Controversial plans by Google to digitise millions of out-of-print books to create the world’s biggest online library have been approved by British publishing groups and authors.
After months of stalemate, Australia´s government could finally seal an agreement for its sweeping carbon trade scheme by early next week after the opposition said on Tuesday they were confident of a deal.
General Motors, whose very survival was in doubt this year, is showing signs of life after its brief tour through bankruptcy this summer.
A 19-year-old New York man who was arrested for armed robbery has been exonerated thanks to a status update he posted on social networking site Facebook.
A judge has ruled in Apple´s favor in its copyright-infringement case against Psystar, which has been selling Mac clones running Mac OS X.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] announced Friday that the Obama administration will push for immigration reform [press release] legislation early next year. Speaking at the Center for American Progress (CAP) [advocacy website], DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano [official profile] announced that the proposed legislation would be a "three-legged stool" that combines effective and fair enforcement, an improved process for legal immigration, and a "firm but fair way" to deal with illegal immigrants who are already in the US. Napolitano stressed that such reform was needed to protect the jobs of American workers during difficult economic times, saying:
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction [official website] director Terry Collins announced [press release] Friday that the state would adopt a single-drug lethal injection protocol, replacing its current three-drug method. The state undertook a review of its lethal injection practices in September after the planed execution of inmate Romell Broom failed [JURIST reports] when a suitable vein for the drugs´ administration could not be found. The new protocol will consist of the intravenous injection of a single anesthetic, and will provide for the intramuscular injection of two other drugs if an appropriate vein cannot be found. Commentators on the change have said that the new protocol may be more humane [Columbus Dispatch report], but that it has not yet been used on humans. Ohio is the first state to adopt such a method.
Lawyers for Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday they had lodged an appeal against her house arrest with the Supreme Court but expected no rapid decision.
Drug makers, Internet companies and nonprofits called for clarity on what is a gray area for U.S. health regulators: how drug promotion on Twitter, Wikipedia, blogs and other social media can be regulated.
Wikipedia is under a censorship attack by a convicted murderer who is invoking Germany’s privacy laws in a bid to remove references to his killing of a Bavarian actor in 1990.
Lawyers for Wolfgang Werle, of Erding, Germany, sent a cease-and-desist letter (.pdf) demanding removal of Werle’s name from the Wikipedia entry on actor Walter Sedlmayr. The lawyers cite German court rulings that “have held that our client’s name and likeness cannot be used anymore in publication regarding Mr. Sedlmayr’s death.”
A Spanish lawyer said Wednesday that she has filed a complaint with the General Council of the Judiciary alleging abuse of power and discrimination after a National Court judge asked her to leave the courtroom for declining to remove her hijab, or Muslim headscarf.
Computer microchip manufacturer Intel on Thursday agreed to settle all outstanding legal issues with rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) [corporate websites] by paying paying its competitor $1.25 billion. The terms of the settlement were laid out in press releases by both Intel and AMD [texts], with the major provisions being a cessation of three antitrust suits by AMD against Intel, a promise by Intel to abide by new business practices, and a patent cross-licensing agreement between the two companies. On a conference call [transcript, PDF] with the media, AMD president and CEO Dirk Meyer thanked worldwide regulatory agencies for their work in bringing about a level playing field in the computer microchip market, and promised a bright future for AMD. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website], which had been investigating Intel´s practices for violation of antitrust law, had no official comment on the settlement, but it is believed that the agreement will not shield Intel [WSJ report] from ongoing investigations.
Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri [official profile] vetoed legislation [text, PDF] on Tuesday that would have allowed domestic partners, including those in same-sex relationships, to claim the body of their partner and to make funeral arrangements. Neither domestic partnerships or civil unions are recognized in Rhode Island, and the bill would have required that a same-sex partner produce documentation establishing the nature of the relationship, such as proof of a joint bank account, mortgage, or car registration, and that the relationship had lasted for a year or longer. In his letter to lawmakers [text, PDF] explaining the veto, Carcieri said:
A judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled Tuesday that license plates produced by the state bearing a picture of a cross in front of a stained glass window and the words "I Believe" violate the US Constitution. Judge Cameron Currie ruled that the "I Believe Act", which allows the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue the plates "violates the Establishment Clause of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution by advancing, endorsing, and promoting religion."
US Senate Banking Committee [official website] chair Chris Dodd (D-CT) [official website] introduced Tuesday wide-ranging financial regulatory legislation [draft text, PDF; summary, PDF] designed to limit systemic risk to the country´s economy. If passed, the bill would introduce a single federal bank regulator, create a consumer financial protection agency, and attempt to close certain regulatory loopholes. Dodd announced [press release] the bill, saying that it was necessary for the country´s long-term financial stability:
The European carbon market is bracing itself for a storm as another wave of selling by industrial companies is anticipated at the end of December or early January.
Motorola, which has said it wants to split into two separate companies, is exploring a three-way split instead in order to raise cash and pay down debt.
The Supreme Court of Kansas has announced that it may have to shut down state courts for one week every month as a result of an $8 million judiciary budget deficit created by a legislative oversight. The shortfall resulted from the state senate cutting $11 million from the judiciary budget under the mistaken assumption that the difference would be made up in surcharges on court fees.
Former Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) [official website] lawyer Robert Miller pleaded guilty [plea agreement, PDF] in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] to one count [criminal information, PDF] of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy in connection with the Marc Dreier [NYT backgrounder] fraud case, the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced [press release, PDF] Monday. According to the DOJ, Miller impersonated the manager of a Canadian pension plan in phone conversations in 2008 to help Dreier sell a fictitious promissory note Dreier claimed was worth $44.7 million to a New York hedge fund. As part of the plea agreement, Miller promised to cooperate with investigators and agreed to forfeit the $100,000 Dreier paid him for his role in the scheme. Miller faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and over $5 million in fines when he is sentenced February 5.
President of Italy´s Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Italian] Gianfranco Fini [official profile, in Italian; BBC profile] said Tuesday that he would support legislation to limit the length of trials in the country. The reforms were proposed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [official profile, in Italian; BBC profile], with Fini voicing his support after meeting with the prime minister. If passed, the bill would place a six-year cap on the total duration of a trial, including appeals. Critics have argued that Berlusconi, scheduled to stand trial [JURIST report] later this month on corruption charges from 1997, has pushed for the measure in an effort to avoid his own prosecution. The bill is expected to be introduced in the next few days.
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