RAIDERS SUED BY CHEERLEADERS: ALAMEDA  (AP) — The Oakland Raiders are being sued by current and former cheerleaders claiming wage theft and other unfair employment practices.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court alleges that the organization withholds all pay from the Raiderettes until the end of the season, does not pay for all hours worked and forces the cheerleaders to pay many of their own business expenses.

According to the filing, Raiders cheerleaders are paid $1,250 per season, which amounts to less than $5 per hour for the time they spend rehearsing, performing and appearing at events for which they are not compensated.

REPORT: CALTRANS ALLOWED BAD WELDS IN BAY BRIDGE : SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California Senate report on the construction of the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge raises questions about the quality of workmanship used to build the $6.3 billion span.

The report released Wednesday by the state Senate's Transportation and Housing Committee contains testimony from engineers questioning the durability of welds on bridge pieces produced in China and the integrity of large bolts.

Investigators found that California Department of Transportation managers dismissed concerns from quality-assurance experts that the Chinese firm hired to do key bridge welds lacked the experience to meet standards.

James Merrill, an engineer who oversaw weld inspections in China, told investigators his staff found hundreds of weld cracks that led to severe construction delays. The firm was later replaced.

Caltrans declined comment on the report's findings.

CHICKEN PLANT REOPENS AFTER COCKROACH CLEANUP: LIVINGSTON (AP) — A Central California chicken processing plant has resumed operations after shutting down for two weeks to combat an infestation of cockroaches.

Foster Farms in Livingston said Wednesday it had called its employees back to work after ensuring all necessary measures were taken to properly clean the plant.

Inspectors for the U.S. Department of Agriculture closed the plant Jan. 8 after finding cockroaches on five separate occasions over four months. That closure came three months after inspectors threatened a shutdown because of salmonella problems at the Livingston plant and two Foster Farms sites in Fresno.

Foster Farms issued no product recalls as a result of those problems, but advised consumers to handle chicken properly and cook it thoroughly.

MORE HEAT RECORDS SET IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cloudy skies have made Southern California look a bit wintry but thermometers continue to insist it's summer.

A record-tying high of 84 degrees at Camarillo on Tuesday was among many balmy readings across the region, including downtown Los Angeles, which topped out at 78, 10 degrees above normal.

The National Weather Service says high pressure and weak offshore flow will keep Southern California rather warm Wednesday, and after some cooling Thursday, gusty Santa Ana winds will usher in warmer weather again on Friday.

The high pressure and offshore flow should keep daytime highs well above normal through the middle of next week.

Forecasters also say there's no rain in sight. Downtown Los Angeles has had less than an inch of rain since July 1.