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Wife-killer ordered to pay kids $60 million in civil lawsuit

A California jury on Tuesday found a former software developer at the center of a sensational murder trial liable for the death in 2006 of his estranged wife and awarded their two children $60 million in damages, court documents show. Hans Reiser, who created a computer file used in the Linux operating system, was convicted in 2008 of murdering his wife, Nina, after a high-profile trial, despite the fact that neither a body nor a murder weapon was produced for the jury. Reiser, 48, initially claimed his Russian-born wife was alive and living in Russia. Read More

A’s keeping pace with strong AL West teams

The A’s hope to carry the momentum from their three-game sweep in Minnesota into their brief two-game home series against the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, which begins today. Oakland turned on the power at Target Field over the weekend, hitting a total of nine home runs during the series — including four in each of the final two contests. Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Carter, Seth Smith and Jonny Gomes belted two apiece against the Twins as the A’s climbed within one-half game of the second AL wild-card spot. Read More

Red-hot Braves present steep challenge for Giants

The Giants hope a weekend sweep of the Houston Astros will set the tone for the second half. The Giants stumbled into the All-Star break, losing seven of nine, but holding the Astros to five runs in three games has vaulted San Francisco ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. A big challenge awaits in Atlanta starting today as the red-hot Braves have won seven straight games. Read More

San Francisco Giants top Houston Astros 3-2

Games are never played on paper, but a good team is expected to beat up on a bad team, and that’s exactly what the Giants did to the Houston Astros. After a disappointing 1-5 road trip, the Giants got back on track by sweeping the lowly Astros to start the second half of the season. Buster Posey went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Giants edged the Astros 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in the finale of the three-game series. Read More

‘Ice Age’ puts chill on ‘Spider-Man’ at box offices

“Ice Age: Continental Drift,” the fourth film in the animated series featuring a woolly mammoth and his prehistoric friends, trampled “The Amazing Spider-Man” and took the top spot at U.S. and Canadian box offices on Sunday with $46 million.Featuring the voice of comedian Ray Romano as the warm-hearted mammoth Manny and John Leguizamo as Sid the fast-talking sloth, the 3D film’s opening weekend beat forecasts and topped the debut of the most recent movie in the series, 2009’s “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” which opened to $42 million. Read More

Analysis: In the U.S. housing market, recovery or Lost Decade?

The worst U.S. housing crisis since the Great Depression has been declared over. But is it?What some of Wall Street’s forecasts for a recovery may be underestimating are tectonic shifts in the U.S. economy that make the housing market a different place from a decade ago.Record levels of student debt, 15 years of flat incomes and the fact that nearly half of homeowners are effectively stranded in their houses look likely to weigh on prices into the indefinite future. Read More

Fee for using credit cards on horizon after Visa, Mastercard settlement

Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and banks issuing their credit cards have agreed to a settlement valued at $7.25 billion and will allow stores to encourage customers to use cheaper forms of payment, according to settlement papers filed on Friday in a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court.The settlement, if approved by a judge, would resolve dozens of lawsuits filed by retailers in 2005, accusing the companies of fixing fees for processing credit and debit card payments and prohibiting stores from steering their customers to cheaper forms of payment. Read More

Opportunity knocks in first series of second half for San Francisco

If the All-Star Game is any indication, it could be an exciting second half for the Giants. Melky Cabrera, Matt Cain, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval all played key roles in the Midsummer Classic, and Cabrera was named the game’s MVP after going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. San Francisco opens the second half today against the lowly Houston Astros, who lost 10 of their last 11 games heading into the break. The Giants also stumbled into the break, losing five games during a six-game road trip. Read More

Wells Fargo ordered to pay $175M in race discrimination investigation

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $175 million to resolve allegations that the financial institution discriminated against qualified black and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday. In the second-largest settlement of its kind, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender will pay $125 million to borrowers who were allegedly steered into higher-priced subprime loans or who paid higher fees and rates than white borrowers. Read More

Alameda County to make drugmakers pay for disposal

Pharmaceutical companies selling drugs in Alameda County would be required to submit plans for incinerating or safely disposing of unused medication under a plan advanced by county officials this week. The measure, billed by supporters as the first of its kind in the United States, is designed to force pharmaceutical companies to bear the cost of collecting and safely discarding unused prescription drugs that might otherwise foul waterways or fall into the hands of substance abusers. Read More

Melky Cabrera crowned All Star MVP

If the San Francisco Giants win the World Series this year, their fans can say they made an impact. A pair of Giants wearing fluorescent orange spikes delivered big blows -- Pablo Sandoval with a bases-loaded triple and Melky Cabrera with a two-run home run -- to lead the National League to an 8-0 rout of the American League on Tuesday night in the All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium. The win ensures the NL champion will have home-field advantage in the World Series. The Giants are just a half-game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Read More

Is Randy Moss the missing link?

The 49ers weren’t sure what they were getting when they signed 35-year-old Randy Moss out of retirement, but they felt the low-risk investment could pay off in a big way for an offense that was boxed in by its average collection of downfield targets. Read More

Warriors deal Wright in exchange for ‘draftee’

Adding to a position of strength, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired small forward Dorell Wright from the Warriors, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. According to the Oakland Tribune, Philadelphia will send an "unidentified draftee" to Golden State. Read More

Matt Cain leads National League squad in All-Star Game

In a baseball season packed with surprises, National League manager Tony La Russa delivered another one Monday by naming Giants right-hander Matt Cain the starter in tonight’s All-Star Game.Cain received the call over New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, whose emergence as an All-Star at the age of 37 was one of the season’s feel-good stories. Read More

Sidecar app connects drivers with car-less passenger

Drivers with an empty seat in their car can find people in need of a ride through a new app that connects them with potential passengers nearby. SideCar, an on-demand ride-sharing app, lets users request a ride by indicating where they would like to be picked up and dropped off. The app matches them with nearby drivers - prescreened by the company - who are willing to give rides. "We're trying to set up a situation where people share the burden of transportation with each other," said Blake Wirht, director of marketing for San Francisco-based SideCar. Read More
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