Archive By Section - Signal AP
Lawmakers abandon Calif. teacher evaluation bill
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - State lawmakers failed to revive a controversial measure that would rewrite state rules on teacher evaluations, but supporters vowed to bring it up again in the next legislative session.
Songwriter Hal David dies at 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hal David, who along with partner Burt Bacharach penned dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists in the 1960s and beyond, has died. He was 91.
Calif. students face rocky path to graduation
LOS ANGELES (AP) - With state budget cuts forcing California's public universities to shrink their course offerings, earning a bachelor's degree in four years is becoming even more difficult for many students. "One winter quarter, there were so few classes, I could only get three out of five offered," said David Allison, a senior at California State University San Bernardino. "CSU is no longer a four-year institution. It's more like a five- or six-year ...
Ale to the chief: White House releases beer recipe
WASHINGTON (AP) - Beer lovers, the secret is out. The White House has made public the recipe for two homemade beers that have become an object of fascination for beer drinkers everywhere. White House Honey Brown Ale, believed to be the first beer brewed on the White House grounds, includes light malt extract, amber crystal malt, honey, gypsum, yeast and corn sugar. The recipe was released Saturday while President Barack Obama was campaigning in ...
Author Richard Bach injured in Wash. plane crash
SEATTLE (AP) - Richard Bach, the author of the 1970s best-selling novella "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" among other spiritually oriented writings often rooted in themes of flight, was in serious condition Saturday after his small plane crashed in Washington state. His son, James Bach, told The Associated Press that his father was on his way to visit a friend on San Juan Island on Friday when his amphibian plane clipped a power line during ...
Mendocino County fire continues to spread
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A wildfire in a rugged and remote area of Mendocino County continues to spread into a wilderness area, though firefighters are making progress in surrounding the blaze. Fire officials say the North Pass Fire, burning northeast of Covelo, is 48 percent contained after consuming nearly 62 square miles. Five homes and seven outbuildings have been destroyed by the fire, while 23 homes and five commercial properties remained threatened. Meanwhile, ...
Boomers retiring to rural areas won't find doctors
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - As record numbers of baby boomers retire, many are considering moving to rural areas. But if they choose small towns like Grants Pass, Ore., they could have a hard time finding a family doctor who takes Medicare. At the Mid-Rogue Independent Physician Association, medical director Dr. Lyle Jackson says they have a hard time recruiting new primary care doctors as others retire or move away. Experts say rural ...
Forceful arrests inflame sentiment toward LAPD
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A spate of incidents in which Los Angeles police officers are accused of using excessive force is threatening to unravel the Police Department's efforts to bolster community relations.
Calif. woman, 93, finds prize pumpkins smashed
PASADENA (AP) - A 93-year-old prize-winning grower awoke to find that five giant pumpkins from her Pasadena front yard had been smashed including a 300-pounder she'd planned to enter in an annual weigh-off.
Decision not to charge Ariz. sheriff isn't the end
PHOENIX (AP) - The federal abuse-of-power investigation into America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff may have been closed without criminal charges but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's legal troubles are far from over.
Southern California cleans up after flash floods
CATHEDRAL CITY (AP) - Southern California foothill and desert communities are cleaning up after fast and furious storms sent mud and water flooding into homes.
Calif. legislature OKs pension changes
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The state Legislature on Friday approved a package of changes to California's public employee pension system that is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars, even as Republican lawmakers said much more needs to be done to fix a system with massive liabilities.
Waters recede in Louisiana, leaving sopping mess
BELLE CHASE, La. (AP) - Floodwaters from Isaac receded, power came on and businesses opened Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, the beginning of what is certain to be a slow recovery for Louisiana.
Astronauts, family mourn Neil Armstrong
CINCINNATI (AP) - Neil Armstrong was a humble hero who saw himself as a team player and never capitalized on his celebrity as the first man to walk on the moon, mourners said Friday outside a private service attended by fellow space pioneers, including his two crewmates on the historic Apollo 11 mission.
Can an honor code prevent cheating at Harvard?
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Harvard University, whose motto "Veritas" means "truth," has never had a student honor code in its nearly 400-year history - as far as it knows. But allegations against 125 students for improperly collaborating on a take-home final in the spring are leading to renewed consideration of the idea.
Articles by Section - Signal AP
National park cuts detailed in memo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The towering giant sequoias at Yosemite National Park would go unprotected from visitors who might trample their shallow roots. At Cape Cod National Seashore, large sections of the Great Beach would close to keep eggs from being destroyed if natural resource managers are cut.
US, NATO, mull Afghan troop strength after combat
BRUSSELS (AP) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his NATO counterparts are considering leaving 8,000 to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014, but a dispute arose Friday between the U.S. and German defense officials over whether that contingent would be an international force or an American one.
Armstrong lawyers: Justice Dept joining fraud suit
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has joined a lawsuit against disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong that alleges the former, seven-time Tour de France champion concealed his use of performance-enhancing drugs and defrauded his long-time sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, Armstrong's lawyers said Friday.
Maserati driver in Vegas shooting-crash was rapper
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police searched Friday for a Range Rover with dark tinted windows and custom rims that set off a fiery crash on the Las Vegas Strip when someone in the luxury SUV opened fire on a Maserati driven by an aspiring rapper.
Prosecutor questions woman in Arizona murder case
PHOENIX (AP) - A woman charged in the stabbing and shooting death of her Arizona lover traded barbs with a prosecutor under a withering cross-examination as she struggled to explain why she can recall precise details of her life from years earlier, yet can't remember crucial aspects of the murder case against her.
Car bomb kills at least 53 in Syrian capital
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - A car bomb exploded Thursday near Syria's ruling party headquarters in Damascus, killing at least 53 people and scattering mangled bodies among the blazing wreckage in one of the bloodiest days in the capital since the uprising began almost two years ago.
Haiti's 'Baby Doc' summoned to court after no-show
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A Haitian judge on Thursday summoned Jean-Claude Duvalier to appear in court after the former dictator defied an order to attend a hearing to determine whether he should again face charges for human rights abuses committed during the nearly 15 years of his brutal regime.
Oscar guy MacFarlane aims to perk up stodgy awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) - You think the Academy Awards are boring? Try the nominations. They only last a few minutes, but it's generally a sleepy academy suit and a sleepy starlet droning a list of names at 5:30 in the morning.
Georgia plane aborted landing, hit utility pole
THOMSON, Ga. (AP) - A small private jet carrying a surgeon and members of his clinic staff aborted its landing at a Georgia airport before it hit a 60-foot utility pole and crashed in a flaming wreck, killing five people onboard and injuring two, federal authorities said Thursday.
Pistorius granted bail pending murder trial
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - In an agonizingly slow announcement, a magistrate allowed Oscar Pistorius to go free on bail Friday, nine days after the Paralympian was arrested in the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend.
Police: Hotel altercation sparked Vegas shooting
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Bullets were flying from a black Range Rover at a gray Maserati as the vehicles raced toward a red light on the Las Vegas Strip.
4 stabbed outside downtown LA nightspot
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Four young adults have been stabbed after a feud spilled out of a downtown Los Angeles nightspot.
More tests needed in LA hotel water tank death
LOS ANGELES (AP) - More testing must be done to determine the cause of death of a 21-year-old Canadian tourist whose body was found wedged in a water tank atop a downtown Los Angeles hotel, authorities said Thursday.
