About 40 protesters outside the courthouse in Pottsville have been told to keep quiet or they'll be forced to move. The protesters are from workers and immigrants' rights groups.

A defense attorney complained about the distraction and the hearing was recessed for several minutes until the protesters quieted down. There have been no arrests.

Luis Ramirez was attacked July 12 when he crossed paths with a group of teens in the town of Shenandoah, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

A judge is deciding if there is enough evidence against the three to send the case to trial.

Justice Joyce Kennard wrote that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian have neither a free speech right nor a religious exemption from the state's law, which "imposes on business establishments certain antidiscrimination obligations."

In the lawsuit that led to the ruling, Guadalupe Benitez, 36, of Oceanside said that the doctors treated her with fertility drugs and instructed her how to inseminate herself at home but told her their beliefs prevented them from inseminating her. One of the doctors referred her to another fertility specialist without moral objections, and Benitez has since given birth to three children.

Nevertheless, Benitez in 2001 sued the Vista-based North Coast Women's Care Medical Group. She and her lawyers successfully argued that a state law prohibiting businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation applies to doctors.

The law was originally designed to prevent hotels, restaurants and other public services from refusing to serve patrons because of their race. The Legislature has since expanded it to cover characteristics such as age and sexual orientation.

The visit came ahead of opening statements Monday in the retrial of 28-year-old China Arnold. She's charged with aggravated murder in the 2005 death of her daughter, Paris Talley.

Arnold has pleaded not guilty. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

A judge declared a mistrial in February after privately hearing testimony from a juvenile who said he was at the apartment complex the night the baby died. The judge did not reveal what the juvenile said.

A state appeals court on Friday rejected a defense request to halt the trial.

The music producer's attorneys had requested a stay of the trial so they could appeal on double jeopardy grounds. They also wanted assurance that prosecutors would not ask jurors to convict Spector of lesser offenses. The court denied both requests.

Spector's first trial resulted in a jury deadlock on second-degree murder. Prosecutors have not indicated whether they will seek a conviction on lesser offenses.

The 68-year-old is charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003. His retrial is set for October.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that Posada, an 80-year-old anti-Castro militant, should stand trial on charges that he lied to federal authorities in his 2005 bid to become a U.S. citizen.

The criminal case against Posada had been dismissed last year when El Paso-based U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ruled that the government engaged in trickery and deceit by using a naturalization interview to build a case against Posada.

Felipe Millan, one of Posada's lawyers in El Paso, said Posada's legal team was reviewing the decision and would decide on a course of action afterward.

In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said, "We're pleased with the ruling and will proceed forward as appropriate."

The Cuban-born citizen of Venezuela is wanted in the South American country on charges that he orchestrated the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Posada was first arrested on a civil immigration violation in May 2005 after sneaking into the country from Mexico about two months earlier. Posada, a former CIA operative and U.S. Army officer, has claimed that he was brought across the border into Texas by a smuggler, but federal authorities have alleged that he actually sailed from Mexico to Florida.

Court-appointed receiver Clark Kelso said he needs the money over the next five years to build new medical units for 10,000 sick or mentally ill inmates.

Kelso also asked U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson to hold Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's controller in contempt of court if they don't allocate the money soon.

Federal courts have declared the health care system in California's 33 state prisons so poor that it violates inmates' constitutional rights. Kelso was named by the court to oversee the reform effort.

The request to U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco comes as lawmakers remain at odds over how to cope with California's $15.2 billion deficit seven weeks after the start of the fiscal year.

The appeals court said Wednesday that a judge made a mistake when he ruled the works belonged to the son, Thomas Steinbeck, and granddaughter Blake Smyle (SMILE'-ee).

A lawyer for the two didn't return a telephone message seeking comment Wednesday.

The two had won rights previously held by various individuals and organizations, including Penguin Group Inc. and the heirs of John Steinbeck's widow, Elaine.

The appeals court ordered the lower court judge to rule in favor of Penguin and the heirs of Elaine Steinbeck. Steinbeck's widow died in April 2003.