Stakes

LOS ANGELES - A high-stakes court battle over the birthright of a billionaire's children neared a conclusion Wednesday with closing arguments in which a lawyer for the two adult offspring asked jurors to award them more than $100 million, a payment befitting their status as the children of one of the nation's richest men.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - With big wave surfing's biggest prize at stake, six of the 24 contestants paddled into position half a mile offshore and began careening down the face of 35-foot waves.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - A contest drawing some of the world's top surfers is taking shape Saturday with record-breaking tall waves possible - but strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.

BOLTON, England - A gambler who threatened to kill Breeders' Cup Turf winner Conduit unless the horse was withdrawn from a race last summer has been given a suspended jail sentence.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A judge sentenced a former Jefferson County commissioner to three years of probation Thursday for lying to grand jurors about pricey gifts she took from a banker who made millions of dollars off lucrative public bond work.