The European Commission Friday was reported to be considering a US district court ruling allowing Oracle's proposed hostile takeover of PeopleSoft. The Commission, which includes the EU's antitrust regulators, is deciding whether to raise its own objections to the acquisition; it could stall or end Oracle's plans if it challenges the buyout. The Commission previously has objected to the plans. A buyout is expected to reduce the number of major players in the business software market from three to two. JURIST's Paper Chase has coverage of Thursday's US ruling. CNET News has more on possible Commission action.

The Polish parliament voted unanimously Friday to pursue compensation from Germany for World War II damages, 65 years and 9 days after German troops invaded Poland under orders from Nazi leader Adolph Hitler. The resolution, which has heightened increasing tensions between the two countries, also claimed to absolve the Polish government of any liability to Germans forced to relocate westward when the borders were shifted after the war. Reparations between Poland and Germany have been in dispute since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but debate has become even more heated since Poland joined the EU in May. Der Spiegel has local coverage (in German). Background on reparations issuu is available here. Deutsche Welle has more.

Investigators reported Friday that at least nine governor's offices had received letters designed to ignite when opened. The most recent arrived at Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's offices Friday, although they was not opened. Similar letters have also been received in Montana, Texas, Idaho, Nebraska, Washington, Utah and New York, and all the letters have borne a return address of Ely State Prison in Nevada. Investigators said the inmates whose names were on the letters are being questioned. No one has been injured by any of the letters, although the Montana Capitol was evacuated Thursday after the suspicious letter arrived. AP has more.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ruled Friday that lawyers appointed by the court last week to represent former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in his war crimes trial can appeal their assignment. The lawyers requested permission to appeal Thursday, after Milosevic refused to cooperate with them (see this Paper Chase report). The tribunal appointed defense counsel for Milosevic, who had been representing himself, after deciding his self-representation was threatening his health and the efficiency of the trial. The court's ruling is available here. View the ICTY press release. Voice of America has more.

Qwest Communications, the nations fourth-largest local phone company, is expected to announced a $250 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over financial and disclosure fraud charges, an anonymous source said Friday. The settlement, which would be one of the largest this year reached by the SEC, will likely be announced later this month. Qwest has been under investigation by the SEC and the Justice Department since 2001 over whether it reported false revenues. JURIST's Paper Chase has more on the fraud scandal. Reuters has more.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Friday to allow a parliamentary investigation into the events surrounding the deadly hostage crisis last week in the south of the country. Putin previously agreed to an internal investigation, but had opposed another inquiry, calling it unnecessary. The investigation will be carried out by the Federation Council, the upper house of the legislature. Mosnews.com has local coverage and background on the hostage standoff, which turned violent and ended with the deaths of 330. AP has more.

AP is reporting that phone companies Sprint and AT&T have agreed to a $1.5 million settlement with the government over alleged violations of federal credit laws for customers in search of phone service.

UPDATE: The Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement Friday, in which Sprint and AT&T will pay $1.125 million and $365,000, respectively. The FTC charged the companies had failed to notify applicants for service of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Documents relating to the charges are available here (Sprint) and here (AT&T). View the FTC press release. AP has more.

US Army Spc. Armin J. Cruz, charged with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, will go to trial Saturday, the first trial of a military intelligence soldier in the abuse scandal. Cruz, a member of the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, is charged with forcing detainees to strip and crawl on the floor and handcuffing the prisoners together. Cruz faces up to a year in prison and possible discharge if convicted in the court-martial being held in Baghdad. The trial of Cruz comes in the wake of the Fay Report [PDF], conducted by the US Army, that spread blame for the abuses to military intelligence units at the prison. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the investigations. AP has more.

A US district judge ruled Friday that a Pennsylvania law requiring Internet service providers to block websites with child pornography on them was unconstitutional because of its effect on legitimate websites. Judge Jan E. DuBois of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the Pennsylvania Internet Child Pornography Act violated the First Amendment by sweeping up too much protected speech in its enforcement. Attorneys from the Center for Democracy and Technology argued that the law had blocked access to 1.5 million legitimate websites. DuBois wrote:

Although there are strong arguments for the application of strict and intermediate scrutiny, the Court need not choose between the two because, even under the less demanding standard – intermediate scrutiny – the Act does not pass Constitutional muster. Under O’Brien, a regulation must further an important government interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression and the incidental restriction on First Amendment freedoms must be no greater than is essential to the furtherance of that interest. O’Brien, 391 U.S. at 377. The government has the burden of proving that the “regulation will in fact alleviate [the] harms [addressed by the regulation] in a direct and material way,” Turner, 512 U.S. at 664, and it has not met that burden in this case. In addition, the Act suppresses substantially more protected material than is essential to the furtherance of the government’s interest in reducing child sexual abuse. Although the prevention of child exploitation and abuse is an state interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression, defendant has not produced any evidence that the implementation of the Act has reduced child exploitation or abuse. The Act does block some users’ access to child pornography; however, the material is still available to Internet users accessing the material through ISPs other than the one that blocked the web site. FOF ¶ 109. ... Although the inference could be drawn that making it more difficult to access child pornography reduces the incentive to produce and distribute child pornography, this burden on the child pornography business is not sufficient to overcome the significant suppression of expression that resulted from the implementation of the Act.

A 10-year-old ban on assault weapons is set to expire Monday, with debate on its effectiveness continuing and gunmakers preparing to resume sales of the arms. The ban was signed by President Clinton in 1994 with the concession that it require renewal in 10 years, but support for weapons control has dwindled since then and the National Rifle Association and other groups have lobbied strongly against the law. Congress refused to vote on an extension this week, allowing the ban to lapse. Some arms experts and those involved in the industry said the expiration would have little impact because the ban had many loopholes allowing enthusiasts to continue purchasing essentially the same weapons. The ban has also not been an issue in the presidential campaign. President Bush has said he supports the ban, although members of his party are intensely imposed. Democratic candidate John Kerry voted to renew the ban, but he has not made the issue a major topic in his campaign. Despite the ban's expiration, restrictions will remain in some states, including California and New Jersey. The ban was passed as Title XI of the Federal Violent Crime Control Act of 1994. The Los Angeles Times has more.

Insufficient funding and training have left US officers unprepared to vet visa applications by Saudis for possible terror suspects, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security. The report found that 9 out of 10 officers in the screening program could not read Arabic and many could not carry out criminal investigations. The program also did not have sufficient funding to transfer other employees to Saudi Arabia. The investigation was conducted by the department's inspector general. The visa counterterrorism program was required as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [PDF]. The New York Times has more.

A group of 67 mercenaries accused of planning a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea were sentenced Friday by a Zimbabwean court, with the group's leader, a former UK military officer, receiving a seven-year sentence. The majority of the group received one-year sentences for immigration violations after they were acquitted of connection to the coup plot. Simon Mann, who led the alleged plot, was sentenced for weapons charges. Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has also been implicated in the plot, allegedly providing funding for the plan. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the trial. BBC News has more.

Friday's New York Times includes reports that the CIA kept some detainees off prison rosters to hide them from the Red Cross inspectors, debates still rage over what to do about the soon-to-expire assault weapons ban, a federal appeals court in California ruled that federal regulators erred when they didn't return $2.8 billion to California electric customers, the chairman of a House committee accused the FDA of withholding documents on the effects of antidepressants on children, the TSA will pay out more than $1.5 million to passengers that claim their bags were pilfered during checks of luggage that have become routine at airports since the Sept. 11 attacks, Michael Eisner will leave the Walt Disney company in 2006 when his contract expires, a federal judge ruled that Oracle, the nation's second-largest software company, could proceed with its hostile bid for PeopleSoft, handing the Justice Department a rare legal defeat, US Airways seems certain to file for bankruptcy on Sunday, and Dupont has agreed to settle a lawsuit for contamination of water in West Virginia with byproducts of Teflon production.

The Washington Post notes that New York Times telephone records have been subpoenaed in a second CIA identity leak case, the House voted 223 to 193 Thursday to block the Bush administration's new overtime eligibility rules, and a powerful lobby is being supported by crime victims urging Congress to pass the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, which would fund DNA testing of evidence from the cases of convicted murderers and rapists.

USA Today highlights a surveillance system planned for Chicago that uses 2,000 remote-control cameras and motion-sensing software to spot crimes or terrorist acts as they happen, Cracker Barrel agreeing to an $8.7 million settlement to resolve all lawsuits that accused the restaurant chain of segregating blacks in the smoking section, and a third federal judge ruling laws on partial-birth abortions are unconstitutional.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Friday that embattled CEO Michael Eisner (Forbes profile) will retire in September 2006, when his contract expires. Although holding the position for 20 years and presiding over large expansions of the company, Eisner faced a battle to remain in his role this spring after losing the confidence of certain shareholders led by Roy Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney (see this previous report in JURIST's Paper Chase). Under pressure, Eisner was ultimately stripped of his role as chairman, but stayed as CEO (see this Paper Chase report). Eisner said his decision to retire was not motivated by the recent fallout, and he pointed to Disney President Robert Iger as a possible replacement. View Roy Disney's opposition website SaveDisney.com. Reuters has more.

UPDATE: The text of Eisner's Thursday letter to the Disney Board of Directors announcing his intention to retire in now online.

Sudan's foreign minister Friday rejected US claims that the crisis in the Darfur region of the country should be considered genocide. Mustafa Osman Ismail said the US was trying to divert attention from Iraq with the announcement. Both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell described the atrocities in the region as genocide on Thursday. View the president's statement. JURIST's Paper Chase has more on Powell's statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Many have criticized the Sudanese government for supporting the Janjaweed, Arab militias in the region accused of attacking and driving out the local population. The US State Department has more on the atrocities in Darfur. CBC News has more.

Ambassador to the UN John Danforth says there was a favorable response to a draft resolution on atrocities in Darfur region of the Sudan that the US presented Thursday to the Security Council. The draft was circulated the same day that both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell called the actions in Darfur "genocide". JURIST's Paper Chase has more on Darfur. Read Ambassador Danforth's remarks here.... The US State Department has announced its opposition to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's proposal to hold a national referendum to dispose of term limits. The US has urged Belarus to ensure that international democratic standards are upheld and warned that questionable election processes would affect US-Belarus relations. View the DoS statement here.... Russian and German leaders Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder have issued a joint statement condemning the terrorist attacks recently perpetrated against Russia and have vowed an increased response against international terrorism. The statement emphasizes the continued use of the UN as global coordinator against terrorist activities and reiterates Russian and German intent to abide by international human rights law and international humanitarian law while combatting terrorism. Read the Russian press release here (in English), and read the German press release here (in English).... Following a ruling from its Supreme Court, the Costa Rican government has requested the US State Department to remove it from the list of supporters for the Iraqi coalition. The Court ruled the government's support of the invasion and occupation of Iraq was unconstitutional and ordered the government to remove its support. The New York Times has more.... Paraguayan Courts have requested the extradition of former military dictator Alfredo Stroessner (find out more about Stroessner here). Stroessner is currently in Brazil, which recently returned another former military leader that had been residing there. BBC has more.

In Friday's US law and business press, Law.com carries an AP report that a federal bankruptcy judge has approved bonuses for Owens Corning executives offered to keep them from leaving the bankrupt corporation.... The New York Law Journal reports that the NY Office of Court Administration has relaxed a rule requiring judges to disqualify themselves when they own stock in companies involved in cases before them.... According to the Fulton County Daily Report, a GA family is suing Atlanta's St. Joseph Hospital and Doctors for Medical Liability Reform for including unauthorized footage of a now deceased patient's visit to St. Joseph's emergency room in a tort reform infomercial.... The Sacramento Business Journal reports that the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered FERC to rethink energy refunds for CA after FERC's refusal to approve the state's demand for $2.8 billion in refunds from power companies who gouged CA during the 2000-2001 energy crisis.... FindLaw's Writ features former White House counsel John W. Dean's commentary on the so-called "dream team" that Osama bin Laden would like to see win the White House, as well as attorney/author Noah Leavitt's book review of Elaine Cassel's The War On Civil Liberties: How Bush And Ashcroft Have Dismantled The Bill Of Rights.