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LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Police Department is tightening its policy on handling illegal immigrants to allow officers to check the status of suspected felons. If approved, the new rules would be a shift from a 1979 policy that prevents officers from inquiring about a person's immigration status to encourage illegal immigrants who had witnessed or been victims of crimes to cooperate with police without fear of deportation. Assistant Police Chief George Gascon said the proposal would direct officers to report suspected felons in the United States illegally to their supervisors, who would then consult with immigration officials....

WASHINGTON - Amid the backdrop of soaring oil and gasoline prices, a sharply divided Senate on Wednesday voted to open the ecologically rich Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, delivering a major energy policy win for President Bush (news - web sites).he Senate, by a 51-49 vote, rejected an attempt by Democrats and GOP moderates to remove a refuge drilling provision from next year's budget, preventing opponents from using a filibuster — a tactic that has blocked repeated past attempts to open the Alaska refuge to oil companies. The action, assuming Congress agrees on a budget, clears the way for...

The judge in the San Diego City Hall corruption case ruled against the defendants yesterday on their most significant pretrial requests, including motions to throw out wiretap recordings and to split the case into separate trials. The defense had asked that the wiretaps be ruled inadmissible because an FBI agent failed to disclose on wiretap applications that defendant Lance Malone made statements showing his ignorance of a criminal conspiracy, in particular a comment that "nothing illegal" was going on. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller dismissed that argument, concluding that the judge who approved the wiretap applications "had substantial basis...

A judge indicated yesterday that he will not throw out wiretap evidence in the City Hall corruption case nor will he order prosecutors to pinpoint evidence that the councilmen accepted cash bribes. At a three-hour hearing attended by the defendants, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller rejected a defense argument that the wiretaps should be ruled inadmissible because an FBI agent didn't disclose that defendant Lance Malone made statements that "nothing illegal" was going on. The judge pointed out that the FBI is not required to include every fact in wiretap applications. Comments that might be construed as incriminating were...

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LOS ANGELES – California motorists may have to pay $2 more to register their vehicles and an additional 75 cents for a new tire under a plan to fund air pollution programs. If approved by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the legislation proposed by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-Los Angeles, could provide the state with $90 million a year. The money would be used to expand programs targeting smog and to fix or replace pre-1977 school buses and farm equipment, the California Air Resources Board said. "A lot of people who don't always see eye to eye on these issues...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is preparing to sign new gambling agreements with several Indian tribes, including one that could spawn California's first major urban casino — something the governor has said he opposed. The Bay Area facility, a short drive from Oakland and San Francisco, could be one of the world's largest gambling halls, as large as five Costcos, with up to 5,000 slot machines, multiple sources said Monday. The agreement would require that once the 259-member Lytton Band of Pomo Indians opened the facility, now the site of a card club called Casino San Pablo, it would pay...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mexicans making short trips across the border who have passed security checks will be allowed to visit the United States for up to 30 days instead of the current three-day limit, government officials said Monday. The change, long sought by Mexicans and border-state politicians, is a gesture that could help President Bush win support in the election battleground states of Arizona and New Mexico. The 30-day limit will be available to Mexicans who hold so-called laser visas, which require background checks and other security measures, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, confirmed Monday. The Homeland Security Department declined comment....

House OKs bill to let U.S. soldiers guard border Sergio Bustos Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- U.S. soldiers may be asked to keep undocumented immigrants and potential terrorists out of the country. The House on Thursday passed a defense authorization bill, which includes a provision that would let U.S. troops join with U.S. Border Patrol agents in guarding the nation's borders with Canada and Mexico. The bill authorizes Defense Department programs for the coming fiscal year, which will begin Oct. 1. The border troop amendment, championed by Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., passed the House late Wednesday by a 40-vote margin, 231-191....