More than 2,300 athletes hit the roads, trails and waterways around Sacramento Saturday for the 35th annual Eppie's Great Race, dubbed "the World's Oldest Triathlon."

After being destroyed by arsonists twice, community leaders have a new plan to rebuild -- and better protect -- Fort Natomas.

Shasta County authorities are still searching for the driver of a car where more than 17 pounds of tar heroin was found stashed in the bumper a day earlier.

A measure that aims to keep prostitutes from facing criminal charges has qualified for the November ballot in San Francisco.

An injured black bear cub found in fire-ravaged woods west of Redding is recovering after being rescued by a firefighter.

Placer County law enforcement Saturday offered free etching on catalytic converters to help truck and SUV owners trace the much sought-after parts.

AP - Tropical Storm Cristobal, the first tropical storm to menace the Southeast seaboard this hurricane season, continued to move along the North Carolina coast early Sunday, and was expected to dump several inches in some areas of the drought-stricken state.

AP - The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel will have to go up if they go anywhere.

AP - For years, they were the picture of solidarity: the four children of Martin Luther King Jr. carrying on the legacy of the civil rights icon.

AP - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

AP - Federal investigators on Saturday began trying to figure out why one of the world's largest mobile cranes toppled over, killing four contract workers and injuring seven others.

AP - Investigators hoped to confirm Sunday the identity of a woman whose body was found bound with duct tape with her uterus cut open in the apartment of another woman who falsely claimed a newborn baby was her own.

AP - A missing Fort Bliss soldier sent a text message about leaving her husband two days before she vanished, her sister said Saturday.

AP - A team of elite athletes and expert mountaineers has ended a weeklong hunt for Steve Fossett, finding no sign of the missing adventurer or his plane but eliminating miles of rugged terrain from areas that still must be searched.

AP - Children's librarian Judith Flint was getting ready for the monthly book discussion group for 8- and 9-year-olds on "Love That Dog" when police showed up.

AP - Stunt pilot Sean Tucker, who has thrilled air show audiences with daredevil moves in more than 1,000 performances, said he got his start by trying to face his flying fears.

AP - Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. has four stars on his collars and 60 combat missions under his belt. But on a recent trip to a California airfield, he sprang from an SUV like a happy kid and charged toward a crowd of servicemen and women.

AP - A single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday, killing all three people aboard and sparking a fire that burned two rural acres, authorities said.

AP - A Qantas jetliner has departed from Los Angeles for Australia after the airline and law enforcement authorities determined a bomb threat was a hoax.