AMY TAXIN

Associated Press
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Woman convicted in Calif. millionaire's '94 murder

A Southern California woman was convicted Monday of arranging to have a former NFL player kill her millionaire boyfriend more than a decade ago to collect on a $1 million life insurance policy and other cash.

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Mom reunites with biological child 77 years later

For most of her 100 years, Minka Disbrow tried to find out what became of the precious baby girl she gave up for adoption after being raped as a teen.

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State child care cuts force hard choice on parents

Sarah Comito rolls out of bed before dawn most days and slips quietly out of her house. Before her rambunctious toddler wakes up, she heads off to work as a waitress in an upscale weight-loss resort in Malibu.

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Kobe Bryant's wife files for divorce

Kobe Bryant's wife, who stood by her husband when he was charged with sexual assault in 2003, filed for divorce on Friday from the Los Angeles Lakers star, citing irreconcilable differences after a decade of marriage.

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Former child maid from Egypt becomes US citizen

More than a decade ago, 10-year-old Shyima Hall was brought to Southern California by an affluent Egyptian couple who forced her to sleep in a cold garage at night and spend her days working as a maid.

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Snoopy Christmas display saved from foreclosure

Jim Jordan created a heart-warming Christmas display of Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" characters more than 40 years ago at his Southern California home, and it became a holiday tradition as tens of thousands of people showed up each year to see the sparkling extravaganza.

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APNewsBreak: Woman accused of flight school fraud

Immigration officials on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of bringing foreign students to train at her Southern California flight school on fraudulent visas and without government authorization.

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Calif. salon shooting suspect pleads not guilty

An angry ex-husband charged in a shooting rampage at a Southern California hair salon pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing his former wife and seven others.

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Man guilty of visa fraud in Thai welders case

A California man was convicted of seeking visa extensions for Thai welders purportedly hired for a construction job when in reality they were forced to work at restaurants and live in deplorable conditions, prosecutors said Wednesday.

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Crystal Cathedral sees risky future without church

The sale of the Crystal Cathedral to the Catholic church could mark an end to the storied televangelist ministry broadcast around the world that came crashing down in hard times.

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Victim's son, parents sue salon shooting suspect

A man charged with killing his ex-wife and seven others in a shooting rampage at a Seal Beach hair salon was sued Friday by her family.

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Report: Asian-Americans grow beyond coastal hubs

Asian-Americans have seen their ranks swell over the past decade not only in coastal immigrant enclaves but also in states such as Texas and Nevada, according to a report released Wednesday by a coalition of Asian-American organizations.

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Ex-wife Calif. salon shootings reported among dead

The former wife of the man suspected of killing eight people in a Seal Beach, Calif., salon has been identified by family members as among the dead.

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Wife who killed, cooked husband denied parole

A California woman who killed her newlywed husband and chopped and cooked his body parts over Thanksgiving weekend in 1991 was denied her second bid for parole Wednesday.

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Calif. woman pleads not guilty in penis slicing

A California woman has pleaded not guilty to cutting off her estranged husband's penis and running it through a garbage disposal.

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No regrets from Muslim students in speech case

Eight Muslim students convicted of misdemeanors for disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador at the University of California, Irvine thanked supporters and expressed no regrets at a public meeting in an Anaheim mosque.

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More crime, trafficking victims apply for visas

The number of crime and trafficking victims applying for special visas to stay in the country has increased, thanks to federal officials' outreach to local law enforcement, immigration authorities said Thursday.

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Dad charged after son thrown overboard on cruise

A father was charged Wednesday with child abuse after prosecutors said he slapped his 7-year old son until he cried then threw the boy overboard during a pleasure cruise in California.

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Man pleads not guilty in Calif. toddler shooting

A man accused of firing at least a dozen bullets into a Southern California house that killed a 3-year-old girl and wounded a pregnant woman and her young daughter pleaded not guilty on Friday.

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Muslim students stand trial for speech disruption

Prosecutors on Wednesday argued that 10 Muslim university students broke the law when they shouted down a speech by the Israeli ambassador on a Southern California campus in a case that has stoked an impassioned public debate about freedom of speech.

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Mom in baby death case called marginally coherent

A lawyer for a woman charged with murdering her 7-month-old son by pushing him off a four-story parking structure said Monday his client appeared only marginally coherent and did not fully understand the charges against her.

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LA day laborers double as actors to teach, empower

Most days, they are construction workers and painters and maids.

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Arraignment delayed in Calif. severed penis case

Arraignment has been postponed for a Southern California woman accused of serving her estranged husband a spiked meal before she cut off his penis with one swift slice of a kitchen knife and ran it through a garbage disposal.

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APNewsBreak: US deports Guatemala massacre suspect

U.S. authorities on Tuesday deported a former member of an elite Guatemalan military force suspected of helping carry out a massacre in 1982 that left more than 150 people dead in the Central American nation.

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New rules target racy Vietnamese cafes in Calif

At Cafe Miss Cutie, the windows are tinted but not pitch black. The waitresses are wearing negligees but not naked. And patrons are being urged to smoke outside.

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