AUTHORITIES FIND GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE CLIMBER: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The search for a man who apparently spent the night atop San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is over.
Authorities found the unidentified climber on Friday morning after briefly closing all lanes of the bridge twice while trying to locate him.
California Highway Patrol officers detained the man on the south tower of the bridge at about 9:45 a.m. Spokeswoman Sgt. Diana McDermott says he is being taken to a psychiatric facility for evaluation.
The man had climbed the tower the previous evening, threatening suicide and telling police he was armed.
Officers responded, but lost track of him in the thick overnight and morning fog that obscured much of the span.
CHARGES SOUGHT AGAINST 3 KIDS FOR KITTEN ABUSE : WATSONVILLE (AP) — Animal shelter officials want three California youngsters charged for hurting a trio of kittens, including one that was bashed against a wall and had to be euthanized.
A witness reported seeing two girls and a boy, all of them under 10 years old, abusing the kittens in Watsonville on Sunday evening.
A county animal shelter manager found the kittens in the street.
One of the kittens had a severe brain injury, apparently from being thrown against a wall. It was euthanized.
Two other kittens had rope tied around their necks, restricting their breathing. They survived.
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CALIF. REPORTS FIRST DEATH FROM WEST NILE VIRUS: BAKERSFIELD (AP) — State officials say an 88-year-old Kern County woman is the first person to die from the West Nile virus in California this year.
Department of Public Health officials said Friday the virus is sickening people earlier this year than last year.
So far ten people in five California counties have gotten sick from West Nile virus this year. More than 240 people have been reported ill nationwide.
Last year, 159 people in California got sick from the virus, and nine people died.
West Nile virus is transmitted to humans and animals through mosquito bites. For most people, the risk of illness is low, but the elderly and people with diabetes or hypertension are more vulnerable.
LAWSUIT DEMANDS PROMPTED SAN BERNARDINO BANKRUPTCY: SAN BERNARDINO (AP) — San Bernardino's attorney says the city was pushed into early bankruptcy by a lawyer's demand to pay settlements over police killings.
The city, which is facing a nearly $46 million budget gap, filed for Chapter 9 protection on Wednesday — two weeks earlier than planned.
City Attorney James Penman said that the city wanted to avoid having assets seized after an attorney tried to collect $1.4 million. The money was promised to settle three lawsuits claiming police used excessive force.
Penman says the city wouldn't have made its next payroll if a judge had forced it to pay now.
Attorney Dale Galipo says he's disappointed and will keep trying to collect for his clients.
'TASTES LIKE HATE' SCRAWLED ON CALIF. CHICK-FIL-A : TORRANCE (AP) — The culture war against Chick-fil-A has come to one of the chain's Southern California fast-foot restaurants.
"Tastes like hate" was scrawled on the side of a Chick-fil-A in Torrance early Friday as gay marriage supporters ramp up protests against the corporate owner's opposition to same-sex unions.
Torrance police Lt. Martin Vukotic says they are investigating the graffiti, which included a drawing of a cow. No one has been arrested.
The flap began last month when Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told a religious publication that the company backed "the biblical definition of a family."
Gay rights activists and same-sex marriage planned a same-sex "Kiss In" at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Friday.
Earlier this week, hundreds of thousands of customers showed their support for the restaurant during an "Appreciation Day."
