A federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the roundup of more than 2,000 wild horses in California and Nevada, rejecting critics' claims that the free-roaming mustangs have a legal right to remain on the range.

In an after-hours order, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to grant an emergency stay sought by animal rights groups ahead of the scheduled roundup Wednesday.

The order came as lawyers for the Obama administration mounted their most vigorous defense to date for rounding up wild horses in the West, arguing in court filings that leaving the overpopulated herds on public rangeland would do the mustangs more harm than good.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ignacia Moreno said in a court filing that the range cannot support the current population of horses, whose numbers were expected to grow. "The growing population of wild horses will have devastating impacts on the other resources in the area and on the wild horses themselves," Moreno wrote.

Justice Department lawyers were defending the roundup on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management and its plans to begin its biggest roundup of the year along the California-Nevada border, about 120 miles north of Reno. That number represents up to 80 percent of the existing herd.

A law firm subpoenaed by the attorney general's office in its investigation of excessive pay in a Los Angeles County city gave $5,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Jerry Brown.
Brown, a Democrat, subpoenaed tax and salary records this week from the city of Bell, along with records from its former law firm, Best, Best & Krieger.

A partner in the firm, Edward Lee, was Bell's city attorney and approved the pay, which included $1.5 million in annual pay and benefits to the city manager.

Finance reports show the firm gave Brown's campaign $5,000 in March. Two attorneys with the firm also gave Brown money: Michael Cowett contributed $500 in March and Brant Dveirin gave Brown $1,000 in April.

Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford says the firm isn't accused of wrongdoing.

A mother who drunkenly drove a station wagon full of children into a New York City highway wreck that killed one of them has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a case that spurred a state law.

Carmen Huertas wiped her eyes as she entered her guilty plea Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom packed with her relatives and victims' families.

The October crash occurred as Huertas drove to a slumber party. It killed 11-year-old Leandra Rosado and injured the other six children, including Huertas' daughter. It prompted Leandra's Law, which makes drunken driving a felony if a child is in the vehicle.

Huertas' sentencing is set for Oct. 1. A judge has promised her more than the minimum range of one to three years in prison but less than the maximum range of five to 15 years.

A former Denver-area postal worker has pleaded guilty to stealing DVDs, CDs, and iPods that he sold for over $85,000 over two years.

Former Highlands Ranch U.S. postal worker David Schmauder pleaded guilty Monday to two federal counts of theft by mail. He faces up to five years in prison for each count when he's sentenced Nov. 30.

Schmauder didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Authorities say the 48-year-old Schmauder was arrested in January after postal special agents saw him open mail, put it in a plastic bag and then in his car. Officials say records show that a store in Littleton paid him a total of $85,174 for nearly 12,000 items. He also stole some items from Victoria's Secret which he gave to his wife.

Costa Rica's top court has blocked the electoral tribunal from holding a referendum that would have let voters decide if same-sex civil unions should be allowed in the Central American country.

The Constitutional Court's 5-2 decision released Tuesday says such a referendum would put a minority at a disadvantage in a largely Roman Catholic country. It also says gay civil unions is a legislative issue and not an electoral one.

The court says it considers homosexuals a group that is at a disadvantage and the target for discrimination, requiring government authorities to protect their rights.

The electoral tribunal had planned to hold the referendum Dec. 5, when Costa Rica also is holding municipal elections.

A former B-2 bomber engineer who marketed and sold his stealth expertise to China is facing life in a federal prison following his conviction for bartering U.S. military secrets.

Noshir Gowadia, 66, was found guilty Monday on charges that he designed a cruise missile component for China and pocketed at least $110,000, which he allegedly used to help pay a $15,000-a-month mortgage on a multimillion-dollar oceanview home he built on Maui's north shore.

Prosecutors said Gowadia revealed classified information to foreign powers at least twice: during a PowerPoint presentation on his cruise missile technology, and when he showed the technology's effectiveness by comparing it to American air-to-air missiles.

"This case was unique in that we litigated know-how, the very concept of exporting your knowledge base that you derive, in whole or in part, from your activities working in United States classified programs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson said. "If you can take that and go sell it or market yourself on an international stage in secrecy to other governments and not suffer criminal sanctions for it, then we're in trouble."

Gowadia's defense attorneys argued during the nearly four-month trial that while it's true he gave China the design for the cruise missile part, he based his work on unclassified, publicly available information. Gowadia plans to appeal.