sergeant for Facebook posts critical of President Obama policies

Ruling undermines measure blocking lawmakers' pay

State news briefs

PERSON DIES AFTER SUV DANGLES FROM FREEWAY: SAN DIEGO (AP) - Authorities say a woman has died after five people were rescued from a wrecked SUV as it dangled off the side of a San Diego freeway.

Jane Goodall named grand marshal of Rose Parade

PASADENA (AP) - Chimpanzee expert and conservationist Jane Goodall was named Wednesday as grand marshal of the 2013 Tournament of Roses. The honor was announced outside the tournament's stately mansion headquarters, where Goodall greeted well-wishers with the kind of chimpanzee call she said can be heard in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. Goodall, 78, said she was startled when ...

Fireball remnants likely in California.

Bay Area briefs

Santa Clara County takes aim at payday loans

SAN JOSE (AP) - San Jose and Santa Clara County are cracking down on payday lending operations. Critics say the storefront businesses prey on the poor. In exchange for a post-dated check, people get up to $255 in cash with a promise to repay the loan, plus a $45 fee, within two weeks. The San Jose Mercury News ...

Rodney King reflects on an up-down life since riot Los Angeles riot 20 years ago

Settlement clears way for cross in Mojave Desert honoring war dead

Hunting bill to ban dogs draws hundreds

Proposal calls for local control over campuses

BERKELEY (AP) - Each of the 10 campuses that make up the University of California system would have the autonomy to set their own tuition, determine how many out-of-state students to enroll and make other key decisions under a proposal floated by top officials at the University of California, Berkeley. The officials, including UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, say in a new ...

Judge: Controller cannot block lawmakers' pay

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In a tentative ruling, a trial judge said Tuesday that the state controller has no authority to block lawmakers' pay, as he did last summer after deciding they had failed to meet their constitutional deadline for passing a balanced budget. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David Brown found that Controller John Chiang violated the separation of powers clause of ...

State news briefs

TEENS DRINKING HAND SANITIZER TO GET DRUNK: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Teenagers are showing up in Los Angeles emergency rooms after drinking inexpensive liquid hand sanitizers to get drunk.

Bay Area briefs

BART staff recommends Canadian firm for new cars

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.

Arrest in shooting at Vallejo Little League game

Daycare owners arraigned in swaddling case

State declines to update campaign data online

Perry disgusted by explosion cartoon

First confirmed Japanese tsunami debris in Calif.

209 News

WILD DOG KILLED BY DEPUTIES: FRENCH CAMP - One of the dogs which may have killed dozens of goats at a French Camp livestock auction yard recently was killed Friday.