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GOP rivals rip Obama, each other
Carville, Begala: GOP, we don't get it
5 things from debate
Obama to call for equal opportunity
White House releases speech excerpts
L.A. arson suspect faces 100 counts
Arab League Syria mission extended

Five things to watch for in Obama's State of the Union

Former White House speech writers offer pointers to watching President Obama's State of the Union Tuesday night. By David Grant, DCDecoder / January 24, 2012 President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington in

GOP candidates criticize Obama, each other

By the CNN Wire Staff Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney greets voters Tuesday after giving a speech at a closed factory in Tampa, Florida. (CNN) -- On a day that President Barack Obama is the headliner with his State of the Union address,

Romney's Plan for 'Self-Deportation' Has Conservative Support

By JULIA PRESTON When Mitt Romney said in the Republican debate on Monday night that he favored “self-deportation” as a solution to illegal immigration, it seemed to come out of the blue, perhaps an effort, as the race moves to Florida, to soften the

Tim Thomas skips White House visit: Did his political statement backfire?

The Boston Bruins paid a visit to the White House on Monday to celebrate the team's memorable run to the 2011 Stanley Cup title. Goalie Tim Thomas declined the invitation, however, calling into question his choice to place his own political leanings

Apple Shines In First Quarter Without Steve Jobs

By NATHALIE TADENA Apple Inc. proved it could manage just fine in its first quarter without co-founder Steve Jobs, recording its highest quarterly profit and revenue on the strength of iPhone and iPad sales. The company's profit more than doubled for

Oldest dinosaur nests discovered in South Africa

A dinosaur nesting site older than any discovered before suggests that the creatures were caring mothers early in their evolution. Scientists uncovered clutches of fossilised eggs at the site in the Golden Gate Highlands national park, South Africa,

'Space hurricane' from the sun sweeping over our planet

>>> radiation from the largest solar storm in more than six years is pelting mother earth . satellite witnessed an ultra violent flash hitting earth. the storm does not pose a threat. as a precaution some polar flights have been rerouted to avoid

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace cry foul on Google+ search

Engineers from Twitter, Facebook and MySpace have created an open-source plug-in that they hope proves their worst fears about Google's decision to fold its social results into search — that Google is moving away from its mission to be a neutral

SF Mayor: Sheriff Mirkarimi must decide whether to step down during trial

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said Tuesday morning that he plans to speak with Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi about whether he was fit to continue serving in his post amidst allegations of domestic abuse.

Lee said he expected to have a discussion with Mirkarimi by "the end of the day today" about whether Mirkarimi can fulfill his duties while navigating court appearances leading up to a trial.

Mirkarimi was expected to go on trial on Feb. 24 on three misdemeanor charges -- one charge each of domestic violent battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness.

Mirkarimi was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, when his attorney Bob Waggener will argue for the removal of a stay-away order that is preventing him from contacting his wife, Eliana Lopez, and the couple's 2-year-old son, Theo.

Lee would not say whether he would ask Mirkarimi to step down.

"It's incumbent upon the sheriff to make a decision," he said, noting that Mirkarimi must consider the effects the trial could have on the public and his staff.

Lee said Mirkarimi was already under a tremendous amount of pressure and that he does not want to contribute to it.

"I'm not a political person. I don't put pressure on anybody," Lee said.

When questioned by reporters about whether he considers the allegations a national embarrassment -- which is how he referred to the recent blackout at Candlestick Park -- Lee said simply that the trial was "a very serious matter."

Two-alarm fire burning at San Jose Carl's Jr

Fire investigators were trying Tuesday to determine what caused a two-alarm fire that damaged a Carl's Jr. restaurant in San Jose that morning, a fire captain said.

A fire sprinkler company employee was servicing the fast-food restaurant's fire safety system in the kitchen when a Carl's Jr. employee noticed the fire and called 911 at about 10:40 a.m., Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.

At the time, there were six employees inside the otherwise empty restaurant at 1689 N. Capitol Ave., she said.

The fire appeared to have started in the kitchen's flue and quickly spread to the building's attic space, and firefighters fought the blaze mostly from above, Gutierrez said.

"We had to do quite a bit of cutting on the roof to get to that fire," Gutierrez said.

Firefighters declared the fire under control at 11:44 a.m.

The fire sprinkler company employee was being evaluated for injuries, Gutierrez said.

There was no estimate as of noon Tuesday on how much damage the fire caused to the building, but Gutierrez noted that there was "quite a bit of water damage in the kitchen" and significant damage to the roof.

College student shot and killed in Richmond

A man killed in a shooting in Richmond on Monday night has been identified as 22-year-old college student Edwin Arnold Martinez, according to police and the Contra Costa County coroner's office.

Martinez was shot shortly before 6:50 p.m. while sitting in a parked car with his sister in the 2100 block of Nevin Avenue, police Detective Nicole Abetkov said.

As the pair sat in their vehicle, a light-colored car sped past them, trailed by a man on foot who shot at that car, she said.

The shooter, described only as a man wearing dark clothing, then turned his gunfire on the siblings' car.

The victim's sister accelerated away, but not before Martinez had been hit multiple times, Abetkov said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His sister was unharmed in the attack.

Abetkov said Martinez, who lived with his sister and other family members in Richmond, was apparently heading to a class at Contra Costa College when the shooting occurred.

No suspects had been identified in connection with the shooting as of Tuesday, and police were asking for the public's help in solving the case.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Richmond police department's anonymous tip line at (510) 232-8477 or Detective Tim Gray at (510) 620-6541

Hard-to-see tower tied to Antioch crop-duster plane crash

Federal investigators say the pilot of a crop-duster plane probably didn't see the 198-foot weather tower before a deadly crash in Northern California last year.

Fifty-eight-year-old Stephen Allen died when his S-2R Thrush Commander crashed into the tower on Webb Tract Island northeast of the Antioch Bridge on Jan. 10, 2011. The plane was applying seed at the time.

The San Francisco Chronicle says the National Transportation Safety Board warns more crashes are possible unless meteorological towers are better marked.

The NTSB says in the report released last week that the tower was 198 feet tall, two feet shorter than the height that would require it to be marked and lighted under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The tower was erected nine months before the deadly crash.