Police Raids

Authorities raided a busy downtown Los Angeles maternity clinic Wednesday, arresting two physicians and three administrators on suspicion of defrauding the Medi-Cal program of $2 million by recruiting thousands of poor, pregnant women for unnecessary medical procedures. The arrests at Downtown M Medical Clinic at 2500 Wilshire Blvd. culminated a two-year investigation by the Medical Board of California, which began looking into the clinic after former employees complained of illegal billing.

Civil rights groups said Thursday that they had reached a settlement with federal officials guaranteeing that workers nabbed in an immigration raid last month in Van Nuys can be accompanied by an attorney to all meetings and interrogations.

Texas child welfare officials said Saturday that they had removed 183 people -- including 137 children -- from an isolated polygamist compound in southwestern Texas after allegations that a 16-year-old girl there had been sexually abused.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has asked the federal government to review its immigration enforcement priorities, warning that work-site raids on "non-exploitative" businesses could have "severe and lasting effects" on the local economy.

Investigators with search warrants raided the offices of San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus on Thursday night, carrying off an undisclosed number of computers and files. The district attorney's office, which conducted the raid, would not disclose its nature Friday. "The search warrants were served and the investigation is ongoing," spokeswoman Susan Mickey said. "We will provide more information when we are able." Postmus issued a statement saying his office was cooperating fully.

Zimbabwe's security crackdown intensified Friday as riot police raided the opposition movement's headquarters in the capital city of Harare, arresting hundreds of people, including many rural activists and their families who had fled recent violence in their home districts. Opposition officials said more than 200 armed riot police raided the building and arrested about 300 people. Police said they had a warrant to search for "suspicious individuals."

Police officials on Tuesday fired 17 officers here in connection with a botched raid on a bar last week that triggered a stampede, leaving a dozen people dead. The firings came as newly released video footage showed police officers blocking exits as hundreds of young patrons tried to flee. The bar's owners were suspected of serving alcohol to minors.

A report Wednesday indicating a marked decline in the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. fueled a widening national debate over the Bush administration's policy of immigration enforcement through aggressive workplace raids. The largest such enforcement action was in May in Postville, Iowa, where federal immigration agents descended on a meatpacking plant and arrested nearly 400 workers later detained in a building used to house cattle.

Two Mexican federal agents were charged Friday with possession of alleged drug money after they were arrested at a West Covina home with more than $500,000, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Nine people were killed Saturday as Hamas routed a well-armed clan loyal to the rival Fatah group from its urban stronghold in the worst flare-up of internal Palestinian strife this year. Hospital officials said 72 people, including 12 children, were wounded as mortar shells and machine-gun fire rattled Gaza City's crowded Shijaiyah neighborhood during the daylong battle. Among the injured was clan leader Ahmed Hillis, who fled into Israel with dozens of his followers.