The US Department of Energy said Wednesday that government employees may have falsified documents related to Nevada's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said that, while preparing for a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, several e-mails from a US Geological Survey employee were discovered in which the employee "indicated that [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, staff at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will recommend the agency block Blockbuster Inc.'s prospective bid to buy Hollywood Entertainment Corp. saying the deal would hurt competition in the market for video rentals. The staff will make a formal recommendation to the agency's five commissioners in the next [...]

The US Senate voted 51-49 Wednesday afternoon to allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge . The Senate defeated an amendment that would have removed the refuge drilling provision from next year's budget. The provision will be included in the budget when Congress goes to vote on it later this year. President Bush [...]

CBC News is reporting that Ripudaman Singh Malik has been found not guilty on all charges stemming from the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people and resulted in the longest and most expensive trial in Canadian legal history. Malik was also found not guilty of a separate bombing that killed two Japanese baggage [...]

Lakeland, Florida's Second District Court of Appeal Wednesday refused to block the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, which is currently scheduled to be removed Friday afternoon. The court denied a request by Schiavo's parents to delay removal while they pursue further appeals and also denied a request for a new trial. In the court's [...]

California Judge Alfred A. Delucchi Wednesday denied Scott Peterson's request for a new trial and upheld the jury recommendation that Peterson be sentenced to death. Scott Peterson was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Laci Peterson, and second-degree murder for his unborn child, Conner. In denying the request for a [...]

Russell G. Redenbaugh , the longest-serving member of the US Commission on Civil Rights , resigned from the panel Tuesday, citing irresponsible spending in pursuit of partisan agendas and saying the commission should be shut down. Redenbaugh, an Independent appointed to the commission in 1990, said that commission members have resisted efforts to appoint an [...]

Reuters is reporting that President Bush will pick Federal Communications Commission member Kevin Martin to serve as the new head of the agency. Current Chairman Michael Powell resigned in January and plans to leave the agency this week. An official announcement by the White House is expected later Wednesday. Reuters has more. 4:20 PM ET [...]

AP is reporting that the US House has approved an $81.4 billion emergency spending package for combat and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville was sentenced to 45 days in a military prison Tuesday for his role in forcing three Iraqi civilians into the Tigris River. Saville's court-martial began earlier in the day after Saville pleaded guilty to assault and other charges for forcing two Iraqi civilians detained for curfew violations into the Tigris [...]