Police conclude second search of Peterson home
MODESTO -- Police concluded their search Wednesday at the home of missing pregnant woman Laci Peterson, saying they had been seeking clues that would clear her husband of suspicion or link him to her disappearance.
Modesto police spokesman Doug Ridenour said there were no big breaks in the case, but he declined to offer what they were seeking or what they seized from the house over two days.
Investigators want to eliminate Scott Peterson from the scope of their investigation or connect him to his wife's disappearance, Ridenour said. But the veteran detective repeated his refrain that Scott Peterson is neither a suspect nor ruled out as one.
"I'm missing my wife and my child," he said. "I can't drive. I can't sleep. Sometimes I feel I just can't do it, I feel like I'm in a dark corner and I just can't function."
Opening statements set in jailhouse beating trial
Jury selection was completed yesterday in San Mateo County Superior Court in South San Francisco for the trial of a San Francisco Sheriff's deputy who is accused of beating a prisoner at one of the city's jails.
Richard Segovia, 31, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault by a peace officer, and battery, all misdemeanors, in connection with the alleged beating on April 26, 2002. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department brought the case to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office following a Sheriff's Department internal investigation that was prompted by a complaint made by the alleged victim.
According to the district attorney's office, Segovia was transporting the prisoner from a court appearance in San Francisco and had returned to the County Jail in San Bruno, when the prisoner made a remark that angered Segovia.
Segovia then allegedly beat the prisoner with a broom handle until it shattered, in front of two other sheriff's deputies.
The alleged attack did not cause any broken bones, but "It was a pretty vicious beating,'' according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe.
SFO ranked high with German travelers
San Francisco International Airport has been named the No. 1 airport in North America by readers of travel magazine 'Business Traveller Germany.'
"SFO's selection by readers of Business Traveller Germany as the Best Airport in North America is an indication of the Airport Commission's investment in providing the finest facilities for the traveling public," said Airport Director John Martin. "Our goal has always been to be the world leaders in safety and security and at the same time provide world-class customer service for air travel in the 21st century and it appears we are meeting that challenge."
The award is the result of a reader research poll conducted in 2002, which was presented in Frankfurt, Germany earlier this month.
Business Traveller Germany is one of five editions of Business Traveller International, which also publishes editions in Britain, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the United States.
Truck plunges into aqueduct, killing three children, woman
PEARBLOSSOM -- A pickup truck swerved from a highway and plunged into the California Aqueduct on Wednesday, killing three children and one woman despite the frantic efforts of a firefighter and off-duty paramedic who pulled them from the murky, bone-chilling water.
A fifth victim, a 14-year-old child, was unconscious and on life support at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles as doctors conducted brain activity tests.
The dead children included a 1-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, said Dr. Calvin Lowe, a trauma physician at the hospital. The 30-year-old woman died at Antelope Valley Hospital, doctors there said. Neither the names of the victims nor their relationship were immediately released.
KNBC-TV reported that the woman and the three youngsters who died were mother and children. The 14-year-old was the children's cousin, according to the station, which interviewed the victims' anguished husband and father, Raoul Morales.
SF water board requires stormwater to be treated
SAN FRANCISCO -- Water regulators for the San Francisco Bay area decided Wednesday to require new developments and redevelopment projects to treat stormwater runoff before allowing it to flow into Bay Area bodies of water.
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board's decision affects Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. San Francisco already runs its stormwater through its sewage treatment system.
The decision amends permits, and is expected to keep such toxins as mercury, PCBs and dioxins, which are predominantly from urban or agricultural runoff, from entering local waterways and the San Francisco Bay.
Lawsuits cost Oakland nearly $11 million
OAKLAND -- City officials have agreed to pay nearly $11 million and implement police reforms to settle civil rights lawsuits brought by more than 100 people who claimed they were victimized by a group of rogue police officers known as The Riders.
While some reforms were in place before The Riders scandal broke, Oakland Police Chief Richard Word said Wednesday the policies will strengthen the department's supervision, training and internal affairs.
Officials agreed one of the main problems was The Riders were able to operate virtually unsupervised on the night shift in predominantly black West Oakland.
The lawsuits claimed the officers kidnapped and beat suspects in the summer of 2000. To settle the suit, Oakland will pay $10.9 million to 119 plaintiffs, who say the city and its police department either encouraged or ignored the abuse.
SF zoo keepers hope to keep two lion cubs alive
SAN FRANCISCO -- Keepers at the San Francisco Zoo said Wednesday they are working around the clock to care for two tiny cubs whose mother died this month.
The male and female cubs, born Feb. 7 but still not yet named, are in a critical period of life but are progressing well, zoo officials said. They are being bottle fed every 3 hours and now weigh 5 pounds each. They are expected to be at the zoo hospital for a few more weeks.
Their mother was Kita, a 5-year-old lion who died Feb. 10 from complications from giving birth. Kita gave birth to four cubs, but two of them died.
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Fugitive cosmetics heir sentenced to 124 years
VENTURA -- A judge sentenced fugitive cosmetics heir Andrew Luster to 124 years in prison for drugging and raping three women at his oceanfront home in Ventura County.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Ken Riley also ordered Luster, 39, the great-grandson of makeup legend Max Factor, to pay $1 million in restitution.
Luster was convicted in absentia last month on 86 counts including rape, sodomy, drug and weapons possession and poisoning. He vanished Jan. 3 during a two-week recess in his trial.
Prosecutors said Luster took three women to his Mussel Shoals home between 1996 and 2000 and raped them after giving them the so-called date-rape drug GHB.
He was arrested in July 2000 after a University of California, Santa Barbara, student told police he drugged and assaulted her.
Woman who ran through SFO checkpoint faces charges
SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman who allegedly ran through a San Francisco Airport security gate has been charged in federal court with entering an airport area in violation of security requirements. Cindy Hsiung Wei-Hsuan, 23, a Tawainese citizen visiting the United States on a student visa, was charged in a criminal complaint filed Friday by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Jacobs said Tuesday. If convicted the woman could face up to a year in jail, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release.
Judge: Lawsuit against Jackson will go forward
LOS ANGELES -- A judge ruled that Michael Jackson's response to a lawsuit brought by his former business manager will be included in an upcoming civil trial involving the pop singer.
Myung Ho Lee, head of Union Finance and Investment Corp., claims in a lawsuit that Jackson owes him $13 million in back pay. Jackson alleges that Lee breached contracts and did not act in good faith while giving him business advice.
Tom Ridge: Be prepared but don't panic
CINCINNATI -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge suggested basic steps Wednesday for a nation still on high alert for terrorism, such as putting together disaster kits with a few days supply of food and water. A week after government comments sent worried Americans to hardware stores for duct tape and plastic sheeting, Ridge also said the "orange" level high-risk alert was really meant more for law enforcement than for regular citizens. And he suggested it might be lowered soon. Ridge traveled to Ohio to launch a public-relations campaign offering families several suggestions: Have a communications plan so the family can get in touch during an emergency; put together a disaster kit with a few days of critical supplies, and know where to turn for information during a crisis.
Plan for arming pilots announced
WASHINGTON -- Commercial pilots who want to carry guns in the cockpit would have to undergo psychological and background checks before being selected for a five-day training program under a plan announced Wednesday by the Transportation Security Administration. The first group of 48 pilots could begin training in a month. It said the plan is preliminary and could change before Tuesday's deadline for the agency to issue rules for the program, which was approved by Congress last year. The plan calls for the training to include marksmanship, lessons on legal policies and defensive tactics, agency spokesman Robert Johnson said.
Four Marines held in investigation of rape
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Four Marines were being held Wednesday on suspicion of raping an unconscious 17-year-old girl at a Mojave Desert motel, authorities said.
The girl was staying with friends at the motel and the Marines were staying in another room, said Chip Patterson, a Sheriff's Department spokesman. The Marines had never met the girl before and it was unclear what they were doing at the motel, he said.
They were jailed on $100,000 bail each. It could not be immediately determined Wednesday if they were represented by attorneys.
Ford recalls more than 400,000 cars
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. voluntarily recalled more than 440,000 1997 Ford Escorts and Mercury Tracers on Wednesday to install a shield over the unit that monitors the air bag.
The automaker said fluid leaks or condensation could cause unintended air bag deployment, melted wiring, or fire.
The problem was brought to Ford's attention by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but the company said very few incidents have been reported. About 441,000 cars are affected worldwide; most are in the United States. Dealers and customers will be notified and the procedure will be done at Ford and Mercury dealers at no charge.
Overture Services to buy AltaVista
SAN FRANCISCO -- Advertising-driven search engine Overture Services Inc. announced it will buy fallen Internet star AltaVista for $140 million, upping the stakes in a quest for search engine supremacy.
Pasadena-based Overture announced Tuesday it will pay $60 million in cash and $80 million in stock for Palo Alto-based AltaVista, which introduced a pioneering search engine in 1995 to become one of the Web's early power brokers.
AltaVista fell out of favor after it launched an ill-advised expansion to duplicate Yahoo's smorgasbord of online services, opening the door for search engine upstarts like Google to establish themselves.
EBay to open support center in Canada
SAN JOSE -- Online auction company eBay announced Wednesday it will open a 600-employee international customer support center in suburban Vancouver, British Columbia.
The center will provide 24-hour telephone support for eBay members in the United States, Canada and Australia starting in April. The new office in Burnaby, B.C., will augment but not replace support facilities in Salt Lake City; Omaha, Neb.; and Dreilinden, Germany.
American companies will open about 80 percent of all call centers in Canada in the next four years, according to research firm Datamonitor.
Low mortgage spurs construction
WASHINGTON -- Powered by the lowest mortgage rates in four decades, new home construction in January hit the highest level since 1986, the government reported Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said work began on 1.85 million new single-family homes and apartment units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate last month. That was a 0.2 percent increase from December, when housing construction shot up 4.9 percent from the month before. Construction in the single-family sector rose a solid 2.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.51 million units, the fastest pace in more than two decades. Construction of apartments fell by 8.7 percent to an annual rate of 303,000 units.<
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