CALIFORNIA

Fueled by wider Eurozone summit rally, industry-specific news out of Germany and a trader-driven assessment that share prices might have reached technical bottoms, shares in various solar panel manufacturers surged Thursday and Friday. Disappointing industry developments, the possibility of negative surprises coming out of China, and the increasingly unforgiving economics of the business, however, mean the industry could face a very stormy fourth quarter.

Google is wishing you Happy Halloween this time in its unique way. On this spooky weekend, it has one doodle up for you, which has been created using gigantic pumpkins.

Late Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs' biological sister Mona Simpson has shared the final words of her genius brother in the eulogy she delivered at his Oct. 16 memorial service at Stanford University. The surprising last words that Jobs uttered from his deathbed were, Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.

In a compassionate eulogy for her brother, at one point who was long lost, Mona Simpson revealed the final words of Steve Jobs and painted a picture of the night he died.

Television and radio host Montel Williams told the Associated Press Sunday that he admires Israel's liberal attitude toward medical marijuana and believes all of the U.S. should legalize it.

In recent years, a growing number of companies have been encouraging workers to voluntarily improve their health to control escalating insurance costs.

California Governor Jerry Brown has declined an offer by his chief fiscal policy adviser to resign following her arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, a spokesman said on Friday.

The state of California should immediately investigate why more than 1,000 sex offenders have the same addresses as licensed foster homes and facilities housing children, a new report by the state auditor said.

Apple Inc. appears to be bolstering its mapping-technology arsenal to better compete with Google Inc. on that front by reportedly purchasing a Sweden-based 3-D mapping company called C3 Technologies.

Lauren Conrad first had her 15 minutes of fame on the beaches of California. She extended that 15 minutes by becoming a fashionista - establishing her own clothing lines, writing her own beauty books, and gaining a net worth of $12 million.

Attorney General Eric Holder will appear before the House Judiciary Committee regarding Fast and Furious, in a hearing that will take place Dec. 8.

On Friday, NASA launched a new satellite that will improve our short-term weather forecasting accuracy, among other contributions.

Oakland, Calif., Mayor Jean Quan has apologized for a clash between police and protesters during a march against economic inequality that left a former U.S. Marine seriously wounded, and said she would meet with demonstrators.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. discriminated against female employees in Texas stores in pay and promotion decisions, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in Federal Court in Dallas.

During the past three years, the foreign-exchange franchise at the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. has been challenged by unhappy clients who want more transparent pricing and by the advent of electronic trading.

Prices for hard drives are jumping as flooding in Thailand creates a shortage of the major components used in personal computers, while one big customer is already complaining of price gouging.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard rose about 3.5 percent Friday after the No. 1 maker of PCs decided not to drop out of the business. Separately, Fitch said the decision favorably affected its credit rating.

Apple sales in China and Japan reached $14.3 billion in 2011, an increase of 174 percent from a year ago. The region accounts for nearly a quarter of revenue.

NASA's newest Earth-observing satellite soared into space Friday aboard a Delta II rocket after liftoff at 5:48 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California

Now that Dropbox has a comprehensive group collaboration offering, it is finally on-par with Box.net. Which is the best cloud solution for you?

Anti-Wall Street protesters' plans to camp in a New York park throughout the city's harsh winter were dealt a blow on Friday when the fire department confiscated six generators and about a dozen cans of fuel.