Despite its relatively weak penalties, California's hands-free law should save 300 lives each year, based on the drop in fatalities in other states that passed similar laws.

Two pilots of a DHL cargo plane preparing for takeoff Saturday night escaped from an onboard fire by crawling out of the plane's cockpit windows.

For Sara Baldwin, zipping down the freeway at 70 mph doesn't get in the way of a friendly phone chat - or even a text message.

CentralFinancial District, Nob Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill

From "Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "Rhinestone Cowboy," no pride parade soundtrack echoing through the chasm of Market Street summed up the year's theme better than what blasted along the route toward City Hall.

Cell phone users who want to avoid a chat with the police are snapping up hands-free devices in electronics stores across the Bay Area.

The Pentagon said Monday it is charging a Saudi Arabian with organizing and directing the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole _ and will seek the death penalty. Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, legal adviser to the U.S. military tribunal system, said charges are...

The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence today for Ramon Salcido, who murdered his wife, two daughters, three other relatives and his supervisor at a Sonoma County winery during a three-hour rampage in 1989. The justices unanimously rejected defense...

The Dalai Lama called Monday for tangible progress in upcoming talks with China, as international pressure mounted for the sides to ease tensions after anti-government riots that rocked Tibet. Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, envoys who regularly represent...

The two paths of Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai are telling: Mugabe, newly sworn in as Zimbabwes president again, is at a summit of African leaders while the opposition leader holes up in a Western embassy in Zimbabwes capital. Tsvangirai is hemmed in...

An explosion wrecked a militant compound Monday, killing as many as eight people while Pakistani paramilitary forces pushed deeper into a border region where extremists threaten the city of Peshawar and a key supply line for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Pro-...

Its been six months since a tiger jumped out of its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and killed a teenage visitor, but the institution is in such disarray that officials have decided not to look for a new zoo director until they can get things in order...

Virgin America loses bid to keep business data secret
Virgin America Inc. must disclose financial and traffic data it sought to keep confidential over concerns that rivals would use it to better compete with the startup airline. (UAUA) (AMR) (DAL)

Elon Musk: Tesla will build next car in the Bay Area
Tesla Motors will build its next generation electric Tesla Roadster at a factory in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Wachovia cuts early payment penalty in its Pick-A-Pay mortgage
Wachovia said Monday that it's immediately waiving all prepayment penalties on its Pick-A-Pay residential mortgage loans, giving borrowers more flexibility to refinance out of the controversial loans. (WB)

Bayhill Therapeutics drops planned $86M IPO
Bayhill Therapeutics Inc. withdrew its registration, filed in January, for an IPO worth up to $86 million.

LiveVox opens office near Atlanta
Collections call center company LiveVox opened an office in Roswell, Ga., north of Atlanta.

California Death Row System 'Close To Collapse'
California's 30-year-old death penalty that costs more than $100 million annually to administer is "close to collapse," according to a new report issued Monday.

Tesla Motors To Build Electric Sedan On Peninsula
The company that built the first mass-produced, all-electric car will keep its manufacturing plant in California, thanks to a new tax break.

KCBS Radio Traffic Plane Crash Lands By I-80 Ramp
A pilot and a KCBS radio traffic reporter were injured when their small plane crash landed Monday afternoon crashed in a rock quarry near an Interstate 80 on-ramp in Oakland, authorities said.

Yahoo Board Takes Case To Shareholders
Yahoo Inc. began pressing a case to major shareholders Monday that its board and management deserve a chance to prove they made the right move when they rejected a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp.

Bay Area Drivers Prepare For Hands-Free Phone Law
A new statewide law is set to go into effect Tuesday that will prohibit drivers from holding a cell phone while talking on the road.