A.M. Splash: Yahoo Fires Newscaster Over GOP Remark; Teachers Fight for Softer Evaluations; Report Warns of Peril for Community College

Yahoo said Wednesday that it had fired David Chalian, the website's Washington bureau chief, after he was recorded at the Republican National Convention saying convention officials were "happy to have a party with black people drowning." Yahoo said the reference Chalian made to the flooding caused by Hurricane Isaac was "inappropriate and does not represent the views" of the company. In a statement, Yahoo also said, "We have already reached out to the Romney campaign, and we apologize to Mitt Romney, his staff, their supporters and anyone who was offended."

A major showdown in Sacramento has pitted education allies against each other, with school reformers and school districts desperately trying to fend off union attempts to water down teacher evaluations and accountability. Assembly Bill 5 is backed by teachers unions, one of the most powerful lobbies in Sacramento. On the other side, the California State PTA, reformers such as Education Trust-West and EdVoice, plus the organizations representing school administrators, districts and trustees argued the bill would harm students. Wednesday afternoon, the bill was being debated by the Senate Education Committee.

More than 470,000 community college students are beginning the fall semester on waiting lists, unable to get into the courses they need, according to a survey of California's two-year colleges that captures a system struggling amid severe budget cuts. The survey, to be released Wednesday, quantified the myriad problems affecting the system, many of which have been anecdotally reported by students on many campuses. The colleges expect steep declines in enrollment and class offerings compared with last fall.

Baggage screeners at San Francisco International Airport warn that the Transportation Security Administration has disabled a key function of the multimillion-dollar X-ray machines that scan the contents of every bag leaving SFO.

Acting on a tip from the FBI, police said they arrested a man Sunday who had allegedly threatened to explode a bomb loaded with nails, bullet slugs, gunpowder and birdshot. No one was injured. Philip Penn, 37, of Pinole, was arrested about 9 p.m. in a trailer in the driveway of a home on the 2200 block of Simas Avenue, police said. Police surrounded the home and used a loudspeaker to order Penn to surrender, which he did without incident.

Farmworkers in California would have the right to sue their employers if they are repeatedly deprived of water and shade under a bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday. Author Betsy Butler, a Democratic assemblywoman from Los Angeles, said that lack of access to safe conditions have resulted in 16 preventable farmworker deaths since 2005, despite the fact that stricter regulations were instated then. She said AB2346 is necessary because overburdened, understaffed state regulators are unable to handle all of the complaints.

Helen Bentley, who was one of the first women in news roles on Bay Area radio and television, died Aug. 4 in Mill Valley at the age of 83. Ms. Bentley had suffered from Wegener's disease, a rare illness that affects the autoimmune system. Her broadcast career covered a wide spectrum. She was at various times a writer, a talk show host, a news anchor and even for a time the hostess on "Romper Room," a show for preschool children.

SAN JOSE -- It's the start of the morning rush at Philz Coffee -- and things are slowing down. Suits, students and hipsters all scurry into the cafe, only to then wait as baristas carefully prepare each cup of Tantalizing Turkish or Silken Splendor with the precision of bartenders mixing martinis.

Taking an immigration stance at odds with most other California sheriffs, Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith has urged Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a bill that would permit jailing immigrants for deportation only if they are charged with serious crimes. In an Aug. 23 letter to Brown made public Wednesday, Smith endorsed an immigrant rights bill that has ired her counterparts in the California State Sheriffs' Association.