The Associated Press news

With California voters likely to consider legalizing recreational marijuana use next year, state lawmakers approved a package of legislation that would create the first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers and retail weed outlets since the state became the first to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.

Lawmakers in both houses of the Legislature pushed through three Democratic bills late Friday to set up

Scientists have developed a vaccine strain that has tested 100 percent effective in protecting chickens from bird flu and testing is underway to see if it also protects turkeys, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Agriculture Committee at a hearing on Wednesday.

If it does, the agency plans to quickly license it for widespread production and is seeking funding from the Office of Management and Budget to stockpile it nationally.

"Hopefully we`ll be able to get

Southern California`s air is getting healthier, and with that the chances of getting cancer from inhaling toxins has fallen significantly.

The risk of cancer from airborne pollutants has dropped by more than 50 percent on average since 2005, according to a study released Thursday by the region`s air quality regulators.

Concerted efforts to reduce emissions from diesel trucks and other vehicles account for much of the drop.

The findings may not surprise residents of the

The giant wildfire burning at the edge of Yosemite National Park has not only destroyed buildings and threatened water supplies, electricity and sequoias, it has also unleashed a smoky haze that has worsened air quality more than 100 miles away in Nevada.

The plume from the Rim Fire in California triggered emergency warnings in the Reno and Carson City area. Schoolchildren were kept inside for the second time in a week, people went to hospitals complaining of eye and throat irritation