Man charged in fatal California crash
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- A car driven by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a Northern California apartment complex, killing a woman and toddler and slightly injuring two children as they all walked together outside, police said Sunday.
The crash occurred Saturday evening in Livermore, when a driver lost control near a curve and smashed into the apartment complex. The vehicle struck a 40-year-old woman walking with three children on a path at the complex, Livermore police officer Ryan Sanchez said.
The woman and one child, a 14-month-old, were killed. A 6-year-old and a 7-year-old with them suffered cuts.
Police initially said the car struck victims in a backyard at the complex.
Police arrested Brian Jones, 34, of Livermore on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and another alcohol-related driving count, Sanchez said. Jones, who was treated for injuries before being jailed, could not be reached for comment Sunday, and no information was immediately available regarding his attorney.
Snow removal stresses state budgets
BOSTON -- Winter's full fury arrived late in much of the country, but once it did it was relentless, quickly exhausting snow removal budgets and pushing the resources of state transportation agencies to their limit as they fought to keep highways safe and passable, according to a first-of-its-kind survey. The full results were to be released today.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said 23 states reported combined spending of more than $1 billion on winter maintenance operations and 8 million work hours plowing or treating state roads from October to March.
The states that responded to the survey, obtained in advance by The Associated Press, also went through 6 million tons of salt and huge quantities of brine and other liquid de-icing chemicals. One state reported using 216,000 gallons of beet juice, which can help salt stick to road surfaces.
Hard-hit Massachusetts used 600,000 tons of salt and 1.6 million gallons of liquid de-icer. Crews removed 17.5 billion cubic feet of snow from state roadways.
Pennsylvania, which budgeted $203 million for winter maintenance, spent $272 million to keep traffic flowing on the state's 40,000 miles of roadway, said Erin Waters-Trasatt, a transportation spokesman.
In comparison, Arkansas spent $14.9 million on winter road maintenance.
Medical marijuana OK'd in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico's governor Sunday signed an executive order to authorize the use of medical marijuana in the U.S. territory in an unexpected move after a lengthy public debate.
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said the island's health secretary has three months to issue a report detailing how the executive order will be implemented, the effect it will have and what future steps could be taken. The order went into immediate effect.
"We're taking a significant step in the area of health that is fundamental to our development and quality of life," Garcia said in a statement. "I am sure that many patients will receive appropriate treatment that will offer them new hope."
The order directs the health department to authorize the use of some or all controlled substances or derivatives of the cannabis plant for medical use.
Medical marijuana is legal in 23 U.S. states, and a group of U.S. legislators is seeking to remove federal prohibitions on it.
Earthquakes shake California residents
SAN FRANCISCO -- Two separate quakes at or near magnitude 4.0 hit Northern and Southern California on Sunday, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The second quake, measuring 3.6 in magnitude, struck Sunday afternoon less than a mile south of the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Concord, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The earthquake registered at a preliminary 4.0 magnitude, but geologists later revised it to a 3.6 magnitude.
A 2.7-magnitude temblor, classified as minor, rattled the same area a minute later.
Farther south, a magnitude-3.8 earthquake jolted some residents in the greater Los Angeles area awake at 4:07 a.m.
The temblor was centered 1 mile northwest of the View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhood, just north of the cities of Inglewood and Culver City, the Geological Survey said.
A Section on 05/04/2015