OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A Danville man convicted of defrauding investors out of $62 million in a Ponzi scheme that targeted Korean-Americans has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

BELL, Calif. (AP) -- The Los Angeles County district attorney's office is looking into whether the city of Bell overpaid for a property connected to a politician who served time in federal prison.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A cargo ship operator accused of illegally dumping oil and other harmful waste overboard has pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a record book and making a false statement to the U.S. Coast Guard in an Oakland courtroom.

PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) -- Fire crews working through the night beat back flames and built containment lines around a two-day old wildfire that charred nearly 22 square miles of brush in the high desert north of Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A second House Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, could face an ethics trial this fall, further complicating the election outlook for the party as it battles to retain its majority.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California has made it tougher for utilities to cut service to customers struggling to pay bills.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Federal officials are blocking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to sell the state's student loan guarantee operation to help address California's $19 billion deficit.

BELMONT, Calif. (AP) -- In a July 29 story about Belmont's moratorium on new massage therapist permits due to concerns about prostitution, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the California Massage Therapy Council said that schools it deemed illegitimate may allow sex workers to set up businesses by selling diplomas. Council CEO Ahmos Netanel said these schools also might have sold diplomas or committed other infractions unrelated to prostitution.