On May 14, The New York Times published a moving essay by Angelina Jolie in which the actor revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy -- even though she did not have breast cancer.  

Every hour in the United States, one person dies and three more suffer debilitating injuries from crashes involving drunk drivers. All told, that adds up to nearly 10,000 deaths and 30,000 serious injuries a year.  

CHICAGO -- I'm into "Missing una investigacion," the latest book by Chilean novelist Alberto Fuguet. I'm reading it in Spanish since I have to consciously practice my native language or it vanishes.  

Apple has insulted the American consumer by offering China a better warranty after editorials in the Chinese press slammed it. We, the American Consumer, demand parity! Or better! Yes, better would be good.  

In just five months, California will start to enroll millions of previously uninsured residents under the Affordable Care Act. Much uncertainty remains as the 58 counties of the most populous state in the nation take on the monumental task of reaching out to a new population.  

NFL's Levi Stadium extravaganza will not only showcase Silicon Valley, it should be flat-out fun  

The people of San Leandro have made history and San Leandro Hospital will remain open for the foreseeable future. After enduring years of negotiation, lawsuits, threats of closure and nearing the point of no return, the hospital will remain open.  

Earlier this month, a remote-monitoring system in Hawaii recorded the first time in human history that the daily average for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere averaged more than 400 parts per million (ppm).  

Foothill Square shopping center scheduled to open in September with a grocery store, bank and other stores. The shopping center reflects investment pouring into Deep East Oakland.  

It appears the fortunes of professional basketball in Northern California, which have languished near laughingstock status for years, have begun a remarkable turnabout.  

One of the most important functions the Legislature is to update laws that will ensure protection for all Californians. The time has come to do just that with the Car Buyers Bill of Rights.  

(AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)

Actress Angelina Jolie's brave disclosure about her preventive double mastectomy is empowering to women with good insurance and financial means. But lower income women won't have easy access to the same medical options  

Since U.S. News & World Report began ranking colleges 30 years ago, that magazine has discovered a niche in the ratings industry. USN&WR ranks careers, hospitals, businesses and world leaders, but the magazine's biggest market has been its rankings of everything having to do with education  

The first time I held a gun I was 11. It was heavy and silver, a revolver. My older cousin was a pretty black girl in Oakland coming of age during the crack epidemic.  

Overseas factory workers should be helped to organize  

The unfunded liability at the California State Teachers' Retirement System is perhaps lawmakers' most difficult fiscal challenge. Yet Gov. Jerry Brown, who claims he wants to reform pensions and brags about retiring state debt, ignores the elephant in the room.  

This paper's editorial board wants to stop California's Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) (Editorial, "Bay Area can't afford to lose Delta water fight" May 3).  

The woes in Hercules' dysfunctional city government have been well detailed in these pages during recent years.A witch's brew of gross financial mismanagement, breathtaking incompetence and rampant corruption pushed this lovely bayside community to the brink of financial ruin and placed it in a  

While the shakeup of the Oakland Police command staff has left officers and residents unsettled, it provides a long-overdue opportunity to restore order within the department and on the streets.  

Much of the Watergate scandal was broken through tips slipped to the Washington Post's Bob Woodward in a darkened parking lot by a source known for decades only as "Deep Throat.  

It was reassuring to hear President Barack Obama forcefully condemn the alarming scheme, revealed last week, by Internal Revenue Service workers to go after right-wing groups.  

Bay Area dance pioneer Ruth Beckford, 87, wants to help others enjoy life after 80. Her workshop, "So I Live to 80, Then What?" will be held Saturday in Oakland.  

"I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message." Voters are used to that tagline on political ads, and most get the idea behind the decade-old law requiring it in federal campaigns.  

The news in the Cincinnati Enquirer sounded dreadful. Someone who'd been suffering from "pulmonary peritonitis" had "died suddenly of pleurisy of the brain.  

California may think it's saving big money by transferring children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, but it is missing the big picture.In October 2012, the state announced that it would shift about 860,000 children from Healthy Families, California's Children's Health Insurance Program, to  

It has been nearly 24 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake. Since then, we have known that the eastern span of the Bay Bridge will not withstand another large quake.  

Aric Crabb/Staff file

First Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan announces plans to retire on medical disability. Then, 48 hours later, his replacement is out. How will the turmoil in top police command affect the city's efforts to reduce crime?  

The United States must dramatically overhaul its ineffective immigration policy and the best opportunity to do so is right now. If that sounds simplistic or repetitive, so be it.  

Governor's flip comment and Caltrans director's glossing over key points reinforce need for thorough, independent review of what went wrong and how it should be fixed  

For the first time since the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline disaster, the California Public Utilities Commission appears poised to step up and do the right thing.