A teacher at Livingston High School was arrested Monday morning after police say she allegedly helped students ingest chloroform.

Chemistry teacher Japhia Smith Huhndorf, 34, of Atwater, had assisted three male students — 16, 17 and 18 years old — as they ingested the chemical, which can be used as an anesthetic, said Sgt. Ray Fong of the Livingston Police Department. Fong said police believe that Huhndorf helped the students inhale the chloroform using a towel. He said there were at least three incidents over the past five months.

The body of a 32-year-old man was found in the side yard of a residence Sunday morning on the 700 block of South Avenue.

The man's identity won't be released until his next of kin is notified and the autopsy is complete, said Sgt. Jim Hamera of the Gustine Police Department.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday appointed Georgia College and State University President Dorothy Leland as the new chancellor of UC Merced, succeeding Steve Kang to lead the research institution, which opened in 2005.

Seventeen Merced city employees whose jobs were on the line have gotten a reprieve.

MARIPOSA -- Greeley Hill, a geographically isolated community in North Mariposa County – "population friendly, elevation just right” according to a road sign – won't have a school this fall. Neither will the town of Catheys Valley, just east of the Merced County line on Highway 140.

Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin said Wednesday he's proposed the closure of the department's main jail to meet county budget cuts — a bombshell certain to intensify an already dire $20 million budget crisis.

Merced County Executive Officer Larry Combs was taken to a Modesto hospital after suffering chest pains Wednesday night, county officials have confirmed.

Details about Combs' condition are unknown, although several sources inside the county's administration said managers were notified Thursday about the situation.

5:10 p.m.: CHP spokesman John Patterson said the roadway has been cleared and that two people were treated for minor injuries. Traffic remains backed up to Mariposa Road, he said.

A woman with executive experience at two public universities and called one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" may be headed west to take the helm at UC Merced.

University of California President Mark Yudof said Tuesday that he will ask the UC regents to select Georgia College and State University President Dorothy Leland as UC Merced's next chancellor.

By AMEERA BUTT abutt@mercedsun-star.com

President Barack Obama says the White House will not release a photo of Osama bin Laden's body.

Osama bin Laden is dead.

President Barack Obama made the dramatic late-night announcement Sunday from the East Room of the White House, ending the long, elusive international manhunt for the leader of the al-Qaida terrorism organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

A 50-year-old woman was killed Thursday afternoon after a solo vehicle crash near Snelling, the California Highway Patrol reported.

A 56-year-old Atwater woman is recovering after suffering a severe beating early Wednesday morning during a home invasion, police reported.

A chemical spill at UC Merced prompted a closure of the Science and Engineering Building around 9:15 p.m. Monday. No injuries were reported, but two custodians who discovered the spill were taken to Mercy Medical Center for evaluation.

The city of Merced sent 64 layoff notices to employees Thursday, with more than half in the Police Department, in a move to address the city's $5.5 million general fund deficit.

The layoffs include 29 sworn police officers, five nonsworn officers and 12 firefighters in the Merced Fire Department. Public works was also hard hit, losing 12 positions, said City Manager John Bramble.

A correctional officer at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon after being assaulted by an inmate.

A suspect in the 1980 Los Banos shooting death of a 45-year-old man has been arrested in Florida.

Merced County Sheriff's deputies say an argument over a chainsaw turned deadly Saturday night -- and now a father is in jail for allegedly killing his 46-year-old son.

A fatal shooting Saturday night in the 11000 block of Griffith Avenue in Delhi is being investigated by the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

One of three men convicted of kidnapping a busload of Chowchilla schoolchildren and their driver in 1976 has a parole date -- a decade from now.

Two inmates are missing after they escaped from U.S. Penitentiary Atwater on Friday. USP Atwater spokesman Miguel Chavez said the two men were walkaways from a minimum security facility at the prison. No description of the inmates was given. Return to mercedsunstar.com for more information on this story, which will be released as it becomes available. - Mike North

A woman was killed Friday afternoon when her green Camaro hit a Chrysler Sebring at Walnut and Vine avenues in Winton.

A sinkhole near Highway 99 just north of the Merced River prompted the California Highway Patrol to close the northbound lane Friday morning.

Emergency repairs were being made, but a Caltrans spokeswoman said it could be several days before work is complete.

ATWATER -- No one was hurt early Thursday in a 1,000-square-foot fire at the Dole plant in Atwater, Merced County Fire Department officials reported.

A 54-year-old man accused of killing two people in a bizarre love triangle probably will spend the rest of his life in prison, after being found guilty Thursday on two counts of murder.

A correctional officer at John Latorraca Correctional Center was arrested early Wednesday morning after he allegedly brought tobacco to inmates at the jail.

After less than a day of deliberations, a jury found Edward Arviso guilty of first-degree murder Monday for the brutal stabbing of a man during a 2007 convenience store robbery.

A seemingly routine structure fire turned into a police investigation Monday after firefighters discovered an illegal marijuana operation in a North Merced home.