Ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush tour the beach in Galveston, Texas. Bush and Clinton encouraged donations to their recovery fund to benefit Hurricane Ike-blasted Gulf Coast communities.

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SACRAMENTO — Prosecutors say the driver of a charter bus that crashed earlier this month in northern California wasn't drunk or on drugs at the time.

Colusa County District Attorney John Poyner says toxicology reports on Quintin Watts came back negative. The driver was released from the hospital Tuesday and later taken into custody and accused of driving without a proper license.

Watts was initially arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after the bus crash Oct. 5. The investigation in the crash continues.

Nine people died from the crash. Many of the 42 passengers heading to Colusa Casino Resort were Laotian seniors.

SANTA ANA — A former congressional candidate in Southern California has pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice in the probe of a letter his campaign sent to 14,000 registered voters with Hispanic surnames.

Tan Nguyen is accused of misleading state investigators who were looking into the letter. He entered his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

The letter, written in Spanish, told recipients they could be deported for voting if they were in the country illegally or were an immigrant. It was sent in 2006 before Nguyen, a Republican, lost to Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez in Orange County.

Naturalized U.S. citizens have the right to vote.

Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, blamed the letter on a campaign volunteer. His trial is set for Dec. 9.

GALVESTON — Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have asked Americans not to forget about the Gulf Coast communities hit hard this hurricane season.

They toured the area by helicopter Tuesday, flying over Galveston Island and the storm-wrecked Bolivar Peninsula. They were then updated on the ongoing repair and recovery efforts after Hurricane Ike.

Local officials asked Bush and Clinton to use their influence to help them get aid to rebuild the region's tourist economy. Ike blasted ashore near Galveston on Sept. 13, flattening buildings and killing at least 37 people in Texas.

BROWNSVILLE — The sheriff of a rural Texas county next to the Mexican border was arrested at his office Tuesday after being indicted on charges alleging he was involved in a large-scale cocaine and marijuana smuggling operation.

Starr County Sheriff Reymundo Guerra was named in a 19-count indictment along with more than a dozen other people. The South Texas sheriff is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana; accessory after the fact, for an alleged suggestion he made to a co-defendant to use false documents to avoid apprehension; and facilitating the drug trafficking conspiracy via use of a telephone.

The first count alone carries a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life as well as a $4 million fine.

Guerra was added to the indictment after the FBI searched his Rio Grande City offices in early September.

GRAHAM — A couple whose pit bulls fatally mauled their 7-year-old neighbor were sentenced to seven years in prison, the first conviction under a new Texas law that holds owners responsible if their dogs injure or kill someone.

Crystal Michelle Watson, 28, and Jack Wayne Smith, 45, were convicted Thursday of a dog attack resulting in death. The law says owners are guilty if their unsecured dogs injure or kill a person in an unprovoked attack off their property; those convicted can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

"I compared it to someone leaving a gun out in front of children," Stephens County District Attorney Stephen Bristow said, recalling what he told jurors during the trial last week.

After the couple were sentenced Friday, state District Judge Stephen Crawford said both defendants would be eligible for release on $150,000 bond pending appeal, which is allowed for certain crimes with sentences of less than 10 years. Watson and Smith had not posted bail as of Monday.

CAMDEN — A federal judge Tuesday approved a $24 million settlement for owners of dogs and cats who were sickened or died after eating pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman clears the way for U.S. pet owners with claims to start receiving checks next year. A Canadian judge has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 3 to determine whether the settlement can also apply in that nation.

Under the deal, pet owners have until Nov. 24 to file claims.

The settlement is to compensate owners for many expenses, including: the cost of the food, medical and burial expenses for their animals, the value of the animals or the cost of replacement pets, checkups for animals who ate the food but did not get sick, replacing carpets ruined by sick pets, and time the owners took off work to seek treatment for their animals.

ORLANDO — A Florida grand jury has indicted the mother of a missing 3-year-old girl on first-degree murder and other charges.

Prosecutors say Casey Anthony was indicted Tuesday and arrested on charges that she killed her daughter Caylee. Investigators had previously questioned why the 22-year-old mom didn't contact authorities for a month after her daughter's June disappearance.

Anthony had previously been charged with child neglect, lying to investigators and some unrelated fraud and theft counts.

A 19-member grand jury returned the indictment after testimony Tuesday from Casey Anthony's father, a detective, a cadaver-dog handler and an FBI agent.

NORWICH — The parents of a 2-year-old boy who died after accidentally shooting himself with a gun he found at home pleaded not guilty to charges related to the death.

Jason Matteau, 27, and Rebecca Matteau, 24, of Jewett City, were arraigned Tuesday in Norwich Superior Court on charges of negligent storage of a firearm and risk of injury to a minor. If convicted of both felonies, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Their son, Wyatt, died Aug. 28, about two hours after he shot himself in the head with his father's .40-caliber handgun, state police said. The Matteaus were at their apartment with their son and infant daughter at the time, but Wyatt was alone in a room when the gun fired, troopers said.

His mother had told him to stay away from the gun moments before the accident, warning him that it was "Bad boo boo's," according to a police report.

Connecticut law makes it a crime to store loaded firearms in an area where the owner reasonably should know that someone under 16 could find them.