SF BUS CATCHES FIRE FOR 2ND TIME IN A WEEK: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco commuter bus has caught fire for the second time in less than a week.
A 38-Geary Muni bus was in the Outer Richmond district Thursday afternoon when the driver noticed smoke in the engine compartment.
Municipal Transportation Agency spokesman Paul Rose says the driver pulled over and got the passengers off safely.
It took about a half-hour to douse the fire. The cause is under investigation.
Another 38-Geary bus, carrying a driver and one passenger, caught fire on Aug. 2.
SKATEBOARD-RIDING DOG HAS A TOY, NEEDS A HOME: BALDWIN PARK (AP) — Chiquita the Chihuahua needs a new home in car-crazy Southern California. She even comes with her own set of wheels.
The 6-year-old female was turned in to the Los Angeles County animal shelter in Baldwin Park. The owner also relinquished a scooter-like toy made of an old skateboard, used lumber and rope.
The owner tells staff that Chiquita loves to be pulled on the skateboard.
Animal services director Marcia Mayeda says the owner turned the dog in for financial reasons.
The dog is gentle but shy, so is staying with a foster family to help her build her confidence.
She may be unsure around people, but Mayeda says she is extremely comfortable on the skateboard.
3,000 POUNDS OF POT FOUND IN JALAPENO CANS: SAN DIEGO (AP) — Marijuana smugglers must have thought they had a hot idea — packing pot into pepper cans.
Customs and Border Protection officials say 3,000 pounds of marijuana were found packed into jalapeno cans Tuesday night at the Southern California-Mexico border crossing in Otay Mesa.
Officers inspecting a tractor-trailer became suspicious of anomalies in its cargo. An officer drilled a hole in a can and found pot.
Officers seized the truck and some 1,800 packages of marijuana valued at $1.3 million.
CAR IN CALIF. MISSING TEEN CASE FOUND IN IDAHO: CASCADE, Idaho (AP) — A car belonging to a man suspected of killing a California woman and her young son and then fleeing with the 16-year-old daughter was found in the Idaho wilderness on Friday after a horseback rider reported seeing the man and girl hiking in the area two days earlier, authorities said.
The rider said he saw two people who matched the description of the pair near Morehead Lake, in an extremely rugged backcountry area 70 miles northeast of Boise sometime around noon Wednesday, Ada County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said.
The rider didn't report his encounter with the pair until later, after seeing news reports and realizing they were being sought.
Idaho authorities started searching Thursday and the car was found Friday morning and identified through serial numbers as belonging to James Lee DiMaggio, 40.
The rider also told police it did not appear that the girl, believed to be 16-year-old Hannah Anderson, was being held against her will. Both people seemed healthy and were equipped with gear necessary to hike and camp in Idaho's remote wilderness.
SUIT CITES SEATBELTS IN SAN FRANCISCO PLANE CRASH: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Three San Francisco Bay Area families have sued Boeing over the deadly crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, alleging that coach passengers suffered more serious injuries than business class travelers because of different seatbelt configurations.
The lawsuits filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco say some coach passengers wearing only lap belts suffered head and spinal injuries that could have been prevented by shoulder restraints available in the more expensive and roomy business class seats toward the front of the airliner.
