Warning that California faces catastrophic water shortages from a worsening drought, Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday upbraided state lawmakers for failing to rally behind a proposed $9.3 billion water bond for the November ballot.


Sen. Dianne Feinstein takes the stage Tuesday before the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce at the Convention Center. She backs bonds for water projects.

Scott Rowe was on pins and needles. After more than three years and $45,000 spent on schooling, the state budget – or lack of one – only added to his jitters.

WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama unveiled a group of disaffected high-profile Republicans on Tuesday who he hopes will help him win the support of Republican voters in swing states.

BEIJING – Christian underground activist Hua Huiqi dearly wanted to attend the same church service as President Bush last Sunday so he got up in the middle of the night to pedal his bicycle there.

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Michael Mukasey conceded Tuesday that high-ranking Justice Department officials failed to stop illegal hiring practices that favored conservatives over liberals because of what he described as a "systemic" problem within the department.

Fractures are developing in a campaign to alter legislative term limits that began with dreams of a Republican governor teaming with Democratic lawmakers, business with labor, and incumbent lawmakers with watchdog groups.

Under the a program called "End-of-Life Consultation," California residents will be able to call a toll-free number (800 247-7421) where they will be screened before they can get advice on accessing hospice care and pain treatment. The goal of the program is to work within the law to help people die.

State legislation to ban the butter-flavored chemical used in microwavable popcorn certainly seemed to have the necessary votes to pass out of the state Senate last Tuesday.

The United States announced Thursday that it had sent 16 men home to Saudi Arabia from the prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

DES MOINES -- Now the race for the Republican presidential nomination begins in earnest.