Group One

Discovery of Fossett's plane brings closure
By TRACIE CONE and MARCUS WOHLSEN - Associated Press Writers
Last Updated 9:38 am PDT Friday, October 3, 2008
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. -- Thirteen months after millionaire thrill-seeker Steve Fossett mysteriously disappeared, authorities finally know what happened to his small single-engine airplane: It slammed straight into a mountain on a cloudy day.
Sacramento Bee at Sacbee.com


Ex-staffer at senior home suspected of assault
The Associated Press October 2, 2008CALABASAS, Calif. -- A former employee of an upscale senior home was arrested Thursday for allegedly assaulting a resident before his death.Cesar Ulloa, 20, was among four former employees of Silverado Senior Living arrested on suspicion of elder abuse, said Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives.Sacramento Bee at Sacbee.com


State auditor cites $201,000 in improper overtime, other on-the-job abuses
By Andrew McIntosh - amcintosh@sacbee.com October 2, 2008Twenty state workers from nine different departments and agencies were involved in improper on-the-job activities that cost taxpayers $201,000, and only some of that money is now being recovered, the state auditor said in a report today.Sacramento Bee at Sacbee.com

Californians have higher levels of flame-retardant PBDEs in their blood
Researchers find that residents not only have more of the chemicals in their blood than people elsewhere, but that levels in California homes can be 10 times higher. Californians have twice as much of flame-retardant chemicals in their blood and as much as 10 times more of them in their homes than elsewhere in the country, researchers say. By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 4, 2008

Las Angeles Times at LATimes.com


3-year-old plays the piano in the key of red, blue, green
Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles TimesThree-year-old Richard Hoffmann opens gifts from his parents, Annie Wang and Heiko Hoffmann, after his recital Friday afternoon at the auditorium of Pasadena Central Library. More photos >>>To teach him to play, Richard Hoffmann's mom devises a colorful songbook. It works, and the boy plays on.By James Wagner, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 4, 2008 At 3, Richard Hoffmann can't read or tie his shoes yet, but he can play the works of Johann Burgmuller, his favorite German composer.
His secret: colors. Las Angeles Times at LATimes.com

Oldest 'Footprints' on Earth Found

LiveScience StaffLiveScience.com Sun Oct 5, 10:25 AM ET
The oldest-known tracks of a creature apparently using legs have been discovered in rock dated to 570 million years ago in what was once a shallow sea in Nevada.
YahooNews at Yahoo.com

Boy wreaks zoo havoc while feeding croc

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Fri Oct 3, 3:10 PM ET
CANBERRA (Reuters) - The parents of a 7-year-old boy who broke into an Australian outback zoo and fed a string of small animals to its resident crocodile are likely to be sued after police said the boy was too young to be held responsible.
YahooNews at Yahoo.com

Bailout Plan Wins Approval; Democrats Vow Tighter Rules

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: October 3, 2008
WASHINGTON — After the House reversed course and gave final approval to the $700 billion economic bailout package, President Bush quickly signed it into law on Friday, authorizing the

Treasury to undertake what could become the most expensive government intervention in history

New York Times at NYTimes.com
Palin and Biden spar in VP debate but neither deals a knockout
Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images
KEEPING IT POLITE: Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin shake hands after their debate in St. Louis. In the tart but mostly peaceable matchup, Biden largely went after presidential candidate John McCain, whom Palin repeatedly cited as a “maverick.”
In a tart but civil matchup, the nominees focus on the nation's economic woes and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both avoid major gaffes.

By Cathleen Decker and Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers October 3, 2008

ST. LOUIS -- Focused sharply on the middle class, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden fought over taxes, military strategy and which party could better rebuild America in a vice presidential debate Thursday that served as the nation's first extended look at the little-known Alaska governor who vaulted weeks ago onto the Republican ticket.

Las Angeles Times at LATimes.com


Surfs Up For Priests

POSTED: 10:44 am PDT October 5, 2008
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- On a warm, picture-perfect morning in Huntington Beach, 400 people have gathered on the sands to ask God for tubular waves, a killer swell and a safe return to shore at the beachfront town's first blessing of waves.

KCRA at KCRA.com


Simpson isolated in jail, focuses on future appeal

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent 49 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety but continues to hope for a new trial and a strong bid to reverse his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.
YahooNews at Yahoo.com