Gov. Brown signs hands-free driver texting into law for 2013

California drivers will now be able to send or receive text messages behind the wheel, as long as they are hands-free and voice-activated, under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law today.

Assembly Bill 1536, which will go in effect Jan. 1, 2013, gives California motorists the same rights with text-based messages as voice calls.

UC faces possible 20.3 percent tuition increase if Gov. Brown's tax initiative fails

The UC Board of Regents will consider the possibility of a 20.3 percent midyear tuition increase in the event Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiative fails in November, according to documents released for the regents’ bimonthly board meeting next week.

Men’s and women’s cross country looks to come back after closing last season with losses

The UCLA men’s and women’s cross country teams started and ended their seasons on similar notes.

Both started the season strong, with the men finishing first in their first two events and the women second in theirs.

However, through the bulk of the season, both teams had experiences on opposite ends of the spectrum.

As the season progressed the men stayed consistent, never finishing lower than 14th, while the women experienced finishes anywhere from 43rd to second leading into the postseason.

In the NCAA West Regional, the two teams finished similarly again, but unlike the beginning of the season, the Bruins weren’t standing atop the event podiums.

Two top-25 finishes were not enough to advance the men to the NCAA Championship.

Likewise, the women were unable to secure a berth in the NCAA Championship as their top runner, rising redshirt senior Katja Goldring, finished 44th in the regional.

Although both teams were not in the running as long as they would have hoped last season, there’s reason to believe they can go the distance this fall.

The top men’s runner is gone, but talent remains with rising juniors Nohe Lema and Dustin Fay, both of whom were often among the team’s top finishers last season.

The women return nearly their entire 2011 roster.

Both teams will have an opportunity to rid themselves of the bad taste they finished last season with when they travel to Reno, Nev.