Private security co. target of myriad lawsuits

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Few security companies have benefited as much from the surge of Sept. 11-related government contracts as Akal Securities, a New Mexico-based company controlled by American converts to a Sikh religious sect.

Gas prices hit record high 2nd straight day

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California motorists faced another day of record-breaking gasoline prices Sunday, though relief appeared to be on the way.

Recycling fraud costs California millions

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rampant fraud within California's recycling redemption program is costing the state millions of dollars, as scammers drive trucks full of cans across the border from Nevada and Arizona to collect nickels on deposits that were never paid.

Mom charged in death of boy shot in crib

SLATINGTON, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania have charged a mother with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 19-month-old boy hit by a gunshot in his crib. The (Allentown) Morning Call reports that 26-year-old Holly Pallone was arraigned Sunday morning from Lehigh County prison on that charge, along with reckless endangerment. According to the arrest affidavit, ...

Initiative asks for softening of 3 Strikes law; could release another 2,800 inmates

Proposition 36 at a glance

Study: Mountain lions migrating to Calif. from Nevada

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Many mountain lions in Nevada are migrating westward to take up residence in California, according to a seven-year study. The findings ran counter to the expectations of researchers, who thought the cougars would have moved eastward from California to Nevada, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Because lions are hunted in Nevada but not in California, ...

Private security co. target of myriad lawsuits

State news briefs

NEARLY 1,000 GALLONS STOLEN FROM ROSEVILLE GAS STATION: ROSEVILLE . (AP) - Police in the Northern California city of Roseville are investigating the theft of nearly 1,000 gallons of gas from a Shell station.

Proposition 31 at a glance

Initiative seeks to alter budget process

Gas prices hit record high 2nd straight day

Recycling fraud costs California millions

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rampant fraud within California's recycling redemption program is costing the state millions of dollars, as scammers drive trucks full of cans across the border from Nevada and Arizona to collect nickels on deposits that were never paid. California recyclers also are claiming redemptions for the same containers several times, or for containers that never existed, according to an ...

Short supplies keep gas prices rising in California

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California gas prices continued surging Friday, adding another 17 cents per gallon on average, and the increases are expected to continue for at least several more days, ensuring long lines and short tempers at pumps around the state.

Energy Commission says gas prices should fall

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Energy Commission has determined that the state has plenty of gasoline to meet consumer demand and says prices at the pump should start to fall next week.

New home for state parks’ artifacts

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state parks department has a new warehouse for its collection of historical artifacts, and the building will soon be open to the public.

Couple to turn Disney’s Chicago home into museum

CHICAGO (AP) - Call it Disneyland Chicago.

3,000 pounds of cocaine seized

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Authorities have seized more than 3,000 pounds of cocaine in a three-year crackdown on a nationwide drug trafficking operation centered near the California-Mexico border.

Southbound Interstate 5 in Stockton reopened after officer shooting

STOCKTON (AP) - Southbound Interstate 5 in Stockton reopened hours after an officer-involved shooting shut it down during the busy morning commute.

High-speed rail officials respond to setbacks

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The board that oversees California's embattled high-speed rail project is responding to recent legal and administrative setbacks and says it will file a new motion seeking blanket authority to sell $8.6 billion in state bonds.

Crossbow killing defendant faces trial

EUREKA (AP) - A Northern California man is headed to trial on charges that he killed one person and wounded another with a crossbow.

Auditor: BART police make progress on reforms

OAKLAND (AP) - Police officers with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit agency have made significant progress in meeting reforms instituted after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white transit officer, an independent auditor said Thursday.

Universal shuts down ‘Fast & Furious 7’

Richmond, Carlsbad ban e-cigarettes

LAPD seeing fewer applicants

BART train stopped after brake problems

US vet detained oversaw guerrilla group

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Six decades before he went to North Korea as a curious tourist, Merrill Newman supervised a group of South Korean guerrillas during the Korean War who were perhaps the most hated and feared fighters in the North, former members of the group say.

Woman fights ticket for driving with Google glass

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to what is believed to be the first traffic citation alleging a motorist was using Google's computer-in-an-eyeglass.

‘Fast & Furious’ halted; autopsy underway

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The movie studio that makes the "Fast & Furious" action franchise said Tuesday it was suspending production of the latest installment, while authorities pressed ahead with their investigation into how Paul Walker died.

BART union sues transit agency

OAKLAND (AP) - San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit's two largest unions filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the agency, claiming its board of directors broke state law when they approved a contract without a key provision.