 ( ) 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. |
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Dan Honda
) PG&E's new San Ramon control center is up and running PG&E executives said Friday that a new $38 million state-of-the-art natural gas control center here will make the company's gas system safer, the same day that a state regulatory judge recommended that the utility be allowed to resume full-pressure operations of a closely scrutinized gas pipeline beneath San Carlos. |
 Raiders tackle Menelik Watson hopes to make up for lost time Menelik Watson was the Oakland Raiders' second-round pick in 2013 NFL draft, and he has been largely a bust because of injuries. |
BUSINESS  (Connie Zhou) Google, Facebook, Twitter bolster digital defenses in wake of NSA revelations Quietly at first, but more vocally in recent months, Google, Facebook and other leading Internet companies have been beefing up their digital defenses in response to reports that the National Security Agency has tracked online communications without the companies' knowledge or cooperation. While Google has led the way in encrypting users' data, privacy advocates say recent moves by other companies are long overdue. And some warn that the companies' efforts may not be a permanent safeguard, as encryption technology continues to evolve. |
SPORTS  ((AP Photo/David J. Phillip)) Rockets pound Warriors 105-83 For the second time in four days, the Golden State Warriors came out cold and lackadaisical; Unlike the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, the Houston Rockets never let up, hammering the Warriors 105-83 at the Toyota Center.
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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. |
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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. |
