House fire kills 2

An early morning fire on Sunday killed two people and destroyed all but the exterior walls of a West Cameron Street home, Hanford Fire Department officials said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Firefighters were called to 115 W. Cameron Street at 7 a.m. after a report came in of a structure fire that had fully engulfed a residence. Three engines and 10 firefighters responded to the scene, while additional units were called in to help contain the blaze, which was threatening nearby buildings.

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Murder suspect arrested after SWAT standoff

A suspect wanted in connection with the shooting of two local residents last week was arrested on Saturday after a tense standoff with the Hanford Police Department SWAT team, according to law enforcement officials. Officers surrounded a house in the 200 block of Hanford-Armona Road around 2:30 a.m. after a surveillance team spotted Adam Sahagun, 20, entering the residence. Sahagun was identified by police investigators as a suspect in the shooting death of Steve Arthur DeSoto, 34, and the injury of another man on Nov. 24.

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New council members to be sworn in Tuesday

Hanford's new city council member and one incumbent will be sworn in at Tuesday night's meeting.Council member-elect Sue Sorensen and two-term incumbent Dan Chin will take their oaths of office during the regular meeting. Sorensen will replace retiring councilwoman Marcie Buford, who has represented a district spanning downtown and central Hanford for 20 years.

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Hanford boys play waiting game

Brad Felder hopes the success that Hanford High is having on the football field won't hurt the chemistry of his team in the gym. The Bullpups boys basketball coach is having to get ready for a season missing six players, including West Yosemite League player of the year Cougar Williams, who averaged 15.5 points per game. None of the six step onto the court until the Bullpups football finishes their postseason, which will end at the latest on Dec. 12.

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Hanford girls team moving up

Even though the season hasn't started yet, the road to a state championship just got harder for the Hanford High girls basketball team.

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So She Thought: 'Tis the season of 'affluenza'

This week I've felt like one of those veteran news reporters whose job it is to ride around embedded in an armed regiment that's come under fire by the enemy. The enemy in this case is Retail Christmas, and the regiment I'm riding around with consists of you and me, plus all our families, as we're assaulted by the holiday sales and promotions Corporate America is lobbing in our direction while demanding we surrender joyfully to the spirit of the spending season.

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Schwarzenegger to declare fiscal emergency
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was expected to declare a fiscal emergency on Monday and call lawmakers into a special session to address California's $11.2 billion budget deficit.

Former hospital employee pleads guilty
LOS ANGELES - A former UCLA hospital employee says she is guilty of selling the private medical information of celebrities and other high-profile cases to the National Enquirer.

Passengers complain after plane grounded near LA
LOS ANGELES - Nearly 200 passengers on a Taca flight from El Salvador finally landed in Los Angeles Monday after spending nine hours aboard a grounded airplane at a smaller airport amid apparent confusion between the airline and customs officials.

Estranged relative arrested in Hudson killings
CHICAGO - Police arrested the estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson on Monday in the deaths of the entertainer's mother, brother and young nephew, taking him from a prison where he had been held on a suspected parole violation.

Ex-mayoral aide pleads guilty in Detroit scandal
DETROIT - Stoic and publicly silent through months of a sex scandal, the woman whose relationship with former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick led to his downfall broke her silence Monday, shedding tears as she pleaded guilty.

Feds arrest Birmingham mayor on bribery charges
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The mayor of Alabama's largest city, Larry Langford, was arrested Monday on charges of steering millions of dollars of bond work to a friend in exchange for more than $230,000 in bribes that paid his debts for flashy clothes, jewelry and Rolex watches.

India demands strong action from Pakistan
MUMBAI, India - India demanded Monday that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly Mumbai attacks, and Washington pressured Islamabad to cooperate with the investigation.

Mumbai attack puts focus on Pakistan militant link
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks has roots in the disputed Kashmir region where Pakistan's military has faced off against India for decades.

Highest tide in 20 years floods historic Venice
VENICE, Italy - Venice could use a bailout. The city built on water has too much of it.

1 in 5 young adults has personality disorder
CHICAGO - Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings
CHICAGO - Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat _ the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease _ than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found.

Asthma inhalers to go 'green' on Dec. 31
WASHINGTON - Last warning: Asthma inhalers go "green" on Dec. 31, forcing patients still using the old-fashioned kind to make a pricey and even confusing switch. The medicine inside these rescue inhalers _ the albuterol that quickly opens airways during an asthma attack _ isn't changing. But the chemicals used to puff that drug into your lungs are.