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State news briefs
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HACKER WHO MADE ATMS SPIT OUT CASH DIE: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A prominent hacker who discovered a way to have ATMs spit out cash and was set to deliver a talk about hacking pacemakers and other wireless implantable medical devices has died in San Francisco, authorities and his employer said.

Barnaby Jack died at his home in San Francisco Thursday, although the cause of death is still under investigation, San Francisco Deputy Coroner Kris Barbrich said.

Jack, who was in his mid-30s, was scheduled to speak on Aug. 1 at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. The headline of his talk was, "Implantable Medical Devices: Hacking Humans," according to a synopsis on the Black Hat conference website.

Jack planned to reveal software that uses a common transmitter to scan for and "interrogate" individual medical implants, the website said.

SAN DIEGO MAYOR TO GET THERAPY AMID SCANDAL: SAN DIEGO (AP) — Declaring he "must become a better person," San Diego Mayor Bob Filner said Friday he will undergo two weeks of counseling after a series of women claimed he made unwanted sexual advances that included groping, kissing and offensive comments.

The announcement did little to stifle widespread calls for the former congressman to resign and further plunged the nation's eighth-largest city into political turmoil.

"Words alone are not enough," Filner said at a nationally televised news conference. "I am responsible for my conduct and I must take responsibility for my conduct so that such conduct does not ever happen again."

Filner said he will receive twice-a-day briefings about city operations while participating full-time in what he described as "intensive therapy" beginning Aug. 5. He said he would return on Aug. 19 and focus on "doing right by the city in terms of being the best mayor I can be, and the best person I must be."

He said the two-week stint will be part of a continuing program that involves ongoing counseling. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said Filner, not the city, will pay for the therapy.

CHP OFFICER ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF SEXUAL BATTERY: SACRAMENTO  (AP) — A California Highway Patrol officer has been arrested on suspicion of inappropriately touching a disabled man in a shopping mall bathroom while off-duty.

Sacramento police Officer Doug Morse said 47-year-old Jeffery Closson was booked into jail Friday for investigation of sexual battery and disorderly misconduct. He was released on $5,000 bail.

After a 22-year-old man reported being inappropriately touched while in the Arden Fair Mall restroom on June 20, investigators reviewed surveillance video and eventually identified Closson as a suspect.

CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader said Closson has been placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation into the matter.

The 25-year veteran was assigned to the air operations division.

FIRE LEADS TO CAMPGROUND CLOSURES: HUNTINGTON LAKE AP) — A lightning-sparked fire in the Sierra National Forest about 75 miles northeast of Fresno has prompted the closure of multiple campgrounds.

The U.S. Forest Service said Friday that the Aspen Fire has so far consumed a little more than 7 square miles around Huntington Lake, which is near Shaver Lake. It is not threatening any communities, but Fresno County Sheriff's officials said at least 16 campgrounds in the area have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Trails and recreational areas in the Kaiser Wilderness near Huntington Lake are also closed.

Authorities say crews are having a hard time containing the fire due to heavy smoke and steep terrain.