SAN FRANCISCO - Releasing inmates early might be the best remaining option for ensuring that California prisoners receive adequate medical care, a federal judge said Tuesday.
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SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency Monday and called lawmakers into a special budget session, warning that California was in danger of running out of daily operating cash within two months.
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WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama plans today to announce six experienced hands to fill top administration posts, moving at record speed to name the leadership team that will guide his presidency through a time of war and recession.
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WASHINGTON - Under President Bush, California Democrats often felt like actor Rodney Dangerfield - disrespected.But with President-elect Barack Obama headed to the White House - giving their party control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue for the first time in 14 years - lawmakers from California, one of the nation's bluest states, are looking to gain more than just respect. They expect to wield more political clout as well.
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WASHINGTON - Rolling out powerful new weapons against the financial meltdown, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve pledged $800 billion Tuesday to blast through blockades on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other borrowing. Total bailout commitments, loans and pledges of backing neared a staggering $7 trillion.
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Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq - by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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WASHINGTON - Taxpayers may be wondering why they're forking over more money to rescue yet another behemoth, Citigroup, even as their own nest eggs crack and jobs evaporate.
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CHICAGO — Citing an "economic crisis of historic proportions," President-elect Barack Obama urged Congress to pass a costly, job-creating stimulus bill as quickly as possible, a rare pre-inaugural call to action delivered as the outgoing Bush administration approved fresh billions to bail out one of the nation's largest banks. Full story » Comments (1)

WASHINGTON - Just in time for the holidays, some medical advice most people will like: Take a nap.Interrupting sleep seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research suggests. But on the flip side, taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps a person see the big picture and get creative.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - They're discreet, flavorful and come in cute tin boxes with names like "frost" and "spice." And the folks who created Joe Camel are hoping Camel Snus will become a hit with tobacco lovers tired of being forced outside for a smoke.
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SAN JOSE - Internet criminals have been getting more "professional" for years, trying to run their businesses like Big Business to get better and more profitable at selling stolen data online. Now the bad guys of the cyber-underworld are exhibiting other unexpected traits: remarkable patience and restraint in stalking their victims.
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WASHINGTON - Taxpayers have shelled out at least $200 million since 2004 for medications that have never been reviewed by the government for safety and effectiveness but are still covered under Medicaid, an Associated Press analysis of federal data has found. Millions of private patients are taking such drugs, as well.
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SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court voted 6-1 Wednesday to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a final decision.
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Long touted as an elixir of eternal mental acuity, the herbal extract ginkgo biloba does not prevent or delay the progression of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to a clinical trial reported Tuesday involving thousands of volunteers between the ages of 75 and 96. Full story »

SACRAMENTO — The Southern California wildfires are burning a bigger hole in California's budget, adding to the state's $11.2 billion deficit, the governor's finance spokesman said Tuesday. Full story » Comments (3)