State population declines for first time

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California's population fell by more than 182,000 last year, the first yearly loss ever recorded for the nation's most populous state that halted a growth streak dating to its founding in 1850 on the heels of a gold rush that prompted a flood of people to seek their fortune in the West.

The figures released Friday followed last week's announcement from the U.S. Census Bureau that California would lose a congressional seat for the first time because it grew more slowly than ...