California

Twitter's stand alone music app-Twitter Music to be launched this weekend

Twitter's new Music App-Twitter Music

A music app for Twitter is rumoured to be sent for launch this weekend.

Wal-Mart sued over access barriers for wheelchair users

A legal advocacy group representing people with disabilities filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in San Francisco federal court Wednesday, for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Medical records of 300K Calif. residents exposed online

A researcher from a data loss protection company has found the personal medical data of nearly 300,000 residents of California through simple searches on the internet.

California home prices dip in July

In its monthly report released Monday, DataQuick, a real estate information firm, said home prices continue to dip in California.

Calif. company recalls 3000 pounds of beef in E. coli scare

Here comes another food recall. According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, around 3000 pounds of fresh ground beef products contaminated with the potentially fatal strain of E. coli have been recalled by American Food Service, an establishment in Pico Rivera, California.

Calif. company recalls cilantro over salmonella fears

Amid fears of salmonella contaminations, Sabor Farms, a Central California company, is voluntary recalling a batch of fresh cilantro sold in grocery stores in California and other states.

Giant lizard caught strolling Riverside's streets

A five-foot long monstrous lizard roams the streets, and makes heads turn as it passes by. Wondering if it's the scene from a movie? No, it is not.

Sugar Ray singer sells home

Los Angeles -- Sugar Ray singer and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" host Mark McGrath has sold his home in California for $1.25 million, records show.

McGrath sold his renovated 1931 country English-style house in Hollywood Hills above its listed price, The Los Angeles Times reported.

McGrath, 42, bought the property in 1995 for $365,000, public records show. It was listed at $1,199,000.

The home was purchased by artist Alexandra Nechita, and her boyfriend, fashion designer Dimitri Tcharfas.

The three-bedroom, two-bath home has a step-down living room with a vaulted ceiling that opens to a patio with views of Los Angeles. The breakfast room is a turret with built-in seating.

Illinois tops worst retirement states list

Washington -- Some traditional U.S. retirement destinations didn't fare too well in a Web site's rankings of the 10 worst golden-years states.

TopRetirements.com ranked sunny California second on the list behind No. 1 Illinois, while Arizona and Florida received honorable mention.

California earned points for climate, but the cost of living and the state's dicey financial situation trumped the warm weather. Florida and Arizona were also dinged for their sputtering economies.

Fastest-rising Google search: Chatroulette

Menlo Park, Calif. -- California-based search engine giant Google said the fastest-rising search term for 2010 was "Chatroulette," a webcam site famous for exposed private parts.

Google's "Zeitgeist 2010: How the World Searched" report, released Thursday, said other rapidly rising search terms this year included Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, iPad, Twitter and Facebook.

Rounding out the Top 10 were cellphone ringtone site Myxer and gaming sites Gamester and Friv.

Meanwhile, the report said search terms falling in prominence from last year include swine flu, "Twilight" series book and film title "New Moon" and singer Susan Boyle.

Google said the list-topper for its "strangest searches" of the year was the question: "Can a horse have OCD?"

McDowell bests Woods on playoff hole

Thousand Oaks, Calif. -- Graeme McDowell forged a tie with an 18th-hole birdie and then bested Tiger Woods on a playoff hole Sunday to win the Chevron World Challenge.

The clutch performance on the final regulation hole allowed McDowell to close with a 3-under-par 69 and catch Woods atop the leaderboard. Woods, who led by four entering the final round, struggled to a 1-over 73 and finished the 18 holes tied for first at 16-under 272.

McDowell sank a 20-footer for birdie on the final hole and forced Woods to respond with his own 3-foot birdie putt to extend the match.

McDowell then won it thanks to a birdie putt and a miss by Woods on the extra hole at Sherwood Country Club in California.

Secret mini-shuttle lands in California

Vandenberg Afb, Calif. -- An unmanned U.S. military mini-shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral in April glided to an automated landing in California Friday, Air Force officials said.

After a 220-day classified mission, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle touched down at 4:16 a.m. EST at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Florida Today reported.

The OTV-1 is the first U.S. unmanned vehicle to return from orbit and land on its own.

"We are very pleased that the program completed all the on-orbit objectives for the first mission," Lt. Col. Troy Giese, X-37B program manager, said in a statement.

"This marks a new era in space exploration," said Paul Rusnock, X-37B program director for The Boeing Co., the spacecraft's prime contractor.