 (Laura A. Oda/Staff) Pleasanton: Siren call for last civil defense siren in town  A long-inactive siren created to summon volunteer firefighters and to warn of air raids is removed from a pole and fixed up. The future of the city-owned historic device is unknown. |
 (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) North Korea frees Palo Alto resident Merrill Newman; U.S. has 'in hand in Beijing' North Korea says it has released Merrill Newman, the 85-year-old Palo Alto man and war veteran who had been detained since late October. |
 (Dan Honda/Staff file) Jay-Z tops Grammy nominations with 9 Left-of-center hip-hop stars Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were among a group of young performers who took many of the major nominations. |
 ((AP Photo/Brandon Wade) ) Raiders' next task: learning how to finish The Oakland Raiders are more competitive than they were last season, but they've been unable to duplicate their first-quarter success in crunchtime |
BUSINESS  (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo) Apple asks Samsung to pay $22 million in legal fees and costs Already awarded $930 million in patent feud, Apple asks federal judge to order Samsung to pay close to $16 million for legal fees and another $6 million in costs incurred in battle over copying iPhone and iPad |
SPORTS  Shayne Skov will have last word before Stanford defends title Stanford Cardinal linebacker will give the pre-game address before team takes field against Arizona State in Pac-12 championship game. |
LOCAL NEWS  Michael Mina opening gourmet 49ers stadium restaurant in Santa Clara The new restaurant is part of a larger cultural -- and financial -- shift for the 49ers and its fans as the team moves into the $1.3 billion Levi's Stadium next summer. |
 Congress is now allowed to wish you a Merry Christmas The rules about what members and staffers can and can't do are loosened. Full Story |
 (Gina Halferty/San Joaquin Herald) Season of giving the perfect time to teach children about charity Even simple acts of charity can touch children and teenagers who participate in giving. Readers share their stories. |
 (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Evangeline Lilly upset with magazine's 'butt' reference Women’s Health surprised “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” actress with her cover shot. |
 (
) 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. |
 (
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. |
