Hamid Hayat, 24, was convicted in April of aiding terrorists and lying to the FBI about it after his return to Lodi following a two-year stay to his ancestral homeland of Pakistan. Hayat's attorneys last October filed a lengthy motion for a new trial. In the 106 page document, Hayat’s legal team states there is new evidence that proves Hayat did not attend a terrorist training camp while in Pakistan. The motion for a new trial also states that  U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. made several improper rulings during the trial.

A new survey finds that most Sacramento region residents think home prices are more affordable now. But the poll also shows few people have the money to buy one. A Sacramento State poll released today shows that most people think affordable housing is not the challenge it once was. Two years ago, an earlier poll showed that more than half of the people surveyed thought the availability of affordable housing was a big problem. Sacramento State pollster Amy Liu says only 36% of the people surveyed now  think affordable housing is a big problem. Liu also says, thanks to plunging home sales, 63% believe buying now or within the next six months is a good idea. But 58% worry that their total family income won’t be enough to pay the bills. The Sac State poll also found that three-quarters of the residents polled believe it will take at least two years before the local housing market fully recovers from the sub-prime mortgage debacle.

As any local winemaker will tell you, they go to great lengths to produce the right Zinfandel. "I've been fooling around with zinfandel my whole career. I was a cabernet sauvignon guy, too, but all of us cab guys want to try our hand at zinfandel," says Randle Johnson, a consulting winemaker with the Hess Collection. Zinfandel, it turns out, presents challenges even for veteran winemakers.

It's seen as the All-American grape, brought to California around 1849 by Gold Rush miners who turned to agriculture. But critics say it has never earned full respect and it will never make a truly elegant wine or be a "noble" grape like the cabernet sauvignon. Johnson. Johnson and his employer are looking to change that. The Hess Collection will now be working with about 15 independent growers in Amador and Mendocino Counties to produce 15,000 cases a year of Zinfandel. The partnership is seen as beneficial for both parties, who want to see Zinfandel gain in respect and, of course, sales, in the wine market.

Just one year ago, dairy prices were considered to be in a slump with California's lowest retail price for milk at about $2 a gallon. This benefited consumers but left many dairy farmers with a lot of red ink. In fact, according to dairy industry officials, last year saw more than 90 California dairies going out of business as a result of the low prices. It’s a new year and now dairy prices have rebounded and advanced with hitting a record retail minimum of $3.10 a gallon for low-fat milk this month - and experts predict it should remain high on Tuesday when the state sets allowable prices for August.

A female bank robber dubbed the 'Pony-Tail Bandit' by the FBI has hit banks in three different states this month alone,including a Roseville bank last week. The FBI believes the unidentified female bank robber is responsible for bank robberies in Austin, Texas, Lynwood, Washington as well as the Roseville caper. The FBI’s Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, the Roseville Police Department, and law officers in Washington and Texas are investigating the robberies.  The woman is described as a white female, early to mid-20’s, 5’3” to 5’5”, 110 to 120lbs (thin build), blonde hair, with no visible scars, marks, or tattoos. The 'Pony-Tail Bandit' demanded cash in all of the robberies. She has worn a white or blue baseball cap with her blonde hair in a ponytail in all three robberies.She is suspected in the 5/7/07 robbery of the Wachovia Bank in Austin, Texas, the 5/23/07 robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank in Roseville and yesterday's robbery of the First Heritage Bank in Lynwood, Washington. Anyone with information regarding these bank robberies is asked to contact the FBI in Sacramento at (916) 481-9110, the FBI in San Antonio at (210) 225-6741 or the FBI in Seattle at (206) 622-0460.

Cindy Sheehan, the "peace mom" who made headlines in 2005 by staging a marathon protest outside President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, announced on Memorial Day that she no longer wants to be seen as a leader of the anti-war movement. In a 1,245-word letter posted on the liberal DailyKos blog, Sheehan said her campaign to end the war in Iraq had strained her relationship with her remaining children, cost her a marriage and left her nearly penniless. "This is my resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement," Sheehan wrote. "I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has now issued an emergency declaration after an I-80 interchange connector to the Bay Bridge was hit by a tractor trailer hauling 8,600 gallons of gasoline. The cost of the repairs will likely run into the tens of millions of dollars, and the state is now seeking federal disaster aid. The tanker ignited after crashing into a pylon around 3:45 a.m. Sunday on an interchange connecting westbound lanes of Interstate 80, which includes the Bay Bridge, to southbound I-880 in Oakland.

Jackson City Police are looking for a stolen car, stolen from the Water Street apartments early yesterday morning around 3 am. The car is described as a blue Oldsmobile Sedan with the license plate 2VNG375. If you have any information contact Jackson Police Officer Mark Harmon at 223-1771.

Michael Savage, the nation's third-most listened to radio talk-show host, says he may leave his top rated show to make a bid for the GOP nomination for president. "I know it sounds bizarre but when you consider the people running for the presidency, none . . . seems to be qualified," Savage told NewsMax in an exclusive interview. Savage, based at the San Francisco Bay area's KNEW station, began his syndicated "Savage Nation" show in 2000. Today his network, Talk Radio Network, boasts that Savage is heard on over 370 stations across the country by 8 million listeners a week

According to a new study released this month binge drinking is common among high school students in the United States and is strongly associated with sexual activity, violence, and other risky behaviors. The study, entitled Binge Drinking and Associated Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students, has been released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the January 2007 issue of Pediatrics.

The study analyzed data from the 15,214 high school students who completed the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. CDC scientists found 45 percent of the students reported past-month alcohol consumption, and 64 percent of students who drank reported binge drinking (defined as having five or more drinks of alcohol in a row).