SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The federal government has apparently ended a 433-year-old historical controversy by determining that English sea captain and explorer Sir Francis Drake came ashore in what is now a county in the San Francisco Bay area when he claimed California for England.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In this tech-savvy city teeming with commuters and tourists, the cell phone has become a top target of robbers who use stealth, force and sometimes guns.
WILLOW BEACH, Ariz. (AP) - The bus was on a routine tour of the Grand Canyon, taking tourists from the lights and glamour of Las Vegas to the beauty of the natural wonder. On such trips, passengers get a glimpse of the Hoover Dam and the northern Arizona wilderness, maybe even see a deer or two.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Drivers are being warned to avoid sections of a Southern California freeway that will be shut down this weekend for filming of the third installment of the "Hangover" movie franchise.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - A father and his 4-year-old son were killed and a woman and two other young children were wounded by a gunman wearing a painter's mask who set fire to their home near Los Angeles, authorities said.
CHICAGO (AP) - When it comes to the birds and the bees, some parents may want to have that talk with their boys a little sooner than they expected.
BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanon's prime minister linked the massive car bomb that tore through Beirut to the civil war in neighboring Syria on Saturday, the latest signal that the crisis is enflaming an already tense region.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Heading into the campaign's final weeks, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is upping his criticism of President Barack Obama's plans for a second term, accusing the Democrat of failing to tell Americans what he would do with four more years. The Obama campaign is aggressively disputing the notion, claiming it's Romney who hasn't provided specific details to voters.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A website with files showing the Boy Scouts of America's cover-up of decades of sexual abuse is generating interest from people wanting to know who the alleged abusers are and whether people who molested them as Scouts are in the files.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Texas A&M University's campus was shut down for about five hours Friday after an emailed bomb threat prompted an evacuation of more than 50,000 people and a building-by-building search.
DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (AP) - Three big-rig trucks and a car crashed on a Southern California freeway Friday, killing one person and injuring three, two of them critically.
CHICAGO (AP) - When it comes to the birds and the bees, some parents may want to have that talk with their boys a little sooner than they expected.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Lance Armstrong said he has been through a "difficult couple of weeks" and urged supporters of his cancer-fighting charity to stand behind its mission.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A second Port of Oakland official has been suspended in connection with a $4,500 strip club expense.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An 82-year-old woman whose rap sheet goes back more than 50 years has been sentenced in Los Angeles to six years in state prison.
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (AP) - A diamond wedding ring that was mistakenly sold at a community yard sale has been returned to its owner.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Paynter won the $63,866 feature at Betfair Hollywood Park by 4½ lengths Friday in his return to racing after a nearly 11-month layoff because of serious health issues.
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Police are searching for a man suspected of stabbing a college student after a fight broke out at a party at University of California, Irvine.
NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft and Sony offered new details this week on the game consoles they will start selling before the holiday shopping season. The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 will join Nintendo's Wii U, which came out last year, in vying for shoppers' attention and dollars at a time many people are turning to phones and tablets for gaming.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Legislature passed California's massive state spending plan Friday amid sharp divisions over whether the compromise struck by Democrats and Gov. Jerry Brown will further the state's recovery or eventually return it to the multibillion-dollar deficits common during the recession.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - They call him "The Hag," but now Merle Haggard can answer to "doctor" as well.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Ten more homes have been found burned by what was already Colorado's most destructive wildfire.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder says national security has been damaged as a result of leaks about a pair of government surveillance programs and that the U.S. will punish the person who is responsible.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - A San Bernardino police officer's fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man two years ago has been deemed justified.
PARIS (AP) - Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing - with consequences for jobs, airlines' investments and the reputations of the powerful planemakers.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Three brothers from Northern California have been charged with operating an illegal website that showed bootleg versions of popular TV shows and movies.
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A sheriff's spokesman is providing new details on the arrest of Fresno's fire chief, saying he knocked his wife to the ground and choked another family member.
PICO RIVERA, Calif. (AP) - Los Angeles County authorities say there's no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in a head-on car crash that killed three people, including two children.
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Newtown held a moment of silence Friday for the victims of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School at a remembrance event that doubled as a call to action on gun control, with the reading of names of thousands of victims of gun violence.
BOSTON (AP) - The transit police officer who survived a showdown with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects has been discharged from the hospital.