For many same-sex couples, every chance to make tying the knot official is a way to be part of a historic battle about gay marriage. But when the cake is being cut for the third, fourth or fifth time, marriage can seem a bit commonplace.

Police have arrested an alleged "damsel in distress" defender on suspicion of fatally stabbing a man inside a tiny cafe, authorities said.

These are excerpts from the San Francisco Police Department's daily log of activities. Incidents are listed by police precincts and the neighborhoods they patrol.

Magic tricks and show tunes ... for Darren Romeo, aka "The Voice of Magic," the combo, somehow - amazingly - works.

When same-sex couples begin exchanging vows in ceremonies across the state this week, it will be a major milestone for the gay-rights movement - but there is still more to be done, advocates said.

The amount of Styrofoam that litters San Francisco has fallen by one-third from last year, according to city officials who credit the decrease to a successful ban of the damaging plastic in take-out packaging.

A parolee has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old county sheriffs deputy during a traffic stop late Sunday night, authorities said today. Deputies tracked 35-year-old Marco Topete to a wooded area near a golf course off Interstate 5 after...

Weeks of rain pushed rivers over their banks in southern China, displacing more than 1.27 million people and forcing some to huddle on rooftops Monday as the region braced for more downpours. The floods killed 57 people, collapsed tens of thousands of homes,...

Hondas new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring. The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and...

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. is slashing 1,400 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, as part of an accelerating drive to cut costs as advertising revenues dwindle, the company announced Monday. McClatchy also reported a 15.4 percent decline in...

Lesbian rights pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, together for more than half a century, will get married in San Francisco City Hall on Monday evening wearing the same pastel-colored pantsuits they donned four years ago when they wed the first time. Once...

Enola Kirk, 66 There are lots of women like Enola Kirk of Menlo Park - single in their 60s, with little or no money in the bank and nothing but Social Security to pay for retirement. In Kirks case, Social Security amounts to only about $700 a month because...

Gladstone Institutes and iZumi Bio ink stem cell deal
The J. David Gladstone Institutes will work with iZumi Bio Inc. on using adult stem cells in cardiovascular treatments. (AFFX)

A troubled borrower takes bite out of United American Bank's bottom line
United American Bank said Monday that it will boost its loan loss reserves by $500,000 for a $1.75 million loan made to a borrower who has since filed for bankruptcy protection.

Novellus pays $3M for naming rights to Yerba Buena Center theater
Novellus Systems Inc., a regular donor to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, inked a sponsorship deal that will put the company name on the center's 755-seat theater. (NVLS)

Cost Plus says no to Pier 1 buyout offer
Cost Plus Inc.'s board of directors rejected an offer from Pier 1 Imports Inc. to buy the company in an $88 million stock deal. (PIR) (CPWM)

Anesiva CEO quits
John McLaughlin quit as CEO of pain drug company Anesiva Inc. (ANSV) (DNA)

So. Bay Sex Offender Jailed On Child Molest Charge
A registered sex offender has been arrested in Los Altos for allegedly molesting a 5-year-old child inside the child's Los Altos home Friday night, police reported Monday.

Woman's Body Found In East Bay Creek
The Contra Costa County coroner's office is working to identify a woman whose body was found in Alhambra Creek in Martinez Saturday afternoon, a deputy coroner said Monday.

Bomb Squad Detonates Package In SF Mission
A San Francisco police bomb squad responded Monday morning to a suspicious package that prompted some evacuations and a closure of 16th Street between Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue, a police lieutenant said.

Investigators Probe SF Muni Streetcar Crash
San Francisco Municipal Railway officials have yet to determine the cause of Saturday's collision of two Muni trains near AT&T Park that sent a dozen people to area hospitals.

Orinda Child Sex Suspect Appears In Miami Court
An Orinda mortgage specialist who fled the Bay Area after being accused of engaging in child sex tourism offenses with a 12-year-old Costa Rican girl appeared in federal court in Miami Monday after being deported from Cuba.