In the News

Oceangoing travelers for the first time can see what crimes are being reported aboard ships operating in U.S. ports andmdash; and the numbers compared with last year could make some of them seasick. The number of reported sexual assaults on cruise ships jumped 550 percent in the first six months of 2016, going to 39 from six in 2015.

A man with schizophrenia barricaded himself inside his apartment after breaking into a neighbor's house. Instead of breaking down his door, responding officers instead used their new mental health training to deescalate the crisis. Within an hour, the situation was safely defused and the man was taken not to jail, but to the hospital for evaluation.

A handful of House Democrats renewed their floor protest of congressional inaction on gun control legislation Tuesday, shouting for recognition through a brief evening session and pledging afterward to continue their efforts to force votes on a "no fly, no buy" gun bill.

Watching the Democrats' sit-in on the House floor last week filled Mandy Pifer with pride andmdash; and the conviction that Congress will act on tougher gun violence laws. Pifer, whose boyfriend, Shannon Johnson, was killed in the San Bernardino shooting Dec.

Rep. Doris Matsui and some of her fellow Democrats drowned out the acting speaker Tuesday afternoon during a brief, routine House meeting as they demanded a vote on gun legislation. The House has recessed until July 5, but meets for short "pro forma" sessions every few days in an effort to block the president from making recess appointments.

University of California President Janet Napolitano announced Monday her intent to establish the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis' Sacramento campus under the direction of Garen Wintemute, an emergency department physician and recognized authority on the epidemiology of firearm violence who has conducted leading-edge research for more than 30 years.

Sacramento International Airport has won $16 million to help refurbish its east taxiway, Sacramento Rep. Doris Matsui said Thursday. The money, from the Federal Aviation Administration, boosts the airport's plans for a $35 million airport flight field upgrade, and helps reduce the amount the airport needs to draw from airline and flier fees for the project.