California, West Coast | featured news

A diplomat who has access to radiation tracking by the U.N.'s Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization told The Associated Press in Vienna that initial readings show tiny amounts of radiation have reached California. But it's not dangerous in any way – "about a billion times beneath levels that would be health threatening," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the organization does not make its findings public.

Waves generated by the quake have forced evacuations in Hawaii and tsunami warnings for the West Coast.

It's a scenic adventure that just begins to cover the high points.

Early on the first day of 2009, a gold Toyota Corolla exited Interstate 5 in southern San Diego County and headed west, dodging puddles and "SUBJECT TO FLOODING" signs until it reached Border Field State Park, the coastal reserve where California's coastline begins.