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APTOS By Maryclaire Dale TheAssociatedPress PHILADELPHIA With one crucial legal battle out of the way, at least two more loom in the sexual-assault case against Bill Cosby: whether prosecutors can use his explosive testimony from a decade-old lawsuit, and whether other Cosby accusers can testify. On Wednesday, a judge moved the case a step closer to trial when he rejected claims that the 78-year- old comedian had a bind- ing promise from a pre- vious district attorney in 2005 that he would never be charged in the matter. The next stage is a preliminary hearing March 8. The TV star is accused of drugging and violating for- mer Temple University ath- letic department employee AndreaConstandathissub- urban Philadelphia home in 2004 and could get 10 years inprisonifconvicted.While some 50 women have ac- cused Cosby of sex crimes, this is the only case in which he is charged. An epic fight is all but certain over whether to ad- mit into evidence the de- position that was unsealed over the summer and con- tributed to his arrest in the 12-year-old case. Testifying in a lawsuit that Constand brought against him, Cosby ac- knowledged that he pur- sued sex with younger, of- ten-struggling models and actresses; that he obtained quaaludes in the 1970s to give to women he hoped to seduce; and that he had sexual contact with Con- stand after giving her wine and pills. He said it was consensual. Cosby's lawyers insist they let him sit for the de- position only after receiv- ing assurances from the district attorney at the time that the comic would never be charged over Constand's complaint. If a judge agrees that Cosby relied on such as promise, some or all of the deposition could be off lim- its. Common Pleas Judge Steven T. O'Neill may have tipped his hand on Wednes- day when he refused to dis- miss the case — he found there was no valid non- prosecution agreement. But he invited the defense to re- visit the issue by filing a re- quest to exclude the deposi- tion at trial. "That's going to be vig- orously litigated, but with- out the deposition, the case would be severely handi- capped," said Joseph Mc- Gettigan, lead prosecutor in the child-molestation case involving former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky. The police affidavit filed when Cosby was arrested on Dec. 30 includes state- ments that Cosby and Con- stand gave to police in Jan- uary 2005. But while Cos- by's statement is 18 pages, his deposition in the lawsuit runs to nearly 1,000 pages, and it involves not just Con- stand but his behavior with other women. COURTS Co sb y ca se c ou ld h in ge on deposition, accusers MICHAELBRYANT—THEPHILADELPHIAINQUIRER Bill Cosby's preliminary hearing is set for March 8. By Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press SACRAMENTO More than 425,000 people in Califor- nia signed up for private health insurance cover- age during the third enroll- mentperiodunderPresident Barack Obama's health care law, the state's health insur- ance exchange announced Thursday. Covered California said young adults are making up a growing share of new enrollees.Strongenrollment by young people is crucial to the success of Obama's health overhaul because they use less health care, keeping costs lower for ev- eryone. Young adults, ages 18-34, made up 37 percent of new sign-ups this year, up from 29 percent in the first year, said Peter Lee, executive di- rectorofCoveredCalifornia. Hecreditedbettersocialme- diaeffortsandyoungpeople tellingtheirfriendsthatthey were able to get subsidized coverage for a low price. "It's that word of mouth that I think is most impor- tant," Lee told reporters in a conference call. "People are seeing it work. They're talk- ing to friends." The figures reflect the number of people who shopped for coverage and selected a plan during the three-month enrollment window. Coverage isn't ef- fective unless they pay their first month's bill. Morethan1.1millioncon- sumers who were enrolled last year selected a plan for 2016, the agency said. Of the 425,000 new enrollees, nearly 100,000 signed up in the last four days of the en- rollment window. AFFORDABLE CARE ACT Covered California adds 425,000 under health law DAN COYRO — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL The SS Palo Alto cement ship bow shi s and continues to break up as it gets hit by large waves Thursday in Aptos. Recent El Niño storms are battering the landmark concrete ship long ago beached on the California coast. The Associated Press APTOS Recent El Nino storms are battering a landmark concrete ship long ago beached on the California coast, officials said Wednesday. This winter's especially powerful surf has shifted part of the fractured SS Palo Alto, causing pieces of it to break off and fall into the pounding waves, KSBW-TV in Salinas re- ports. The beloved ship is in Aptos. Officials say they have no plans to stop the ero- sion that will eventually turn the ship into habitat for sea life. "It's going to naturally break down and decay," said Bill Wolcott, public safety superintendent for the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The tanker was built nearly a century ago of concrete and brick, and a short time later moved to its current resting place. It was beached and served as a short-lived amusement attraction with a dance floor and heated swim- ming pool, according to the state. Since its heyday, it has broken apart, and officials say recent storms are accel- erating its decay. The ship, however, will be there a lot longer in some form, said Gary Griggs, director of the In- stitute of Marine Sciences at the University of Califor- nia, Santa Cruz. "I wouldn't be surprised if it sits there another century," he said. El Niño batters landmark ship beached on coast By Robert Jablon The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Luck may have run out for the win- ner of a California Lottery jackpot: The person has apparently let $63 million slip away. Nobody showed up at a state lottery office by 5 p.m. Thursday with the ticket or submitted a veri- fied claim for the prize, lot- tery spokesman Alex Tra- verso said. A lawsuit filed Wednes- day in Los Angeles seeks to have a judge declare a win- ner. Brandy Milliner con- tends he already turned in the ticket, but officials told him it was too damaged to be processed. Traverso said the lottery is looking into the claim. "We do have some claims to investigate," he said in an email shortly before the 5.p.m deadline. "So we can say as of right now, no one has come forward with the winning ticket. But we have had lots of inquiries and the potential for more claims." If none of the claims pan out, it will be the largest unclaimed prize in Califor- nia Lottery history and the money will go to the state's schools. Lottery officials had sent out repeated calls for the winner to contact them, and media coverage ramped up as the deadline dwindled to days and then hours. "If by some miracle you happen to find this ex- tremely valuable piece of paper, the California Lot- tery urges you to sign your ticket in ink and get it to one of our lottery district offices," a Wednesday state- ment said. 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