MODESTO, Calif. — Attorney General Jerry Brown said Friday his office found no wrongdoing at the California State University, Stanislaus Foundation. “We examined whether money given to a charitable foundation was handled appropriately, but found no violation of law,” Brown said. “However, the foundation board has agreed to make changes to improve oversight of its funds.” Brown launched an investigation into the foundation’s financial records after students who claimed they found part of a contract to bring Sarah Palin to the Turlock campus turned it over to state Sen. Leland Yee.

More high-salary workers

The city of Bell said seven more city workers received high salaries, with two making more than $400,000 per year and three making more than $200,000. The interim city manager announced the salaries at a news conference Friday and vowed reforms for the blue-collar Los Angeles suburb of about 37,000 residents. He said the city will begin a study to ensure salaries are commensurate with experience. The seven employees were making more than the average for city managers in Los Angeles County.

Surgery for disfigured Afghan

The disfigured Afghan teenager whose photo was recently featured on a Time magazine cover has arrived in California where a foundation has arranged for reconstructive surgery. The Grossman Burn Foundation in Los Angeles said Friday that 18-year-old Bibi Aisha arrived Thursday and is staying with a host family. Aisha said her nose was cut off as punishment for running away from her violent husband.

Nevada: Benefits are slashed

A state panel has voted to slash benefits for tens of thousands of Nevada public employees, retirees and their dependents, including eliminating some benefits and drastically reducing others. The Public Employees’ Benefit Program Board on Thursday cut nearly $81 million in subsidized services for 70,000 participants. That’s about two-thirds of a $111 million shortfall faced by the program for the two-year budget cycle that begins July 1. The remaining $30 million will be made up in higher premiums paid by workers and retirees.

New York: Nepal adoptions

The U.S. government has suspended the adoption of abandoned children from Nepal because of concerns about unreliable and fabricated documents. The State Department said Friday that the suspension would take effect immediately, although it will continue to consider adoption applications already in the pipeline. The State Department acted after finding numerous cases where Nepalese children’s birth certificates were falsified and orphanage officials refused to assist efforts to confirm information.

Arizona: Grand Canyon fall

A French tourist has survived a 75-foot fall off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Witnesses said the 18-year-old man reportedly slipped Thursday afternoon while taking pictures near the rim. Park rangers received a report of a man falling over the edge of Mather Point, which is a short walk behind the South Rim’s visitor center. Park officials said the man was treated for wrist, ankle and neck injuries.

Somalia: Pirates seize ship

The EU’s piracy task force said Somali pirates have hijacked a cargo ship with 22 Syrians and 2 Egyptians onboard. The force said the MV Syria Star was seized as it sailed in the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of sugar. The EU said it dispatched helicopters immediately after the St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship said Thursday that pirates were onboard and fired shots at the crew. The EU said the ship is headed toward Somalia and has refused to respond to radio contact.

Mexico: Deadly prison riot

A violent clash between rival prison gangs has left at least 14 inmates dead at a penitentiary in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas. A spokesman for police in the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas said there is no information yet on the number of injured in the fight. The clash began early Friday. He said it involved inmates charged with or serving sentences for federal crimes, which in Mexico include everything from drug trafficking to weapons possession. He said inmates used knives, clubs and other weapons that may have been made from scrap materials inside the prison.

From Herald news services