News

WASHINGTON -A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77. He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable

CATHEDRAL CITY -Police are looking for a suspect accused of holding up a woman in Cathedral City. It happenedSaturday night around 8:15 on the 68500 block of Ramon Road. A woman there told officers a man robbed her at gunpoint andthe suspect stole her purse. She wasn’t hurt. Police describe the man as Hispanic, 25

SEATTLE – Boeing’s giant 747-8 freighter is scheduled to make its first flight today. The company says the big jet performed well on taxi tests and reached a top speed of about 103.5 mph. At 250 feet long, the plane is the largest Boeing has ever built and about 18 feet longer than the existing

SAN FRANCISCO – A shooting in downtown San Francisco has left several people critically injured. San Francisco resident Mark Grissom, who saw the aftermath of the shooting, says it happened near Secrets Boutique adult store early Sunday morning. San Francisco General Hospital administrator Ruby Martin says several victims with gunshot wounds are being treated and

MIAMI – They’re celebrating Mardi Gras early in New Orleans. The underdog New Orleans Saints rallied with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to shock the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win Super Bowl 44. The Saints, a symbol of hope in the rebuilding city of New Orleans, captured their first NFL title on the

RIVERSIDE – Law enforcement agencies throughout Riverside County will be teaming up today to crack down on motorists who may have had too much to drink at Super Bowl parties. The “Avoid the 30” campaign — named for the 30 local and state law enforcement agencies that operate in the county — is planning saturation

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson’s personal physician is expected to be charged Monday in connection with the pop singer’s death from an overdose of a powerful prescription sedative. Dr. Conrad Murray is expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, although the District Attorney’s Office has not confirmed any details of the anticipated criminal case. Prosecutors

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The mayor of Middletown, Conn., says five people are known dead in a gas explosion at a power plant there. Mayor Sebastian Giuliano says at least 12 people are known injured from Sunday’s blast at the Kleen Energy Systems plant as workers purged natural gas lines. The plant is under construction. Deputy

PALM DESERT – Winter is once again making an appearance here in the valley. The rainy weather caused some road problems around the desert, from flooding to closures and even a few minor accidents. Some people around the valley were annoyed with the rain and the road closures, but others were outside playing golf and

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – Visiting storm-ravaged areas of Los Angeles County today, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would cut red tape to help with recovery efforts and appoint a blue ribbon panel to investigate claims of federal mismanagement of last summer’s Station fire. “It’s important for us to come out, right now, and say `what

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – A mother is grieving after a house fire in Warwick, R.I., claimed the lives of five people, including her daughter, granddaughter and future son-in-law. Lynn Gaulin said Sunday that her daughter, 21-year-old Amanda Villeneuve, was a devoted mother to her 7-month-old granddaughter, Anabelle Janik. They were among five people killed Saturday when

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA is fueling space shuttle Endeavour again. The launch team began loading fuel into the shuttle Sunday for the second night in a row. The three-hour-long operation began just as the Super Bowl was kicking off in Miami. Endeavour is scheduled to blast off at 4:14 a.m. Monday on the last

WASHINGTON – Federal agencies will be closed Monday in Washington as the region continues to dig out from a weekend storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in the nation’s capital. Spokeswoman Sedelta Verble says the Office of Personnel Management made the decision to close around 5 p.m. Sunday. Federal workers were told

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he has invited Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss health care legislation later this month. In an interview Sunday with CBS’ Katie Couric, Obama said he wants Republicans “to put their ideas on the table.” Obama and Congress’ Democratic leaders are seeking a way to overhaul the nation’s health

TOKYO – Toyota says it will soon announce a plan for dealing with braking problems in its Prius hybrid amid reports that the world’s largest automaker plans to issue a recall in Japan. Toyota has already had to recall more than 7 million other cars in the U.S., Europe and China over a sticky accelerator

RANCHO MIRAGE – It’s happening all around the nation, girl-against-girl violence or bullying. The cattiness, competition and hate shatters self-esteem and damages lives. “It’s a serious issue that results in attempted suicide, eating disorders and depression,” says Lauren Parsekian, Co-Founder of “Be Kind”. Bullying effects every female of every age. “This is not something that

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco’s mayor wants to require owners to retrofit buildings most vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake while easing the cost of the upgrades. Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed mandatory retrofits Friday for 2,800 of the city’s so-called soft-story buildings – older wooden structures built with homes perched above a garage or store.

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles airport spokeswoman says a commercial airplane carrying an American missionary who was detained in North Korea for 43 days has landed in Los Angeles. Los Angeles International Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles says Robert Park arrived on a flight from Beijing Saturday evening. Earlier in the day, he flew to

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu has been elected mayor of New Orleans, replacing term-limited Ray Nagin and becoming the majority-black city’s first white mayor since 1979. Landrieu is a 49-year-old moderate Democrat who won Saturday in a landslide over a field of 10 opponents in a campaign that focused on the city’s

RIVERSIDE – Downtown Riverside will be transformed into a Victorian-era London marketplace today and tomorrow for the 17th annual Dickens Festival, a tribute to the life and times of the famed author. The pedestrian mall on Main Street will be a hub of activity, teeming with characters straight out of Charles Dickens’ classics. This year’s