A daily roundup of the biggest headlines in Bay Area and national news.

Closure of Bay Area Schools Reconsidered

After federal health officials recommended the closure of at least 11 Bay Area schools, those officials are rethinking that recommendation, The SF Chronicle reports. Infected children are now turning up in community areas, according to Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UCLA Faces State Fine after Lab Fire

UCLA is being fined $31,875 by the state of California after racking up three lab violations in a lab fire in December, The LA Times reports. One research assistant was fatally burned in the fire.

A daily roundup of the biggest headlines in Bay Area and national news.

Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of Life in Prison for Juveniles

Returers reported that the US Supreme Court will consider whether juveniles can be sentenced to life in prison for crimes other than murder, agreeing to hear arguments in two Florida cases

Obama to Toughen Offshore Tax Policies

President Barack Obama presented proposals today targeting American companies and wealthy individuals that pay lower tax rates by investing money overseas, The New York Times reported.

A daily roundup of the biggest headlines in Bay Area and national news.

Obama to Make First Appointment as Justice Retires

Justice David H. Souter, appointed in 1990 by George H. W. Bush, plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first  opening for an appointment to the Supreme Court, The New York Times reported.

Biden’s Take on Swine Flu

According to the Los Angeles Times, officials are doing some damage control after Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday on a morning talk show that he was telling his family members to avoid planes, trains and other enclosed spaces while the Obama administration has been trying to downplay causes for alarm.

Charges Against American Israel Public Affairs Committee Employees May Be Dropped

Prosecutors asked a judge to drop espionage-related charges against two former lobbyists of a pro-Israel lobbying group, citing a series of court decisions that made it unlikely their case would succeed. Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged in 2005 with conspiring to obtain classified information and pass it to the Israeli government and journalists, according to The Washington Post.