Orange County

(Newser) - Pastor Rick stressed that last night's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency wasn't a debate, but that won't stop the pundits from deciding who came out ahead:

• Byron York, of the National Review, sees the night as a big win for McCain, who's had a "much bigger life."

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(Newser) - A student at an Orange County high school faces 69 felony charges and a possible 38 years in prison for a scheme to alter grades, the Los Angeles Times reports. The locked-up 18-year-old is accused of breaking into his school repeatedly, hacking into computers, and changing test scores and records...

(Newser) - As contamination, overconsumption, and drought sap Southern California's already limited supply of potable water, Orange County has just adopted an effective, if unpalatable, solution. Starting today, flushed toilet water will gush through a $490 million network of pipes and filters, return to the groundwater basin, then find its way home...

(Newser) - Orange County firefighters might have contained the fire that ripped through Irvine, the county fire chief says, if only there were more of them. Orange County was short on manpower and fire engines even before it sent crews to help contain Malibu’s fires. With state reinforcements busy elsewhere, and...