County to get $30 million to expand jail

Kings County has been conditionally awarded a $30 million state grant that would expand the new jail by 170 beds, a long-waited project to solve the chronic jail overcrowding. The grant comes as a result of a decision by the state Corrections Standards Authority board on Thursday.

Kings County was one of three smaller counties awarded their full requested amount as part of the state's competitive allocation of funds from Assembly Bill 900, legislation that took effect a year ago. Ten similar-sized counties were vying for the money.

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Ex-Hanford resident suspect in vehicle theft

A former Hanford resident was booked into the Fresno County Jail on Wednesday evening when a domestic dispute reportedly led Fresno Sheriff's deputies to a stolen vehicle in the man's possession. Roberto Jesus Duran, 36, was contacted by deputies at 6 p.m. in the 11000 block of East Conejo Avenue when he was overheard arguing loudly with his girlfriend.

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Sussman ready to step aside

Come June 30, Lemoore will say "so long" to another school administrator. Harry Sussman, a longtime educator who stepped in this school year to fill superintendent Paul Terry's shoes at Lemoore Union High School District, will retire. Sussman will be replaced by the superintendent of Caruthers Unified School District, Dwight Miller.

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Challengers rule on ‘Night of Champions’

LEMOORE -- It was supposed to be "A Night of Champions," but it turned out to be one for the challengers. Four new Palace Fighting Championship champions were crowned on Thursday night at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino on the PFC 8 "A Night of Champions." And just like the former champions, the local mixed martial artist had some trouble as well.

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Pups rally past Lemoore

LEMOORE -- Thursday marked the final day of West Yosemite League softball competition, but it wasn't terribly different from any of the previous ones. "This game was the perfect example of the way our league's been,'' Lemoore coach Dionne Ewing said after her team's 3-1 loss to Hanford. "Our league is very, very strong right across the board.''

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Military Update: Senators vote three weeks extra leave for military dads

About 76,000 active duty service members will father babies next year if recent military birthrates hold. The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to give those new fathers 21 days of paternity leave after their children are born or within 60 days of the father's return from deployment.

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Advocacy groups take aim at Google-Yahoo partnership
WASHINGTON - An online advertising partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. is facing opposition from consumer and civic groups that didn't wait for an official deal announcement to voice their discontent.

Speedy new character debuts on new season of NBC's `Heroes'
LOS ANGELES - She's not just fast. She's very fast.

Conference attendees in San Francisco sickened
SAN FRANCISCO - It's a new kind of virus for Sun Microsystems Inc.

SoCal man gets life for girlfriend's severed tongue death
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A man who cut out his girlfriend's tongue and let her bleed to death has been given a life sentence without chance of parole.

Facebook to let users carry profile with them
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The popular online social hangout Facebook says it's setting up a new system that will allow its 70 million users to take their personal profiles with them as they surf other Web sites.

Records show Sharpton owes overdue taxes, other penalties
NEW YORK - Big corporations give him money. Presidential candidates seek his endorsement. He has influential friends in Congress and the governor's mansion.

Nevada judge accused of demanding royal treatment
LAS VEGAS - Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen.

Happy Mother's Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Mother's Day draws a crowd in the home of an Arkansas woman _ she is pregnant with her 18th child.

Man who lost homes in Katrina claims $97M Powerball prize
BATON ROUGE, La. - A construction company owner who lost two homes in Hurricane Katrina claimed a $97 million Powerball prize, a jackpot won off a ticket he bought at a convenience store where he stopped to buy his wife a gallon of milk.

Mo. woman pleads, will be sentenced in stolen baby attack
UNION, Mo. - A woman accused of slashing a young mother's throat, kidnapping her newborn and passing off the child as her own for five days reached a plea deal Friday and will be sentenced this summer.

Feds: Teen use of pot can lead to dependency, mental illness
WASHINGTON - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

Flu vaccine makers to set new doses record for next season
ATLANTA - Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year's vaccine was largely ineffective.

US offering to help China in fight against viral infection
BEIJING - The United States is offering to help China in its fight against a viral infection that has killed 34 children, including two reported Friday, and sickened thousands of others.

77 more hepatitis cases may trace to clinic, officials say
LAS VEGAS - Seventy-seven more people who were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, health officials said.

Medical know-how raises suicide risk for doctors
CHICAGO - There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own. An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year _ a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.