SFGate Top News

Stocks declined modestly Monday as a weakening U.S. dollar and a mixed batch of earnings reports prompted cautious investors to cash in on last week's gains. Oil prices also fell sharply as energy traders took profits following futures' recent runup....

To attract more shoppers, online auctioneer eBay Inc. on Monday launched "eBay Express," an online store to sell new items, ranging from cookware to books and electronics _ all with no bidding involved. The new store will feature a subset of items from...

AARP, the big seniors advocacy group, has started selling three mutual funds geared toward retirement savings. The three funds _ conservative, moderate and aggressive _ are designed to simplify investment choices for seniors, AARP Financial said in a...

Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab at the height of the tourist season Monday, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 150 at just one hotel, according to the doctor in charge of the Sinai peninsula rescue squad. Police...

Students returned to classes past police vans Monday as the landmark Sorbonne University in Paris reopened after being closed for six weeks amid protests of a youth labor law that mired France in crisis. While universities nationwide were shut or...

Seven car bombs exploded across the capital Monday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, as politicians met to try to finalize a new Cabinet. Police discovered the bodies of 20 Iraqis _ apparent victims of sectarian killings the United States...

Prince Harry would be involved in "the fullest range of deployments" if his unit is sent to Iraq, but he might be kept out of situations where his presence would jeopardize his comrades, the Ministry of Defense said Monday. Harry, the 21-year-old...

As Congress headed back Monday from a two-week recess, President Bush was in the country's most immigrant-rich state to push a stalled bill that would allow more foreigners to work legally in the United States. Lawmakers, with an eye on Election Day in...

(04-24) 11:15 PDT OAKLAND - The University of California gave most of its top executives extra bonuses, car allowances or other compensation that wasn't approved by the governing board of regents, according to a report presented today by the university's...

(04-24) 10:10 PDT REDWOOD CITY - Police are interviewing three suspects in connection with two armed robberies of bicyclists on Sunday evening. Neither of the two male victims -- one of whom was grabbed and challenged at knifepoint, while the other was...

(04-24) 13:43 PDT MARTINEZ -- Susan Polk invoked history, literature, "nail-biting" suspense movies and novels by the likes of Stephen King today as she urged jurors not to assume they've been told the real story of what happened the night her husband was...

President Bush, speaking today to business leaders in the epicenter of California's growing debate on immigration, said the nation must "make sure this border is as tight as it can possibly be," but urged Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that...

(04-24) 10:59 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Four exhausted swimmers attempting to make it from Alcatraz to the city waterfront were pulled from San Francisco Bay by the U.S. Coast Guard and the San Francisco Police Department's boat unit about 9:30 a.m. Sunday....

(04-24) 11:30 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - Two men in their late 40s were killed in San Francisco over the weekend, one by shooting and the other by stabbing, authorities said. Michael Jackmon, 46, was found lying in the street with a gunshot wound in his head...

Key Democratic legislators Sunday joined Republicans in saying they do not condone the alleged leaking of classified information that led to last week's firing of a veteran CIA officer. But they questioned whether a double standard exists that lets the White...

Prodded by large demonstrations and the prospect of another on the horizon, Senate leaders will try to revive stalled immigration legislation this week, with some urging President Bush to mediate personally the sharp differences among Republicans on the...

Two years after casting aside competing systems and focusing on laser-based technology, the Department of Homeland Security is soliciting bids for new methods of protecting air travelers from possible terrorist missile attacks. The government has spent...

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged his followers to prepare for a drawn-out conflict with the Western world in a new audiotape broadcast Sunday, blaming what he called "a Crusader-Zionist war" for a long list of attacks on Islam in places from Darfur to...

When not doing advanced biology or Latin homework, Megan Winkelman drafts resolutions against sweatshop labor and makes requests for nuclear accelerators to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Winkelman, 14, is a Berkeley High ninth-...

Satoshi Ogiso doesn't look or act like a brash automobile executive. With an ill-fitting suit and spiky hairdo, his hands flutter bashfully across his face as he talks of "difficulties," "challenges" and "problems." The 45-year-old engineer refuses to...