California

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Octuplets Will Likely Cost Taxpayers Millions

Broke family already racking up $10K a day

(Newser) - Nadya Suleman says she plans to raise her 14 kids without relying on welfare but the reality is that the bill to taxpayers will likely run into the millions, the Los Angeles Times reports. Suleman has no job, no income, owes $50,000 in student loans, and her octuplets have...

Packed Calif. Prisons Must Dump 1/3 of Inmates: Judges

Judges say squeeze threatens inmate health

(Newser) - A panel of federal judges ruled yesterday that overcrowding in California's 33 prisons—158,00 inmates in space meant for 84,000—poses a threat to inmate health. The court tentatively required the state to reduce the prison population by up to 57,000, the LA Times reports. The governor’...

'Crazy Green Idea' Video Wins Students $25K

Clip challenges techies to create long-term power-storage device

(Newser) - Two California film students won $25,000 for a YouTube video challenging the tech community to develop a rechargeable device far more eco-friendly than standard batteries, BusinessGreen reports. The clip was one of 133 entries in a contest to create a challenge to be met for a future environmental prize....

Octuplet Mom 'Not Capable': Grandma

Having 14 kids is 'unconscionable,' says Angela Suleman

(Newser) - The mother of the California woman who added octuplets to her brood of six tells Radar that her daughter’s “not capable of raising 14 children.” "She really really has no idea what she's doing to her children and to me. She already has six beautiful children....

Calif. Medical Board to Investigate Octuplet Births

Doc who performed in vitro fertilization procedures may have violated standards

(Newser) - California’s Medical Board is investigating whether there was a violation of medical standards by the doctor who helped Nadya Suleman become pregnant with octuplets, the Whittier Daily News reports. Suleman told NBC all 14 of her children were born through in vitro fertilization performed by one California specialist. “...

Calif. State Workers Take Forced Day Off

200K at DMV, other agencies stay home amid budget crunch

(Newser) - Californians looking to renew a driver’s license today will be disappointed, as 200,000 state employees take their first forced day off. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the two mandatory unpaid vacation days per month—a 9% pay cut—is a budget necessity. But many Californians are confused about which...

Rebuilt 'Small World' Not Too Small for Disney Marketers

(Newser) - The recently renovated “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland has some new inhabitants, OC Weekly reports—Disney characters. The ride, which debuted in 1964 to showcase tolerance, now features animatronic versions of popular movie figures alongside children of the world, the AP adds. “What message are...

Man Arrested for Kidnapping Grandkids 20 Years Ago

Tenn. boy, girl raised in Calif.; they're fine

(Newser) - California police are holding a man they say confessed to kidnapping his two grandchildren in Tennessee in 1989 and raising them as his own 2,000 miles away, the San Jose Mercury News reports. John Bunting seemed like a model citizen, home-schooling the boy and girl; cops acted after a...

Warming Will Wipe Out Calif. Agriculture: Energy Sec.

Top US producer faces disaster without swift action on climate change

(Newser) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees dire effects of global warming, particularly on his home state of California, he tells the Los Angeles Times. Some 90% of the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a vital storehouse for water used in farming and cultivation, could disappear, he said. “We’re...

Calif. Town to Cut H2O to Water Hogs

Customers limited to 150-gallon-a-day ration

(Newser) - A California town is threatening to cut off water to any customer who fails to stick to a mandated 150-gallon-a-day ration, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. "People don't understand how bad this is going to get," said an official from the oceanside town of Bolinas, who fears the...

SC Sheriff Vows to Prosecute Phelps for Pot

Says if Olympian toked in his jurisdiction, it'll be an 'easy case'

(Newser) - A South Carolina sheriff says he’ll charge Michael Phelps with whatever crimes he can if the Olympian smoked pot in his jurisdiction, the State reports. “This case is no different than any other,” the Richland County sheriff said yesterday. “This one might be a lot easier...

Brown Readies Another Run for Calif.'s Top Job

Ex-gov planning to recapture job he won 34 years and 3 White House runs ago

(Newser) - Jerry Brown is getting ready to run for the governor's job he first tackled as a fresh-faced reformer in 1975, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 70-year-old California attorney general—like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat—has yet to formally declare his candidacy, but most believe the...

Calif. Faces Worst Drought Ever
 Calif. Faces Worst Drought Ever 
Jan 30, 2009 3:45 PM CST

Calif. Faces Worst Drought Ever

With snowpack well below normal, state likely to face water rationing, higher food prices

(Newser) - With winter precipitation lagging well below normal, California officials say residents should prepare for the state’s worst drought on record, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada—the state’s main water supply—is at just 61% of normal after an unusually sunny and dry...

Attacker Wanted Breast Implants Back: Witness

Roommate of man charged with attempted murder outlines post-breakup attack

(Newser) - Testimony began this week in the trial of a California man who attacked his ex-girlfriend with a knife, allegedly with the intent to remove breast implants he’d paid for, the Victorville Daily Press reports. Thomas Lee Rowley is charged with attempted murder in the 2006 assault on his ex,...

Calif. Court Rules School Can Expel Lesbian Kids

Private body not ruled by discrimination laws

(Newser) - A California court has ruled that a private school's expulsion of two girls for "conducting themselves in a manner consistent with being lesbians" was lawful, the Los Angeles Times reports. The court decided the religious school did not count as a business and was therefore exempt from discrimination...

Silicon Valley Town Bans Smoking at Home

Nation's toughest anti-smoking law hits home for apartment dwellers

(Newser) - A California town has passed legislation that will push many smokers out of their last remaining indoor sanctuary—their home, the New York Times reports. Belmont's law—believed to be the nation's toughest—bans smoking in any residence that shares a floor or ceiling with another. Officials credit the law...

Obama Lets States Tighten Fuel Standards

(Newser) - Barack Obama announced a drastic change in the nation’s energy policy today, beginning with an executive order allowing states to raise their fuel efficiency standards. "America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources,” Obama said. “Today I announce the first steps on our journey to...

SOS: Historic Queen Mary Needs Saving

Ship's developer hits financial iceberg

(Newser) - The Queen Mary needs a new lease on life now that a developer is selling its interest in the iconic ship’s lease, the Press-Telegram reports. One of the partners of Save the Queen, which bought the Queen Mary’s lease for $43 million in 2007, is having financial issues,...

Cops Bust Dad Who Married Off Girl, 14, for Beer

Arranged marriage legit in Mexico, but trafficking minors in Calif.

(Newser) - Something got lost in translation when a California man arranged for his 14-year-old daughter to marry an 18-year-old neighbor in exchange for cash, beer, and meat, reports the San Jose Mercury News. When the bridegroom failed to pay the promised $16,000, 160 cases of beer, and six cases...

'Bored' Teen Sends 15K Texts a Month

Dad had unlimited plan, but still plans crackdown

(Newser) - A California dad whose teenage daughter logged an astounding 14,528 text messages in one month was tickled at first, the New York Post reports. “I laughed. I thought, ‘That’s insane, that’s impossible,’” said Greg Hardesty. “And I immediately whipped out the calculator...

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