Ambrose Bierce, an important American writer who lived for periods of time at the El Monte Hotel on E. Main Street in the 1890s, said that railroads enable us "to get away from where we are to where we are no better off."

Confirming that its technology is ready for prime time, San Jose's Nanosolar said on the company's blog Wednesday that it has raised $300 million from various investors

In a complaint filed this week in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Karen Clarkson blames the deputy, James "Tommy'' Council, and the department for the death of her daughter, Kristy Gough, who died when Council's cruiser crossed a double-yellow line and collided with her along a stretch of Stevens Canyon Road in Cupertino.

DENVER — Barack Obama, standing where no black has ever stood before, swept to the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday as thousands of national convention delegates cheered his improbable triumph.

• Obama readies Dream Speech II
• On the Trail blog | More convention news
• Live chat Thursday at 11 a.m.

Four murder suspects are in custody and police are seeking three more in connection with the slaying two months ago of a brother and sister in Mountain View, police announced today.

Even before the decision to move the speech into a Denver ballpark, the expectations for Thursday's historic consecration of Barack Obama as America's first black nominee for president were a mile high - and a little breathless.

• Video: 'I Have a Dream' speech

Western leaders warned Russia on Wednesday to change course, hoping to keep a conflict that already threatens a key nuclear pact and could even raise U.S. chicken prices from blossoming into a new Cold War. Moscow said it was NATO expansion and Western...

Barack Obama, claiming a prize never held by a black American, swept to the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday as thousands of national convention delegates stood and cheered his improbable triumph. Former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton asked the...

Wall Street posted a sizable advance Wednesday after the government reported a larger-than-expected increase in orders for big-ticket manufactured goods that indicated the economy could be stronger than some investors thought. The Commerce Department said...

New satellite measurements show that crucial sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its second lowest level on record. The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., announced Wednesday that the extent of sea ice in the Arctic is down to 2.03...

A woman beheaded after she was accused of causing a girl to spit pins and convulse was exonerated Wednesday, more than 200 years after she became the last person executed as a witch in Europe. The decision to clear Anna Goeldis name came after long debate in...

Kaiser Permanente is contacting 960 mothers whose babies may have been exposed to a health care worker in San Francisco who has an active case of tuberculosis. The worker was assigned to the postpartum unit in the maternity ward of Kaisers San Francisco...