CALIFORNIA

The Samoan Islands are an archipelago in the central South Pacific Ocean, about 4,800 miles from the California coast.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were: Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Spreadtrum Communications, Sierra Wireless, PowerSecure International and Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Body Central Corp., Anika Therapeutics, QLogic Corporation, Caribou Coffee Company and Pacific Biosciences of California.

Brenda Salveson is one lucky mom -- a meteorite landed in her lap and now the Lotus, Calif., resident can expect to become $20,000 richer for her lucky find.

Three agents from Immigration Customs Enforcement have been injured in a shootout during an early morning gang sweep raid in Petaluma, Calif. The suspect was captured and is currently in custody.

The risk of inflation is keeping the Federal Reserve from doing more to support the U.S. economy, even though the threats to price stability are reasonably contained at present, a Fed official said Thursday.

California teen Max Wade was charged with commercial burglary and attempted murder for stealing a Lamborghini sports car owned by celebrity chef Guy Fieri and participating in a drive-by shooting.

An Oracle Corp attorney ruled out a settlement with Hewlett-Packard Co in a bitter lawsuit over the Itanium microprocessor, a day after the judge refused to resolve the case for either side before trial.

Tessa Vanvlerah has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without probation for sexually assaulting her then-5-month-old daughter and allowing Kenneth Kyle, a man she met online, to rape the infant.

Junior Seau's death has touched the NFL Universe and prompted massive Twitter reaction.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Jose Padilla's lawsuit against Bush administration counsel and torture memo author John Yoo.

Junior Seau was found dead at his California home from a gunshot wound to the chest Wednesday morning.

Junior Seau reportedly killed himself.

?League of Legends,? the widely popular real-time strategy game released in 2009, will be concluding its second season of competitive play on October 13st. Publisher Riot Games revealed that players will have off for a $3 million prize pool, which is the largest prize in eSports history.

Junior Seau has been reported dead.

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and biographer David Maraniss has dug up love letters and journal entries from President Barack Obama's ex-girlfriends to get an idea of what the president was like during his largely unknown time in New York City in his early 20s.

An American yacht that was destroyed as it raced from California to Mexico might have ended up on the shore of an island just outside the border of the two nations, according to the ship's GPS. This revelation potentially discredits the theory that it was wrecked by a large ship in the area as the Coast Guard continues to investigate the debris.

On the one year anniversary of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden's death, the news broke that California treasure hunter Bill Warren believes he has located the al-Qaeda leaders' remains and will have the body in his possession as soon as he can rent the necessary deep-sea diving equipment.

Eighteen-year-old Patrick Schwarzenegger had a pretty fancy date for his senior prom: Interscope music producer Jimmy Lovine's daughter, Jade.

Tasers can cause cardiac arrest and even death, according to a new study.

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), the world's largest car company, reported an 8.2 percent drop in April sales on declining fleet sales and fewer selling days compared to the year before.

Move over ?Golden Girls,? there?s a whole new group of grandmas in town, and these firecrackers known as the ?3 Golden Sisters? don?t hold back on anything in their videos -- which have become viral Internet sensations ? including the infamous Kim Kardashian sex tape and the meaning behind 4/20.