GARANCE BURKE

Associated Press
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PG&E assumes civil liability in San Bruno blast

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. officials confirmed Tuesday the company will take financial responsibility for the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion and compensate victims who have filed civil suits in the wake of the blast.

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Rappers take to mic in Oakland Occupy protest

Hip hop heavyweights known as much for their fiery political lyrics as for their bass-pounding beats have been among the thousands marching, tweeting and sharing dinner with protestors in the Occupy Oakland protests in recent weeks.

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Report: Industry decides food ingredient safety

Thousands of ingredients that go into food have been classified as safe by private industry alone, without any government oversight, according to a new report published Wednesday.

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PROMISES, PROMISES: Food anti-terror plans costly

One of the deepest fears sweeping a shattered nation following the Sept. 11 attacks was that terrorists might poison the country's food.

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San Bruno residents to remember 8 killed in blast

Survivors of the nation's deadliest pipeline accident in a decade gathered Friday evening to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the explosion and to honor the eight lives lost in the blast.

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APNewsBreak: Blast survivors launch advocacy group

Families who lost loved ones in the nation's deadliest pipeline accident in a decade are forming a new nonprofit group, harnessing their grief to press for strict controls over the high-pressure gas lines coursing below homes across the country.

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Hispanics new majority sentenced to federal prison

More than half of all people sent to federal prison for committing felony crimes so far this year were Hispanic, a major demographic shift swollen by immigration offenses, according to a new government report released Tuesday.

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San Bruno scars remain for survivors, neighborhood

The young man staggered into his neighbor's driveway, his body still smoking from the explosion that mangled his torso and sparked a gas-fueled fireball rising fast above this San Francisco suburb.

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For Star Wars fans, Calif's Yoda statue is a mecca

Within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge lies another landmark cherished by a small but fervent group of travelers: a full-size replica of Yoda, George Lucas' master of the Force.

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After accidents, tougher pipeline rules proposed

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are considering plans that could spur major upgrades to the nation's aging energy pipelines, driven by a string of recent oil spills, deadly natural gas blasts and what they call federal regulators' inaction.

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New details emerge on Calif. pipeline's prior leak

A California utility under fire for a deadly pipeline explosion has revealed that its employees dispute key information the company gave federal investigators about past problems on the gas line that ruptured.

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AP Enterprise: More Hispanics go to federal prison

They shuffle into the courtroom in shackles, still wearing the dust-covered clothes and shoes from when they crossed the desert into the U.S. from Mexico.

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Christian movement preparing for End of Days

Some shut themselves inside to pray for mercy as they waited for the world's end.

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EPA ratchets down radiation samples in milk, water

The Environmental Protection Agency has ratcheted down the nation's radiation monitoring program for rain, drinking water and milk in response to a consistent drop in the levels of fallout detected in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis.

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Cyclists decry Golden Gate Bridge speed limit plan

Plans to put the brakes on bicyclists riding across the Golden Gate Bridge has cycling enthusiasts crying foul in this urban center of two-wheeled activism.

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PG&E exec. resigns in wake of Calif pipeline blast

Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s top executive is stepping down following a "challenging year" that included a natural gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco suburb that killed eight and left 38 homes destroyed, the company announced Thursday.

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Survivors of Calif explosion address regulators

Survivors of a deadly gas pipeline explosion that ravaged a suburban neighborhood near San Francisco gave poignant testimony before California regulators on Tuesday, as officials sought input on how to strengthen crucial safety rules for the industry.

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Gaps in US radiation monitoring system revealed

Parts of America's radiation alert network have been out of order during Japan's nuclear crisis, raising concerns among some lawmakers about whether the system could safeguard the country in a future disaster.

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Calif. may lower fines for utility in fatal blast

California regulators proposed on Thursday to fine a utility for a deadly pipeline blast as little as $3 million, instead of moving ahead with a prior approach to charge the company about $1 million each day for shoddy record-keeping.

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Vang Pao family decries Arlington burial denial

The family of former Laotian general and Hmong leader Vang Pao says it is "disgraceful" that the U.S. Army has denied a request that the U.S. ally in the Vietnam War be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Calif. utility told to cut gas pipeline pressures

California regulators have ordered Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to lower the pressure on some natural gas pipelines in heavily populated areas to 20 percent below their maximum thresholds.

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APNewsBreak: Calif. handgun ammo rules thrown out

A trial court judge in central California has thrown out key sections of a state law restricting handgun ammunition sales, barring authorities from registering bullet buyers' thumbprints on the grounds that it would be unconstitutional.

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EPA: Study by dump shows chemicals at safe level

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday a new study by the largest toxic waste dump in the West showed its level of cancer-causing chemicals was too low to harm the health of a nearby community where an unusually high number of babies have been born with serious birth defects.

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Along beloved route to Yosemite, a bridge too far?

Those who live among or visit the craggy mountains surrounding Yosemite National Park share a love of the ever-changing landscape, shaped by rushing water, ice and avalanches.

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Court upholds Calif. air regulator's pollution fee

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that air quality regulators in California's smog-laden San Joaquin Valley have the right to charge home builders a fee to control their pollution emissions.

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