A California lawyer who tried to obtain a pardon for his 1976 Nebraska drug conviction wants a chance to challenge statements that a former client submitted to the Pardons Board.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Lawmakers kept haggling Tuesday in their effort to reach a compromise, as the California Legislature prepared to vote on a package of bills intended to alleviate the state's water woes.

MERCED, Calif. (AP) -- Family and friends of an Army paratrooper from Merced are mourning his death in a Humvee crash outside Baghdad.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A man accused of killing four women during the 1970s has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in Orange County.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, a three-decade veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who is credited with cleaning up the image of the scandal-plagued Rampart Division, has been named to head the law enforcement agency.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle accusations that he tried to keep blacks, Hispanics and families with children out of his apartment buildings.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians has pleaded not guilty to accepting more than $250,000 in bribes from tribal vendors.

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- The California Supreme Court is set to hear arguments challenging a key section of a law aimed at protecting children from sexual predators. Opponents say the residency requirement in Jessica's Law violates the constitutional rights of sex offenders.

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) -- Two 17-year-olds accused of a gang-related shooting in Salinas that left two boys dead and two others injured are being charged as adults.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Trial has begun for a former aerospace worker charged with murdering a Los Angeles International Airport police officer during a car theft.

ANGELUS OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities are trying to determine a motive for the killing of a maid shot to death at a religious camp in the San Bernardino Mountains.

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) -- A seventh suspect has been arrested in connection with the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Charlie Beck has been named Los Angeles' police chief.

CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) -- A small earthquake has struck Southern California near the Mexico border but no damage or injuries are reported.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The Connecticut man charged with killing Yale University graduate student Annie Le (LAY') is set to face a state judge again.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Tribune Co., owner of The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and several other news outlets, will not use most Associated Press content next week to test whether the financially struggling company can do without it, according to a story on the Chicago Tribune's Web site.

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) -- A pair of days of ideal conditions for snowmaking in the Sierra and around Lake Tahoe last week has allowed Boreal Mountain Resort to open the slopes for skiing seven days a week.

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) -- Three missing North Dakota college softball players were found dead Tuesday in a Jeep that was pulled from a pond two days after the women disappeared.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A man who bilked South Los Angeles churchgoers out of $44 million in an insurance scam has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling has agreed to pay a record $2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics, blacks and to families with children, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Immigration agents assigned to track down people who have ignored deportation orders have increasingly arrested immigrants with criminal records over the last year.

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (AP) -- Brush fires that threatened neighborhoods in the eastern Los Angeles County city of Diamond Bar are being contained and school officials are preparing to dismiss students from a campus in the area.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) -- A Northern California woman accused of using her 13-year-old son as a designated driver to avoid getting another DUI has pleaded not guilty.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums owes back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and the agency has placed a lien on his property.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A state watchdog group says elder abuse may be underreported, in part because of budget cuts to ombudsman programs.