Northern California

A Pelican Bay State Prison inmate was convicted of attempted murder for trying to stab his attorney in court. A Del Norte County jury this week found Phillip Evans guilty of trying to stab attorney Leroy Davies with a prison-made weapon. The Feb. 22 attack failed when a pen in Davies' pocket deflected the weapon. Davies was not injured.

Vietnamese Americans from across the state gathered in San Francisco on Friday to protest China's claim to the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, which protesters say have historically belonged to Vietnam. About 100 Vietnamese Americans -- including about 50 from Southern California -- carried banners and chanted in front of the Vietnamese and Chinese consulates. The cluster of islets that make up the Paracel and Spratly islands have abundant oil and are claimed by several neighboring countries.

A mentally ill man who broke his neck in a Glenn County jail cell and is now a quadriplegic has filed suit in federal court, alleging jail officials violated his constitutional rights by denying him mental health care and using excessive force to subdue him with Taser guns and pepper spray. In addition to monetary damages, the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S.

Mavericks, a rock-studded, once-secret surf spot named after a dog, looked for all the world Saturday like the Super Bowl of big wave riding as thousands of people streamed to this fishing hamlet to see two dozen surfers challenge one of the world's most dangerous breaks.

Nearly 400 people remained trapped Friday on two Amtrak passenger trains that were stranded in the snowy Northern California mountains after a large snow plow fell through the tracks, officials said. Amtrak's California Zephyr passenger trains were stranded near Donner Pass about 2 p.m. after a large plow being used to clear the tracks fell through a walkway and blocked the trains' path, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero. One train started in Emeryville on its way to Chicago, and the other was on its way back, she said.

An Amtrak spokeswoman says the train that was forced to stay parked overnight on snowy tracks high in the Sierra Nevada was back on its way to Chicago early Saturday. Two trains carrying about 400 passengers were initially stranded Friday night after a large snowplow fell through a trestle and onto the tracks, blocking the rail. One San Francisco area-bound train was pulled to Reno, and its 165 passengers were put up in a hotel or bused to their destinations, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.

This onetime shipyard city turned Bay Area commuter village appears to have averted a move that is rare in California and across the nation -- declaring bankruptcy. A somber City Council had prepared to vote Thursday evening after putting the bankruptcy issue on the table earlier in the week during an emotional hearing that drew hundreds of concerned residents.

A mentally ill Chico man who became quadriplegic in a Glenn County jail during a psychotic episode last year agreed to a plea deal Thursday that could result in a misdemeanor criminal record and probation rather than years in a state prison or mental institution. Reynaldo Cabral, 24, had faced three counts of attempted murder for trying to strangle his girlfriend and holding a paring knife to her neck during a bout of psychosis early last year.

Five years after walking away from his wildly successful investment banking career to defend himself against criminal charges stemming from the collapse of Internet stocks, Frank Quattrone is returning to the role he most relishes: as a counselor to high-tech companies. Quattrone cleared his name last August when, in a rare retreat, federal prosecutors dropped the case. The dismissal paved the way for Quattrone's return to public life Tuesday, when he opened Qatalyst Group, a boutique investment bank in San Francisco.

More than a year after state voters approved a $2.85-billion bond issue for affordable housing, a geographical tug of war has developed over the money, with Southern California's elected officials complaining that their area is getting short shrift. They say the money from 2006's Proposition 1C should be apportioned based on population. If it were, Southern California would get 61% of the bond measure proceeds, instead of the 48% it received in the first round of funding.