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This Hour: Latest California news, sports, business and entertainment

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UC HOSPITALS-STRIKE

Workers start 2-day strike at UC hospitals

LOS ANGELES (AP) - University of California medical center workers have begun a 2-day strike that could involve thousands of employees and prompted postponement of some surgeries.

A union representing some 13,000 pharmacists, nursing assistants and other workers struck at 4 a.m. Tuesday at medical facilities in areas including San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Ruben Gomez, a radiation therapist in Los Angeles, tells KCBS-TV that strikers want more staff and believe levels are chronically low. UC officials say the issue is the union's refusal to accept a less-lucrative pension plan.

The hospitals have postponed nonessential surgeries and hired temporary workers. Gomez says the strikers have a task force set up to ensure care for critically ill patients.

LA MAYOR

LA picks new mayor after low-drama campaign

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles is about to elect its next mayor. But, most residents probably won't notice.

Low turnout is expected Tuesday when voters choose between Democrats Eric Garcetti, a city councilman, and city Controller Wendy Greuel, who could become the first woman to hold the job.

The two occupy so much of the same policy turf they've been dubbed "Greucetti."

1 of them will succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (vee-yah-ry-GOH'-sah) who's leaving office July 1 after two terms.

Only 1 of 4 voters in the nation's second most populous city is projected to cast a ballot, possibly a historical low.

And the tightness of the race suggests a winner might not emerge on Election Day, and it might take days to count all the ballots.

WIND TURBINE-BLADE FALLS

Huge wind turbine blade falls in So. Cal

OCOTILLO, Calif. (AP) - Hundreds of wind farms around the world have slowed operations after huge turbine blades fell in Southern California and Iowa.

UT San Diego says a 170-foot blade fell last week at a wind farm in Ocotillo, 70 miles east of San Diego.

The paper says turbine-maker Siemens confirmed Monday that it's sent a team of experts there to determine what happened and whether it's related to an April incident in central Iowa when the same type of blade snapped off.

Siemens also says it's curtailing operations for turbines with the B53 blade type around the world.

The estimated 700 turbines - most of them in the U.S. - will mostly continue operating but at slower speeds. However, the Ocotillo unit is completely shut down.

SCHOOLTEACHER MOLESTATION

Bay Area teacher arraigned on molestation charges

UNION CITY, Calif. (AP) - A third-grade teacher at an Alameda County elementary school faces dozens of charges related to inappropriate behavior with his students.

The Oakland Tribune reports that 47-year-old Michael William Howey has been arraigned on 17 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and 23 counts of annoying and molesting a child.

He was arrested earlier this month.

A police affidavit says detectives began investigating Howey in April after another teacher at Alvarado Elementary School in Union City reported seeing him hugging and kissing a 9-year-old girl on the cheek in his classroom.

Other pupils were interviewed and said they had been hugged, kissed and touched inappropriately.

A police detective wrote the affidavit that Howey said after his arrest that he had made "some mistakes."

DEADLY VAN CRASH-ILLINOIS

Questions remain in deadly Illinois van crash

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Illinois State Police are continuing their investigation of why a van carrying 11 men veered off a southern Illinois freeway and repeatedly overturned, killing five occupants and hospitalizing the other six.

Authorities haven't yet released the names of the victims of the Interstate 70 wreck Monday morning near Vandalia, about 70 miles east of St. Louis.

Investigators say the occupants of the 15-passenger van with Maryland license plates were heading home from a California religious event.

It's not immediate clear what caused the van to leave the highway. Police say the conditions at the time were dry and clear.

The driver survived.

Messages left Tuesday with Fayette County Coroner Bruce Bowen and the state police's district spokesman weren't immediately returned.

UNCLAIMED REMAINS-VETERANS

Unclaimed veterans' remains laid to rest in Calif.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - The unclaimed remains of 35 military veterans and two military wives have been given formal military burials in Northern California.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat says the remains, some left unclaimed for decades, were escorted by 120 motorcycles from Santa Rosa to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon on Monday.

Among the cremated remains are those of 8 men who served in World War I and 17 who served in World War II.

A ceremony was held at the Santa Rosa Memorial Park before a hearse began the 75-mile drive to the cemetery. The motorcade included more than 120 motorcyclists from law enforcement, the Patriot Guard and the American Legion Riders.

Several local and military officials spoke at the ceremony, which was attended by veterans and local residents.

EMINEM-FACEBOOK LAWSUIT

Eminem's publisher sues Facebook over song usage

DETROIT (AP) - Eminem's song publisher is suing Facebook and an ad agency in Detroit federal court, saying they appropriated 1 of the rapper's songs.

In the complaint Monday, Ferndale, Mich.-based Eight Mile Style says a Facebook ad broadcast online last month copied music from Eminem's 2000 song "Under the Influence."

The Detroit Free Press reports the 30-second ad was featured in a webcast by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to announce Facebook Home, an interface for Android phones.

The complaint says ad agency Wieden+Kennedy of Portland, Ore., copied Eminem's music "in an effort to curry favor with Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg's personal likes and interests, and/or to invoke the same irreverent theme" of the rapper's song.

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with representatives of Facebook and Wieden+Kennedy.

BACK IN THE USA

Beach volleyball tour back after 10-year absence

The international beach volleyball tour is returning to the United States for the first time in 10 years.

The World Series of Beach Volleyball will be played in Long Beach, Calif., from July 22-28. It will be a stop on the FIVB world tour, which hasn't visited the U.S. since 2003.

The affiliation with the international tour nearly guarantees that the top players in the world will play. In addition to the 2-on-2 sport played in the Olympics, there will be competitions featuring 4-on-4 and 6-on-6 teams. Organizers also are planning a music festival during the event.

Promoter Leonard Armato says he wants to celebrate all aspects of beach and volleyball culture.

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