The Supreme Court seemed to split sharply Monday on whether a law school can deny recognition to a Christian student group that won't let gays join, a case that could determine whether nondiscrimination policies trump the rights of private organizations to determine who can — and cannot — belong.

In arguments tinged with questions of religious, racial and sexual discrimination, the court heard from the Christian Legal Society, which wants recognition from the University of California's Hastings College of the Law as an official campus organization with school financing and benefits.

Hastings, located in San Francisco, turned them down, saying no recognized campus groups may exclude people due to religious belief or sexual orientation.

The Christian group requires that voting members sign a statement of faith. The group also regards "unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle" as being inconsistent with the statement of faith.

A sheriff's deputy in Washington state is suing Burger King and a franchise operator over a Whopper he says a worker spit on.

Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Edward Bylsma (BILZ-muh) says in the lawsuit that he stopped for a meal at a Vancouver, Wash., Burger King early one morning in March 2009 and got an "uneasy feeling" about two of its workers.

When he checked his hamburger, the suit says, he found a big gob of spit. DNA testing matched the saliva to one of the workers, who eventually pleaded guilty to assault.

The federal court suit filed Tuesday in Portland seeks at least $75,000 and names Burger King Corp. and franchise operator Kaizen Restaurants in Beaverton.

Burger King and Kaizen said in a statement Wednesday they have "zero tolerance" for the workers' actions, and that both employees have been fired.

A bookkeeper in Wichita has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison for embezzling more than $948,000 from a law firm where she worked.

Thirty-four-year-old Vicki J. Olivarez pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of writing checks and forging signatures on the checks while she worked at Pistotnik Law Offices.

In her plea, Olivarez admitted that from 2004 through 2009 she wrote numerous checks on the firm's client trust account and deposited the money into her personal accounts. She used some of the money to make payments on property she owned in Andover.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten also ordered Olivarez to forfeit $948,041 including her interest in the Andover property.

The woman accused of killing four Lake Shore High School teens in a car crash last year pleaded no contest this morning to four counts each of second-degree murder and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death.

Frances Dingle, 48, of Mount Clemens, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19 in Macomb County Circuit Court. She faces a minimum of 19 to 30 years in prison and a maximum of life. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

"The families are somewhat relieved that they don't have to sit in court for the next three weeks and relive that horrific night," Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said.

Authorities say Dingle was driving drunk when she crashed into a car carrying all four teens on March 16, 2009.

Jury selection was set to take place today before Macomb County Circuit Judge Don Miller. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, Frances Dingle's attorney, Mike Dennis, said he worked with prosecutors Friday on a "rather lengthy" jury questionnaire.

Prosecutors say a California man who posed as a military officer and sought donations that he claimed would help wounded veterans has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in the scam.

Sixty-year-old James Barbee of Pacific Grove pleaded guilty to felony mail fraud and misdemeanor wearing a military uniform unlawfully in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday.

Prosecutors say Barbee admitted to using his organization, the Liberty Spirit Farm Foundation, to solicit donations which he spent on himself. He posed as a Navy commander and a military doctor and claimed the donated money would go to veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Prosecutors say Barbee collected more than $94,000 from donors in Missouri and California over the course of a year.

A federal judge in Southern California was chosen Friday to preside over more than 200 lawsuits filed against Toyota in the aftermath of the automaker’s sudden acceleration problems, which could potentially mushroom into one of the nation’s biggest product liability cases.

A judicial panel consolidated the ever-growing list of cases before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna, 65, a 2003 appointee of former President George W. Bush. Selna’s court is in Orange County, close to Toyota’s U.S. headquarters.

“This is a big milestone in what will be a very historic case,” said Tim Howard, a Northeastern University law professor who leads a group of attorneys in 26 states who are suing Toyota.

Attorneys estimate that if Toyota were to settle the cases for even a modest payout to affected motorists, it could cost the company at least $3 billion and possibly much more.

In comparison, drugmaker Merck & Co. has paid more than $4.8 billion into a settlement fund for tens of thousands of claims from people who used its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

The Fighting Sioux nickname is gone for good at the University of North Dakota.

On Thursday, decisions by North Dakota's Supreme Court and Board of Higher Education led to the retirement of the long-disputed nickname.

The court ruled that the board had the authority to dump the nickname at any time. The court rejected an appeal that sought to delay action.

The board had voted last May to retire the nickname. A motion Thursday to reconsider that vote died.

Board president Richie Smith says he thinks no further action is required to end the nickname.

The court agreed to hear an expedited appeal after university officials pleaded with the board to decide the issue quickly so the school could pursue admission to the Summit League.