California news stories on Newser

Mountain Lion Shot Dead in Downtown Santa Monica

Rob Quinn — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:00 CDT

Things didn't end well for a young mountain lion who made his way through miles of urban landscape to downtown Santa Monica yesterday. After the janitor of an office complex stumbled across the cat, police officers made several attempts to subdue it using tranquilizing darts, nonlethal bullets and a fire...

4 Tons of Marijuana Pulled From Ocean

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:23:05 CDT

What a find: After receiving a tip yesterday, Harbor Patrol agents in California pulled about 160 bales of marijuana from the ocean off the coast of Orange County. That's more than 7,263 pounds, and agents say the street value is $3.6 million, CBS 2 reports. The marijuana, which...

Woman Burned by Flaming Rocks Undergoes Surgery

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:01:33 CDT

A California woman has undergone two painful skin-graft surgeries after rocks she found on a beach caught fire in her pocket, the Los Angeles Times reports. "We know bad things happen to many people," said the victim, Lyn Hiner. "I'm thankful God carried us through this." On Good Morning America...

California Man Found Alive Week After Car Crash

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:00:00 CDT

A San Jose man is fighting for his life in a hospital after spending a week without food or water in a thicket close to where his pickup crashed. Police following up a missing persons report found Michael Sanchez, 25, lying unconscious just yards from where his vehicle veered off...

Accused Rapist Can Use 'Zoloft Defense'

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:25:53 CDT

A former southern California police detective charged with kidnapping and raping a 25-year-old waitress at gunpoint will be allowed to use a "Zoloft defense," a judge has ruled. Lawyers for Anthony Nicholas Orban aim to prove he's not guilty because he was mentally "unconscious" and "totally unaware of his actions"...

TB Patient Jailed for Refusing Medication

Rob Quinn — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:55:00 CDT

A tuberculosis patient in California who refused to take medication to stop his condition from becoming contagious has been locked up to protect the public. Armando Rodriguez, 34, missed eight out of nine doses in the space of 47 days. He told health officials who visited his home that he...

Judge: Freed Defendant Must Write Book Reports

Matt Cantor — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:37:05 CDT

A northern California man has been released on bond—provided he's willing to keep up his reading. Otis Mobley, 23, was indicted after allegedly offering to sell a grenade launcher to an undercover official; authorities say Mobley and two others planned to rob the agent. The judge says the defendant...

Brown's Plan for California: 4-Day Workweek

Kevin Spak — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:48:05 CDT

California Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a painful slate of budget cuts yesterday, including shifting all state employees to a four-day, 38-hour workweek, in an effort to reduce the state's yawning $15.7 billion budget gap . The plan also includes cuts to courts, health services, and welfare in what Brown terms...

Family Wakes, Finds Lexus in Their Pool

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:57:10 CDT

It might've seemed like the most fantastic Mother's Day gift ever had a taken a very wrong turn when the Diaz family awoke Sunday to find a Lexus—at the bottom of their swimming pool. The Southern California family says that drivers navigating the tricky intersection next to their house...