 (AP Photo / Ben Curtis) Obama touts Mandela's message of peace and justice to cheering crowd in rain U.S. President Barack Obama exhorted the world Tuesday to embrace Nelson Mandela's universal message of peace and justice, electrifying tens of thousands of rain-lashed spectators and prompting a standing ovation by scores of heads of state in a South African stadium. |
 Firearms in the family: The role of guns in American lives These are stories of young people and families across America, many of whom share little in common, except that their lives have been changed, for better or worse, by guns. |
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) Review: 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' 'The Desolation of Smaug,' the second film in Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' trilogy, runs rings around the first film -- with more focus and fast action that lets fans feel like kids again. |
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Nhat V. Meyer
) Legal pot supported by California majority for first time, Field Poll shows  Clear majorities of California voters support marijuana legalization in general and a specific legalization measure at next November's ballot, the Field Poll finds. |
BUSINESS  Essex seeks to buy BRE in $4.48 billion apartment deal In what would be a $4.48 billion deal that is a reminder of the strength of the Bay Area economy, Palo Alto-based Essex Property Trust said Monday it has made a formal offer to buy a rival apartment realty investment firm, San Francisco-based BRE Properties. |
SPORTS  Live chat: Inside the Oakland Raiders, Tuesday at noon NFL writer Steve Corkran has the answers to all your questions about the Oakland Raiders during his weekly live chat. |
LOCAL NEWS  (Anda Chu/Staff) Share the Spirit: Hope 4 the Heart provides food for thousands of families Hope 4 the Heart in Hayward continues family's tradition of generosity. |
 President Obama took a picture and the Internet went crazy Is this story a sign of our times or an overreacting Twitterati? Full Story |
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Chris Pizzello
) How Miley Cyrus landed MTV's Best Artist of 2013 honors Cyrus twerked her way to the top of the music scene this year with the most watched videos of 2013. |
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) Bay Area residents live longer; here's why Bay Area residents are among the nation's longest-lived people, surviving on average more than a decade longer than residents of rural Kentucky, West Virginia or Mississippi. |
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Jeff Vendsel
) Mi Pueblo files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Mi Pueblo, the festive Bay Area supermarket chain and icon of family-grown Hispanic businesses, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, citing a dispute with its primary lender, Wells Fargo. |
