Photos: Troops return home as US mission ends in Iraq

• 5:43 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011

Yoga helps veterans cope with scars of war

Michael Dziokonski returned from the Vietnam War and quickly got involved in life. He went to graduate school at Boston College, became a social worker, got married, raised four children, got elected to the Clinton Board of Selectmen and over the past years, has watched three wars unfold on his ...

• 8:07 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

Elated, last US troops leave Iraq, ending war

The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their convoy's exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left ...

• 7:53 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

Non-profit group helps children of fallen soldiers

With heavy hearts but smiling faces, the Escobedo family proudly remembered Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo on Friday. "It's sad because he's no longer with us, but we try to keep his memory alive inside us," said 12-year-old Elvira Escobedo, whose father died in Iraq in 2009. The family members were ...

• 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

SLIDESHOW: The Homecomings

• 6:28 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

Body of San Jose soldier killed in Afghanistan returns home

The body of Sean Walsh, a 21-year-old California National Guard soldier from San Jose who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, arrived Wednesday afternoon at Moffett Federal Airfield on a white charter jet. Waiting at the airfield for the fallen soldier's arrival was a procession of supporters, members of ...

• 6:23 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011

Family of Marine frustrated by military not disclosing his death by friendly fire

Lance Corporal Benjamine Schmidt, at age 24, was a sniper with the United States Marines.  "He enjoyed the comradery of like being on a football team," said David Schmidt, Benjamin's father. David says his son's dream was to one day become a professor of history.  But on October 6th, 2011 ...

• 1:31 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011

Danville marine killed Friday in Afghanistan

A 19-year-old Marine from Danville was killed in Afghanistan Friday, according to a Danville city councilman, and his death represents the second Bay Area war casualty in as many days. Joshua Corral, a 2010 graduate of San Ramon Valley High School, was killed in Afghanistan Friday afternoon, according to Councilman ...

• 12:14 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011

State labor officials sue ZipRealty over minimum wage

State labor officials are suing a real estate firm on behalf of hundreds of California real estate agents who claim they were denied millions in minimum wage and overtime. California State Labor Commissioner Julie Su on Monday filed the suit against Emeryville, Calif.-based ZipRealty in Alameda County Superior Court.    ...

• 6:36 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2011

Train car carrying wood chips catches fire

   A train traveling through Contra Costa County left a billowing plume of smoke in its wake after one of its boxcars caught fire Monday.   Contra Costa Fire Protection District dispatchers said they received reports of the fire at around noon Monday, when the train stopped near the intersection ...

• 5:48 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2011