San Francisco: Storms batter California

A trio of powerful storms that trundled through California tapered off Saturday evening, leaving behind extensive damage and sweeping two people out to sea.

More than 37,000 utility customers remained without power Saturday evening. Since the storms hit Wednesday night, 1.8 million customers lost power, the companies said.

Clean-up crews in the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Sonora spent Saturday slogging through a muddy flash flood that rushed though city streets overnight.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has called off searches for two people swept out to sea by giant waves ” a 4-year-old boy who lived north of Eureka and a 26-year-old man who was walking Friday afternoon on a beach near Santa Cruz.

New York: Ex-Mrs. Butterworth’s CEO sentenced to prison

The former chief executive for Aurora Foods Inc., maker of Mrs. Butterworth’s pancakes, Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks and Lender’s Bagels, was sentenced to more than two years in prison.

Ian Wilson, 73, had previously pleaded guilty to securities fraud for overseeing a scheme to hide tens of millions of dollars in expenses.

Wilson was one of four Aurora executives charged with cooking the books to hide $43 million in promotional expenses in 1998 and 1999.

Philippines: Covert U.S. strike in Yemen warranted, ambassador says

A U.S. missile strike that killed six suspected al-Qaida operatives last week in Yemen was legal and appropriate, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said Saturday, suggesting such covert attacks could be used against terrorists in Southeast Asia.

Asked at a news conference in Manila if the Yemen attack was legal and necessary, U.S. Ambassador at Large Francis X. Taylor, who is President Bush’s coordinator for counterterrorism, replied, “Sure, the answer is yes. Both a legal and appropriate tool, given the circumstances.”

aylor also suggested a strike on terrorists in Southeast Asia was an option.

“We will use whatever is necessary and legal to attack this threat, to interdict it and to eliminate it,” he said.