Leading Thursday's states brief, the Washington Supreme Court ruled today that lawmakers did not violate the state constitution or a teacher-pay initiative by eliminating state financing for one of three paid non-classroom "learning improvement days." The lawsuit, filed by the Washington Education Association and teachers and taxpayers from several districts, argued that the move violated [...]

The Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice on Thursday sued the National Association of Realtors , claiming the organization blocked competition by allowing real estate agents to withhold listings from brokers who utilized the Internet when providing customer service. Though the association announced a modified approach Thursday, the new steps failed to fend [...]

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday made public a complaint seeking over $1 million in fines against American Airlines . The complaint alleges that a Federal Aviation Administration inspector observed the airline as it violated numerous federal air-safety regulations and "endangered the life and property" of passengers when [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to allow high ranking members within the group to subpoena certain information from companies sued over asbestos claims. Committee leaders Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and the ranking Democrat on the panel, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) , have been asking for more data from the industry for [...]

A Texas grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group on charges relating to campaign contributions for DeLay's 2002 congressional campaign, though DeLay himself was not charged. Texans for a Republican Majority was charged with illegally accepting a $100,000 political contribution, and [...]

A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a law requiring all convicted criminals to register for a state DNA database in New Jersey is constitutional. The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender had challenged the law saying that the mandatory sample was an unconstitutional search, but the court ruled Wednesday that "The minimal [...]

A lawsuit was filed in Germany Thursday against DaimlerChrysler by a shareholder who claims he was "short-changed" when the company failed to promptly disclose the early resignation of CEO Juergen Schrempp. The shareholder is arguing that if the information was made public when the decision was first made, rather than five weeks later, he could [...]

The Arbitration Appeals Court of Moscow rejected an appeal Thursday made by Russian oil company Yukos asking the court to freeze 76.79% of the shares of its former production unit Yuganskneftegaz . The appeal was submitted to dispute the sale of Yuganskneftegaz, which was auctioned off by the Russian government last year to satisfy back [...]

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has issued an executive order to delay all deadlines in court cases and other legal proceedings in the state from the date Hurricane Katrina hit until at least September 25. As reasons for the suspension, Blanco cited closed courthouses and attorney offices, destroyed materials, and evacuated clients. The deadline extension was [...]

Internet giant Yahoo defended itself Thursday against claims that the company aided China in the prosecution and ten-year imprisonment of journalist Shi Tao for divulging state secrets abroad. Yahoo's Hong Kong arm allegedly helped China link to the journalist's e-mail account and computer, where they found evidence that he sent an internal Communist Party message [...]