IN BRIEF

SMALL TEMBLOR

East Bay area hit by 3.2-magnitude quake

A small earthquake rattled the East Bay in California on Saturday. There were no reports of injury or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 3.2-magnitude temblor was centered one mile northeast of El Cerrito, Calif.

It struck just after 3:30 p.m.

POWER OUTAGE

Cause of fire probed in San Francisco explosion

About 730 customers remain without electricity after an underground fire in downtown San Francisco that initially left about 8,600 Pacific Gas and Electric clients without power.

PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt said crews still don’t know the cause of the blaze because they are unable to enter the underground room-sized vault that caught fire before noon Friday.

She expects electricity to be restored to all customers, though some may be powered with generators until the normal grid can be repaired.

CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

Man pleads no contest to child abuse charges

A Fallon man accused of committing hundreds of sex crimes against children has changed his plea from not guilty to no contest after prosecutors agreed to dismiss some charges.

Daniel Green, 42, pleaded Thursday to 10 counts of possession of child pornography, as well as charges of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14, attempted production of child pornography and using another person’s identity for unlawful purposes.

Green’s plea came 11 days before his trial was scheduled to start. An investigation began in November 2007 when a woman reported seeing young boys regularly visiting Green’s home.

INSANITY DEFENSE

Mother not guilty in bid to kill 4-year-old

A Honolulu judge has found a mother who choked her 4-year-old daughter into unconsciousness not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity.

Circuit Judge Patrick Border on Friday ordered 27-year-old Elly Rivera to remain in the Hawaii State Hospital for treatment.

Rivera had said voices told her they were going to burn her family, and she needed to kill her children to preserve their souls.

TEEN ARRESTED

Student faces charges for homemade bombs

San Diego authorities say a high school honor student has been arrested after he allegedly put homemade bombs in school trash cans as a prank and three exploded.

Nobody was hurt Friday when the plastic bottle bombs went off at San Ysidro High School. City fire official Maurice Luque said nine more bottles were later found but only three of those had been fully assembled. He said those were safely detonated by a bomb squad.

Police later arrested 18-year-old Elphbert Laforteza and he was jailed on $860,000 bail.

Principal Hector Espinoza said the student had been awarded a full scholarship to the U.S. Air Force Academy. He could face a dozen felony charges.