Stinging gas sends May Day protesters fleeing in Oakland

USDA: Offspring of mad cow did not have disease

Student left in cell 4 days recalls hallucinations says he had to drink his own urine to stay alive

Bay Area briefs

Teen charged in celeb car theft had huge weapons cache SAN RAFAEL . (AP) - A Northern California teen charged in a drive-by shooting and the theft of a celebrity chef's Lamborghini kept an arsenal that included assault rifles, cellphone-jamming equipment and police gear, authorities said. The items were stashed at a storage container rented by 17-year-old Max Michael Wade, who now ...

Stinging gas sends May Day protesters fleeing

California population adds 250,000 to near 37.7M, but growth is slow

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California added about 250,000 residents last year, bringing the total population to just under 37.7 million as the state continues with modest growth amid a weak economy, according to a report released Tuesday by the state Department of Finance. California's population grew less than 1 percent in 2011, as it did the year before, but the growth rate still ...

California college leaders press for more taxpayer funding from state legislature

Judge scolds prosecutors for dismissing gay juror

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A San Diego judge has dismissed an entire jury panel after prosecutors dismissed a gay man as a potential juror in a same-sex marriage case. Superior Court Judge Joan Weber ruled Tuesday that defendants in the case were denied a representative jury and called the city attorney office's actions "shocking." The case stems from ...

State news briefs

1 DEAD, 2 WOUNDED IN MODESTO SHOOTING: MODESTO (AP) - One person was fatally shot and two others wounded in a daytime shooting at a south Modesto home on Tuesday, and police said it appears at least one assault rifle was used.

‘Feds cite issues behind massive Southwest blackout that impacted millions in California

Court monitor: Oakland police reforms stagnating

Toddler killed by stray bullet in Bakersfield

BAKERSFIELD (AP) - Bakersfield police are searching for suspects involved in the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old girl, who was struck by a stray bullet from a nearby argument. Police say the child was playing in the front yard of a home around 7 p.m. Monday when the argument broke out on the street between two groups of men. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

S&P worried about possible budget gimmicks in upcoming state budget

Ocean race accidents stun sailors

'Octomom' files for bankruptcy

SANTA ANA (AP) - "Octomom" Nadya Suleman is filing for bankruptcy, telling a federal court she has as much as $1 million in debt. The Orange County Register reports that Suleman wants a fresh start and says filing for bankruptcy is what's best for her children. The La Habra mother of 14 has reports up to $50,000 in ...

SF, NY officials to meet over cellphone thefts

State news briefs

TACO BELL FIRING RIDGECREST EMPLOYEE FOR TACO LICKING: RIDGECREST. (AP) - Taco Bell is firing a California employee who was photographed licking a stack of taco shells.

Parole denied for Manson follower

CPUC enforcement division” ‘Time to throw book at PG&E’

Bay Area briefs

FORMER SANTA CLARA POLITICIAN FACING NEW CHARGE : SAN JOSE (AP) - A longtime California politician convicted of using campaign donations and taxpayer funds to fuel what he described as a gambling addiction has been charged in a separate case involving an illegal campaign flier, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Serial murder suspect interviews possible jurors

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - Addressing prospective jurors in his death penalty trial, defendant Joseph Naso on Monday mocked the prosecutor and asked odd questions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 79-year-old Naso, acting as his own lawyer, addressed a panel of 21 possible jurors in a selection process expected to take weeks. Naso flailed his hands, saying he was mimicking gestures made by Marin County prosecutor Rosemary Slote during her presentation. One female prospective ...

State news briefs

EX-UCI PROFESSOR PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN OC ARSONS: SANTA ANA (AP) - A former University of California, Irvine professor has pleaded not guilty to charges he set a series of fires at his son's high school and elsewhere after the boy committed suicide.

Humanists sue over monument with cross

Serial murder suspect interviews possible jurors

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - Addressing prospective jurors in his death penalty trial, defendant Joseph Naso on Monday mocked the prosecutor and asked odd questions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 79-year-old Naso, acting as his own lawyer, addressed a panel of 21 possible jurors in a selection process expected to take weeks. Naso flailed his hands, saying he was mimicking gestures made by Marin County prosecutor Rosemary Slote during her presentation. One female prospective ...

Firing of ex-LAPD officer Dorner justified

le poised for hiring spree in Silicon Valley

App

PG&E didn't spend $50M for safety

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. did not use more than $50 million it collected from ratepayers that was meant to improve its gas pipeline network in the decade leading up to a deadly explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb, an audit shows. From 1999 to 2010, the utility regularly failed to use all the money to fix and maintain small gas distribution lines that deliver natural gas to homes ...

Norcal News

DEFENSE SUGGESTS VICTIM FATALLY SHOT HIMSELF: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A defense lawyer suggested a man who was fatally shot at a Sacramento Sikh sports festival five years ago may have fired the fatal bullet himself.

Medi-Cal cuts will limit health access

Bay Area briefs

VETERAN RUNNER DIES DURING MT. DIABLO FOOTRACE: MARTINEZ (AP) - A veteran long-distance runner competing in a 50-kilometer footrace on Mount Diablo died during the competition.