Authorities worry about landslidesVENTURA, Calif. — As firefighters mopped up the remains of a wildfire on the Southern California coast, authorities turned their focus to a new concern: a landslide if rain pounds the charred hills.In a heavy rain, the denuded soil could threaten nearby railroad tracks, U.S. 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway.“Gravity’s going to take it where it wants to go,” Ventura County fire Capt. Mike Lindbery said, “and where it wants to go is down on the highway, across the railroad tracks and right into whatever is in its way.”On Sunday, hundreds of firefighters battled the remnants of the wind-whipped wildfire that threatened dozens of coastal homes. The fire that scorched about 1,230 acres north of Ventura was 75 percent contained, with full containment expected Tuesday, fire officials said.The blaze erupted Friday night when high winds caused power lines on an oil field to arc.

Attack on mosque under investigationTRACY, Calif. — San Joaquin County sheriff’s officials are investigating whether a Molotov cocktail attack at a mosque in Tracy was a hate crime.Sheriff’s officials say the device went off at the Tracy Islamic Center Friday night or early Saturday. It caused about $1,000 of damage.Lt. Mike Van Grouw said deputies were unable to locate surveillance video and have not come up with a description of the suspect. He said without any suspects, the intent of the attack is unknown.This incident comes as federal officials in Houston say a fire at a mosque in the city is suspicious. The fire was reported Friday afternoon at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. The two-alarm blaze caused major damage to the building, but no one was injured.

Marijuana in wallet lands man in jailHACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — A northern New Jersey man faces drug charges after handing police officers who asked for his identification a wallet containing marijuana.Santos Vasques-Hernandez of Hackettstown faces drug possession and disorderly conduct charges after the Christmas Day incident.Hackettstown police say it happened about 8 p.m. on Main Street when officers were called to the scene for a report of an unresponsive, unconscious man.Authorities say police determined Vasques-Hernandez was breathing and seemed to be intoxicated.Police say he then became “combative” and began swinging his fists at officers who asked for identification.

Lawyer: Charges unlikely in killingCLEVELAND — Nearly 400 days after a white police officer fatally shot a black 12-year-old carrying a pellet gun in an encounter captured on surveillance video, the boy’s disillusioned family believes it’s unlikely anyone will be indicted.A decision on whether to charge the officer or his partner in the death of Tamir Rice — one of the higher-profile cases of black deaths at the hands of police that have roiled cities nationwide — could come any day.The video shows patrolman Timothy Loehmann, a rookie at the time, shooting Tamir in an instant as the cruiser driven by patrolman Frank Garmback skids to a stop on Nov. 22, 2014. Tamir died the next day during surgery.Subodh Chandra, a Cleveland attorney who represents the Rice family in a federal civil rights lawsuit over the shooting, said he has resigned himself to the belief that the officers, both white, won’t be indicted.