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

Plan calls for halting prison construction, bring inmates shipped out of state back

State news briefs

3 HURT AS AMBULANCE, GARBAGE TRUCK COLLIDE IN LA: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities say an ambulance from the Los Angeles Fire Department and a garbage truck have collided, sending the two firefighters in the ambulance and the driver of the truck to the hospital.

Bay Area briefs

NO BACKPACKS ALLOWED AT 2013 BAY TO BREAKERS IN SF: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - No backpacks, large bags or containers will be allowed at this year's Bay to Breakers footrace in San Francisco as officials heighten security in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

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