Here’s the weird thing about Paul Ryan being named to the Republican presidential ticket: It’s all part of Barack Obama’s campaign plan — a plan that’s working better than his strategists could have hoped. It could also backfire more disastrously than they have ever imagined.

Facebook's stock plunged to a new low Thursday as some of the social networking leader's early backers got their first chance to sell their shares since the company's initial public offering went awry.

A 1936 Mercedes-Benz found in a Connecticut barn could fetch a record $16 million-plus at a Pebble Beach auction this weekend.

Firefighters at several raging wildfires in Northern California braced for the possibility of overnight thunderstorms and strong winds, while crews struggled to save dozens of threatened homes in Southern California.

Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial of a prominent member of a Los Angeles street gang who hid out in the Philippines for years before he was caught and charged with four murders.

The decision on whether San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi can remain in office in spite of a domestic violence conviction will take a big step forward on Thursday.

An appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit claiming the owner of 16 Alameda County nursing homes fails to meet California nurse-staffing standards.

Three men have pleaded not guilty to plotting a $1 million Northern California armored car heist that was apparently thwarted by an informant who tipped off authorities.

A play aimed at preventing sexual assaults has been performed for the crew of a San Diego warship.

A Southern California soccer coach has been charged with molesting boys.

Los Angeles County authorities are announcing a plan to take 1,000 chronically homeless people off the streets.

Two Southern California gang members have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of a Long Beach police gang unit detective.

The U.S. Forest Service has decided to allow nighttime aerial attacks on wildfires in Southern California in a change of policy spurred by controversy over a 2009 blaze that grew to 250 square miles and threatened Los Angeles suburbs, congressional representatives announced Thursday.

Combined cargo volume at the Los Angeles-Long Beach twin ports was flat last month.

A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages.

Storm cells packing strong winds and lightning moved through areas of Southern California where crews are making progress against wildfires threatening more than 100 rural homes.

The San Diego Stock Exchange Index closed higher Thursday at 117.59, up 0.75 percent from Wednesday. Advancing issues beat decliners 54 to 28, and 58 issues were unchanged.