Backers of Brown's tax measure want opponents to stop criticizing the proposal

SF panel wrapping up probe of sheriff's conviction

1 boy dead, another missing in Yosemite river

YOSEMITE (AP) - A 10-year-old boy died and his 6-year-old brother was missing after they were swept away along a popular but treacherous boulder-strewn stretch of the Merced River, Yosemite National Park officials said Thursday.

Bay Area briefs

1936 Mercedes-Benz could fetch $16M PEBBLE BEACH (AP) - A 1936 Mercedes-Benz found in a Connecticut barn could fetch a record $16 million-plus at a Pebble Beach auction this weekend. The rare Mercedes 540K Special Roadster could break the $16.4 million record for any car sold at auction when it goes on the block after the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

State news briefs

CENTRAL VALLEY DISTRICT OKS NEW ENGLISH METHOD: DINUBA (AP) - A small Central Valley school district has agreed to stop using a little-known method of English-language instruction in a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Inmates convicted as juveniles to die in prison could get reprieve via bill

LA considers hiring porn film condom cop

Jury says Muslim hotel owner discriminated Jewish group; awards $1.2 million in damages

SANTA MONICA (AP) - A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages. Punitive damages will be determined later. The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense ...

Military probes cause of failed hypersonic flight

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The military has launched an investigation into why its latest unmanned hypersonic flight failed seconds into a test. The experimental X-51A Waverider was designed to reach six times the speed of sound after being released by a B-52 bomber off the Southern California coast Tuesday. The Air Force said the experimental aircraft successfully separated from the B-52 and ...

State news briefs

SYPHILIS AND OTHER STD CASES ON RISE IN CALIFORNIA: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Rises in syphilis and other sexually transmitted disease cases in California have state health officials concerned.

Median home price jumps 12% in July

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The median price of a home in California approached a four-year high in July as buyers snapped up more expensive properties and foreclosed houses made up a smaller part of the sales mix, a research firm said Wednesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums in the state reached $281,000 last month, up 11.5 percent ...

Lawmaker questions AG's role in state parks probe

Brown warns of deep school cuts if tax fails

Refinery fire probe looks at spark sources

Thunderstorms could help or hamper California firefighters

4.5% pay raise in works for state workers

Highlights of the Democratic spending plan

Democrats hope for more spending

Vallejo lets residents say how to spend $3.2M in city budget

VALLEJO (AP) - A Northern California city that emerged from bankruptcy two years ago is trying a novel approach to setting part of its budget: having the public decide. The city of Vallejo let residents over the age of 16 vote in May on how to spend about $3.2 million, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday Taxpayers were allowed to pick from 33 projects, with the top 12 sharing the money. The winners included pothole ...

Readying for possible return of gay marriage

Boiler room explosion rattles Santa Ana high school campus

SANTA ANA (AP) - An explosion Tuesday in the boiler room of a Southern California high school gymnasium briefly lifted up the building's roof, damaging the structure but causing no major injuries. The blast around 7:30 a.m. at Valley High School in Santa Ana was in a girls' locker room and happened before classes began, although some students were arriving on campus, authorities said. Security camera video broadcast by KABC-TV showed the fiery explosion lift ...

Bay Area briefs

8 INDICTED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY GANG CRACKDOWN : SAN JOSE (AP) - A Santa Clara County grand jury has indicted 48 reputed members of a violent street gang for crimes ranging from drug dealing to murder in the county's largest such case to date.

SF, NY officials wait to judge Apple 'kill switch'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The top prosecutors in San Francisco and New York say they are reserving judgment of Apple's new iOS7 security feature designed to make it harder to reactivate a stolen iPhone. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday they aren't judging Apple Inc.'s new activation lock feature until they can fully understand how it works. Apple mentioned the new feature during the Worldwide Developers ...

FBI investigation stressing lawmaker

Los Angeles jury recommends death in mistaken killing of 4 including boy

Past turmoil in Santa Monica gunman's home

Toy gun buyback asks kids to give up play pistols

HAYWARD (AP) - Organizers of a Northern California gun buyback are looking to get weapons off the streets. But gun owners shouldn't show up looking to hand over their arms, unless they shoot rubber bands, Nerf bullets or imaginary lasers. An elementary school in Hayward is planning to hold a gun exchange Saturday, giving students a book and a chance to win a bike if they turn over their Super Soakers, Galactic Space Blasters and ...

SF sues over high-capacity magazines

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco is suing three gun accessories companies and one gun show promoter, alleging they sold disassembled high-capacity magazines disguised as repair kits in violation of California law, the city attorney said Monday. The companies and the gun show promoter were trying to circumvent a state ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines by calling them repair kits, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in the statement. But the kits can easily ...

Legislative leader: Budget deal is near

Death row inmate dies of liver disease

CORCORAN (AP) - California prison officials say a 44-year-old death row inmate convicted of beating a 90-year-old woman to death with a baseball bat has died from liver disease.