June 16 Reports: Luis Resendiz Rocha, 19, was cited for driving without insurance. Ruth Joy Wiitanen, 25, was cited for driving with a suspended license. Gabriel Dean Christensen, 22, was arrested on an outstanding warrant – possession of a controlled substance. Max Elmer Ross reported someone tried to break into his house. Joseph Emery Spratt, 28, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). William Barclay Losse, 27, was arrested for ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - A superior court judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit accusing Scripps Health hospitals of charging exorbitant amounts to uninsured patients who often aren't able to pay the bills without risking financial ruin. The suit alleges that uninsured Scripps patients pay as much as four times more than patients covered by Medicare or private insurance for the same procedures. Those who don't pay their bills are sometimes reported to collection agencies ... [full story]

The Portland Trail Blazers made seven-foot center Greg Oden of Ohio State the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night. Oden guided the Buckeyes to the NCAA championship game last season before they were knocked off by the Florida Gators -- a team that had three of their players chosen in the first nine picks. Five international players went in the first round, led by Yi Jianlian of China. Yi was chosen sixth ... [full story]

MARBLE FALLS, Texas - Residents of Marble Falls, Texas, prepared for more rain Friday while trying to recover from a deluge of 19 1/2 inches of rain in just three hours. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst toured Marble Falls Thursday to view the damage. "We're doing everything we can on the state level to get this behind us," Dewhurst said, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Wednesday's deluge and flooding left the city with no running water, condemned ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - Five U.S. soldiers were killed and seven were injured in a southern Baghdad ambush that began with a roadside bomb, the military announced Friday. After the explosion Thursday, the U.S. patrol came under rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms attack, CNN reported. On Friday, gunmen killed a police officer in Kirkuk and police killed an insurgent in Mosul, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported. Also, insurgents blew up part of a crude oil pipeline that ... [full story]

PORTLAOISE, Ireland - A Nigerian immigrant who fled religious persecution in his homeland has become the first black mayor in Ireland. Rotimi Adebari was elected mayor of the town of Portlaoise, Ireland, Thursday under a system in which the job rotates among Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and independent Town Council members, the Irish Times reported. Adebari told the Times he wanted to show that Ireland is a "land of opportunities and it is a country ... [full story]

TEHRAN - A once-powerful cyclone headed into Iran in a weakened state Friday after battering Pakistan's coastal area. Cyclone Yemyin was packing winds of up to 80 miles an hour when it made landfall over Baluchistan in southwestern Pakistan earlier in the week, Iran's Fars news agency reports. Yemyin is the second major storm in the north Indian Ocean this season following Cyclone Gonu, which killed more than 60 people when it ran through Oman, ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Outgoing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz plans to continue public policy work when he steps down from his Washington-based job at the end of the month. Wolfowitz told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday that he would like to explore ways to help advance development in Africa. He also left open the possibility of rejoining the government where he last served as U.S. deputy defense secretary before being chosen to head ... [full story]

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A bear whose paws were burned in a wildfire near Lake Tahoe, Calif., was expected to recover. The cinnamon-colored bear was released in the wild after being treated by a veterinarian, Tom Milham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care told The Tahoe Daily Tribune. "She had been laying down under a tree for the last few days and walking around gingerly," Milham told the newspaper. "We tranquilized and examined her. All four ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES - Gunshot residue, blood spatter and other physical evidence suggests actress Lana Clarkson committed suicide at Phil Spector's mansion in 2003, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday as defense lawyers launched their case at the rock 'n' roll producer's murder trial. Prosecutors, who contend that Spector fired the shot that killed Clarkson, have put their case on hold as they wait for two final witnesses. Meanwhile, Spector's lawyers opened their presentation with witness Vincent ... [full story]