California counties report fewer fugitive felons skipping out on probation after shift

Brown breaks silence on state parks fund debacle

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown broke his silence Wednesday on the discovery of hidden money at California's cash-strapped state parks department. The Democratic governor downplayed the scandal, saying it was the first time he's seen government get in trouble for saving money. "When somebody comes and says, 'Hey, guess what, we have some money over here,' that's ...

Bay Area briefs

SAN JOSE THEATER EVACUATED DURING BATMAN SCREENING: SAN JOSE (AP) - San Jose police say a movie theater was evacuated when someone threw a suspicious package into a screening of the new Batman film.

State news briefs

CAMP STAFFERS RESIGN IN SUPPORT OF GAY EAGLE SCOUT: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Ten staff members at a Boy Scouts camp in Northern California have resigned to protest the firing of a 22-year-old Eagle Scout who says he was let go because he is gay.

More than 5,000 pot plants seized in SoCal

SAN MARCOS . (AP) - Authorities say they've seized more than 5,000 marijuana plants in two Southern California raids. About 1,500 immature plants were taken from private land Tuesday in Temecula in Riverside County. A task force of federal and local agents spotted the plants by helicopter a few days earlier. About 3,800 immature plants were taken Monday ...

Ships told to slow for whales while navigating aorund San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal officials are asking large ships to slow down near San Francisco Bay to avoid killing the droves of whales feeding near the Northern California coast. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the advisory Tuesday. It wants large vessels to reduce their speed to 10 knots, or about 11.5 mph, in the Gulf of the Farallones and ...

Judge appoints temp guardian for Jackson kids

Couple hospitalized after bee attack

INDIO (AP) - Killer bees have swarmed a gardener and homeowner in the Southern California desert, stinging them dozens of times. The man and woman are hospitalized. The gardener was stung 80 times, and the woman has more than 100 bee stings. The Desert Sun of Palm Springs reports the gardener was trimming a ...

California farms export $22.1B in food

Low on funds: City plans sugary drink tax

EL MONTE (AP) - City leaders are looking for a sugar fix. The City Council on Tuesday was scheduled to consider declaring a fiscal emergency so it can place a proposed soda tax on the Nov. 6 special election ballot. Businesses would be charged a penny per ounce on beverages they sell that are sweetened with sugar, such ...

Crowd heckles police for fatal shootings

Foreclosure rate for California homes slows, eases fears of housing recovery hit

Chilling video confession in dismemberment killing

FRESNO (AP) - A Fresno County murder defendant acknowledged beating his alleged victim with a metal pipe before dismembering his body with a knife and hacksaw in a bathtub in a chilling video confession played in court. Brian Waldron, 54, is accused of killing Jonathan Taylor at Waldron's home on Oct. 24, 2008. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and mutilation ...

State news briefs

FEDERAL OFFICER KILLED IN MODESTO SHOOTING: MODESTO (AP) - Authorities have identified the victim of a weekend bar shooting in Modesto as a 34-year-old police officer for the Department of Defense.

Los Angeles City Council votes to ban marijuana shops after allowing them

Body of missing 9-year-old found

State news briefs

HIKERS WON'T HAVE TO PAY $160K RESCUE COSTS: SANTA ANA (AP) - Two hikers lost for days in the Southern California wilderness won't be charged the $160,000 it took to find them.

SF loses federal grant for new fireboat

LA buildings emptied after devices found

Is boy mature enough to aid murder defense?

6 charged with embezzling $15M from SF schools

‘Fighting chance' for 2013 opening

State news briefs

POLICE: MAN DRESSED AS WOMAN IN RESTROOM ARRESTED: PALMDALE (AP) - A Palmdale man has been arrested for allegedly videotaping women in a Macy's restroom while dressed as a woman.

GOV. JERRY BROWN'S BUDGET PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE

911 caller believed stabbed girl, 8, was alive at the time

VALLEY SPRINGS . (AP) - The parents of an 8-year-old Central California girl who was stabbed to death in her home believed she was fine when they made a 911 call to authorities from another location.

Brown budget: An extra $2.9B to education

Brown takes restrained view of spending

Bay Area news briefs

LIVERMORE LAB JURY AWARDS $2.7 MILLION: OAKLAND (AP) - A jury has awarded more than $2.7 million to five former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory workers in an ongoing wrongful-termination case.

State news briefs

LA schools consider banning defiance suspensions

Dad wants evidence in girl's stabbing