Coalition forms to defend environmental law

Bay Area briefs

POLICE: SLEEPING PILLS PUT IN KID CUPS AT DAYCARE : MORGAN HILL (AP) - Morgan Hill police have arrested a daycare worker for allegedly putting sleeping pills into toddlers' drinks before a scheduled nap time.

Couple shoplifts, then beats guard

WEST COVINA . (AP) - Southern California authorities are searching for a man and a woman who had two children in tow when they allegedly shoplifted at a West Covina department store and beat up a security guard to avoid getting caught. Police spokesman Rudy Lopez says the man and the woman, believed to be in their 20s, both put merchandise onto ...

Sacramento couple made $4M from stolen smartphone sales

SACRAMENTO . (AP) - A California couple were arraigned Tuesday on charges they collected hundreds of stolen smartphones from across the nation, then sold them in Hong Kong for as much as $2,000 each. Shou Lin Wen, 39, and his wife, Yuting Tan, 27, made nearly $4 million from the scheme in just eight months, the state attorney general said. <p style="line-height: ...

Arrests in motorcycle freeway proposal stunt

WEST COVINA (AP) - Four men - including the would-be groom - have been arrested for a marriage proposal stunt in which hundreds of motorcycles blocked a Southern California freeway, authorities said. The prospective groom and three of his friends were all booked for investigation of misdemeanor public nuisance and participating in an unlawful assembly. The 24-year-old groom, Hector Martinez of Covina, ...

Sex allegations put priest in jail

YUBA CITY (AP) - The Diocese of Stockton says a priest visiting from Colombia has been arrested on suspicion of sexual battery and child molestation. The Rev. Julio Guarin-Sosa is being held at Sutter County Jail in Yuba City, north of Sacramento. The district attorney's office says he will be arraigned later Tuesday. The diocese says the 43-year-old ...

So. California Better Business Bureau expelled in apparent pay-to-play scandal

SoCal mortuary buries wrong woman

INGLEWOOD (AP) - Evan Davidson lived with his wife for 51 years. But when he told morticians that the woman in the open casket wasn't Darlene Davidson, they politely told him he was mistaken. "I looked at her and said, 'Well this don't look like my wife at all,'" Davidson, 73, told KABC-TV. "They kept telling me it was, but it's just ...

Surfers sue landowner who blocked access to beach along Sam Mateo coast

SAN MATEO (AP) - A group of surfers sued on Tuesday to regain public access to a popular Northern California beach where people held picnics and rode waves for decades before a new landowner closed the only road into the site.

Ex-teacher accused of tying up toddler

PLEASANTON (AP) - Police are investigating allegations that a teacher at a Northern California preschool tied up a 2-year-old girl for refusing to take a nap and later showed the photos to other teachers. <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in ...

Be careful what you 'like' on Facebook as it can reveal more than you want

LONDON (AP) - Clicking those friendly blue "like" buttons strewn across the Web may be doing more than marking you as a fan of Coca-Cola or Lady Gaga.

Class project leads to minimum wage jump

SAN JOSE (AP) - If anyone deserves an A+ this week it's Marisela Castro, a daughter of farmworkers who turned her Social Action class project at San Jose State University into a campaign to increase the local minimum wage.

Chief justice urges reinvestment in courts

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's top judge urged lawmakers on Monday to ensure equal access to justice by reinvesting in a court system that has been hit with years of budget cuts.

Financial info on celebs leaked online

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities and celebrities were grappling Monday with how to respond to a website that posted what appears to be private financial information about top government officials and stars such as Jay-Z and Mel Gibson.

Modest quake shakes wide area of SoCal

INDIAN WELLS (AP) - A modest earthquake left Southern California with the jitters Monday but no serious damage as the temblor caused swaying and rolling from the desert to the coast, sending children scrambling under their desks and office workers running for the door.

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