[JURIST] Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, US Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff [official profile] has granted United Airlines [corporate website] an extension to file its final bankruptcy plan. The plan, which was due in September, will now be due November 1st. The judge said the 60-day extension will be the last. Some of United's flight attendants, whose pension Wedoff allowed to be canceled [JURIST report] last March, demonstrated outside of the courthouse in Chicago. Bloomberg has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, Merck [corporate website] is considering settling some of the thousands of lawsuits stemming from its Vioxx arthritis medication [JURIST news archive]. When asked about settling cases, Kent Jarrell, spokesman for the Merck legal team, said, "For a relatively small set of cases that involve patients who used Vioxx for over 18 months, we will take a close look." This softens the position the company took in a press release [text] earlier this week where Merck, in response to a $253 million verdict [JURIST report] in the first Vioxx case, vowed to "vigorously defend individual VIOXX cases one by one." The next Vioxx trial is scheduled to begin September 12th in New Jersey, Merck's home state. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Pixar Animation Studios [corporate website] announced that it has received an informal request for information from the SEC. The Wall Street Journal reports [subscription required] that the request concerned an unexpectedly high number of returns for the DVD release of "The Incredibles," which caused the company to miss its second-quarter earnings forecast [Pixar press release]. The request is similar to one Pixar's rival DreamWorks received in July [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Bayou Securities may be missing millions of dollars. The troubled Connecticut hedge fund collapsed last month but promised investors they would receive all of their money back. Investors have complained that the firm is not returning their money or their calls, prompting the Connecticut Attorney General to consider the need for stricter regulation [Reuters report]. The firm told investors last year that it had $500 million in assets, but sources say the firm has lost much of that. CNN has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that as the deadline on Thursday's one-day extension for an Iraqi constitutional accord expires early Saturday morning local time in Baghdad a Sunni Arab negotiator has said no agreement has been reached with Shiites and Kurds on the proposed Iraqi charter [JURIST news archive] and has called on Iraqis to reject the draft [English translation] in a referendum slated for October. A spokesman for the Iraqi government is quoted as saying talks on the constitution are hopelessly deadlocked and that "this is the end of the road."

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• UPDATE ~ Iraqi leaders meet in last attempt to reach constitution agreement
• BREAKING NEWS ~ Iraq parliament extends constitution talks one more day
• UPDATE ~ Iraq government says constitution complete, no vote needed
• BREAKING NEWS ~ Iraqi parliament cancels vote on constitution draft
• UPDATE ~ Iraq constitution draft withdrawn, assembly adjourns, vote delayed
• BREAKING NEWS ~ Iraq constitution submitted to parliament, "pending points" remain

[JURIST] A British High Court judge has warned that forcible returns of failed asylum seekers to Iraq could be unlawful. While not blocking removals during the urgent judicial review application brought by a Kurdish Iraqi, Justice Lawrence Collins said it was "improper" to enforce removals of people who may be protected and that removal is not proper until the case is fully heard in court. The UK had planned to deport 43 Iraqi asylum seekers [BBC backgrounder] within the next few days. BBC News has more. Meanwhile Amnesty International [advocacy website] urged the UK government Friday to "carefully consider the consequences" of forcibly returning Iraqi asylum seekers to Kurdish areas of Iraq. The group issued a statement [press release] saying, "To physically force people back, or to deprive them of their rights in a way that leaves them with no choice but to return would be a breach of international human rights and refugee law." Human Rights Watch has made a similar call [press release], stating that "At a time when the Foreign Office advises British citizens against traveling to Iraq and warns of attacks by insurgents, it is perverse to round up Iraqis to send them back against their will." The Independent has local coverage.

[JURIST] US District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania John R. Padova ruled Friday that the US Department of Defense does not have the authority to dissolve a Pennsylvania National Guard [official website] division without approval of Governor Ed Rendell [official profile]. The judge held that the DOD's recommendation to deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard [official website], which employs 1,000 people, is "null and void." The US Justice Department unsuccessfully argued that the Base Realignment and Closure Act [DOD website on BRAC] supersedes the federal law requiring gubernatorial consent. A base closing commission is expected to rule Friday whether to recommend the closure of the Willow Grove station, the home to the Pennsylvania National Guard's fighter wing and Air Force and Navy reserve units. The case did not consider the Pentagon's authority to close Willow Grove. The governors of Illinois and Tennessee have filed similar lawsuits and Delaware is considering similar action. AP has more.

[JURIST] Syria is ready to assist the UN investigation into the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [Wikipedia profile], a Syrian foreign ministry official told AFP Friday. Lebanese news reports said that German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis [JURIST report] would meet "a Syrian representative" in Geneva within 24 hours, citing a UN official in New York. Syria has faced international criticism for failure to cooperate with the probe, including a UN Security Council call [UN press release] for "all countries and sides, especially those who did not respond appropriately so far, to cooperate fully in order to accelerate the work and the mission of the investigation committee." US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [Wikipedia profile] said, "There is no doubt from the briefing we received today that Syria's lack of cooperation with the Mehlis investigation has considerably slowed down the Mehlis commission's work. This lack of cooperation is unacceptable." Damascus had previously maintained that their constitution prohibited Syrian officials from being questioned by foreigners. AFP has more. Arabic News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani [Wikipedia profile] announced Friday that Iran is not concerned about possible UN Security Council [official website] action on its continued uranium enrichment activities but said that the nation planned to present new ideas aimed at reducing suspicions about its nuclear agenda. Larijani said that Iran hoped to release a new plan for broadening nuclear negotiations [Reuters report] within a month, but many believe the announcement is a stall tactic. Iran hopes to expand the negotiations beyond the European nations [JURIST report] of Britain, France and Germany, to include more sympathetic nations, such as South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, China and Yemen. The US has dismissed the expansion idea as a "typical tactic of the Iranian government designed to change the subject." AP has more. From Iran, state-run IRNA has local coverage.

[JURIST] Four California Republican lawmakers have announced that they will introduce legislation which would give California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger [official profile] the ability to declare a state of emergency along the border with Mexico. Current California law allows the governor to declare emergencies for war, epidemics, natural disasters, and "local emergencies." Assemblymen Mark Wyland [official website] and Ray Haynes [official website], and state Senators Bill Morrow [official website] and Dennis Hollingsworth [official website] say the measure is needed to combat a growing threat to public safety and increased costs of incarceration, education and health care. Schwarzenegger has previously praised the governors of Arizona [declaration text, PDF] and New Mexico [press release] for unlocking $3 million to combat illegal border crossings by declaring states of emergency, but cautioned that a similar declaration may not be necessary for California. Responding to the declarations in Arizona and New Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this week that DHS plans to increase its efforts to combat illegal immigration [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [JURIST news archive; defense website] has ended his four-day hunger strike [JURIST report], his lawyer announced Friday. Khodorkovsky began the protest after his business partner and co-defendant Platon Lebedev was placed in solitary confinement for refusing to take a required daily walk, though Russian prison officials denied reports [JURIST report] of the hunger strike. Lebedev has been transferred out of the punishment cell [MosNews report], prompting Khodorkovsky to end the hunger strike. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are each serving nine-year prison sentences [JURIST report] for fraud and tax evasion. AP has more.

[JURIST] Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James L. Ryan issued an order Thursday allowing corrections officials to forcibly feed and hydrate John Allen Muhammad [Wikipedia profile], who received the death penalty [JURIST report] for a murder during the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks [Wikipedia backgrounder], if he did not voluntarily end his hunger strike. Muhammad, currently awaiting trial for six more murders committed during the attacks, had not eaten since his Monday transfer from death row [JURIST report] in Virginia to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, leading doctors to conclude his health and life were at risk. He was allegedly upset that the facility did not accommodate his vegan diet or his desired schedule for meals and demanded more access to his legal materials. AP has more. The Baltimore Sun has local coverage.

[JURIST] DNA evidence has confirmed that remains exhumed from a suburban Chicago cemetery in June are those of Emmett Till [Wikipedia profile], a 14-year-old African American boy slain in Mississippi in 1955. The exhumation [JURIST report] was the final step in the US Department of Justice investigation into the murder. Accused of whistling at, or openly flirting with, a white woman, the boy was brutally beaten, shot and thrown into the Tallahatchie River with a cotton gin fan tied to his neck. The DOJ reopened the case in 2004 [New York Times report] to see if anyone besides Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, both acquitted in an hour by an all-white jury partially because the body was not identified, was involved in the murder. While the five-year statute of limitations in effect in 1955 has long since expired, suspects can still be tried at the state level. The FBI has said it will conclude the investigation in the fall and present the findings to the local district attorney where the kidnapping and murder occurred. This case, combined with several other high-profile civil rights cases recently reopened, has inspired proposed legislation [bill summary and status; press release] that would establish an unsolved crimes section in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. USA Today has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Osman Hussein [Wikipedia profile], apprehended in Rome [JURIST report] as a suspect in the failed July 21 London bombing attacks [JURIST report], Friday challenged an Italian court's approval of his extradition to Britain [JURIST report]. According to his lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, it would be impossible for the suspect to get a fair trial in Britain given the mood there in the wake of the attacks. Osman, also known as Hamdi Issac, has admitted to a role in the attacks, but denies a role in a larger terrorist cell and claims he did not intend to kill anyone. Italy's supreme court will rule on the challenge within 15 days. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] has asked the FBI for "all information and documents it has" pertaining to "Able Danger" [Wikipedia profile], the US Army intelligence program alleged to have identified Mohammed Atta [Wikipedia profile] and three other 9/11 hijackers as members of al-Qaeda in mid-2000. According to Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and Capt. Scott Philpott, the members of the intelligence program identified the terrorists by searching large amounts of data for patterns, but military lawyers dissuaded them from further pursuing Atta and sharing information with the FBI because he was legally in the US at the time. They also accuse the 9/11 Commission [official website] of ignoring their findings, which if shown to be accurate, would change the date when officials first learned of Atta's links to al-Qaeda. While no date has been set, Fox News is reporting that Specter's aides are discussing holding a hearing on "Able Danger" and information-sharing between the Pentagon and FBI. According to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman no evidence has been found to support claims that "Able Danger" identified the hijackers. AP has more.

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] announced Thursday that it, along with an unnamed library, has filed suit [press release] in the US District Court of Connecticut against US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the USA PATRIOT Act [PDF text]. According to the complaint [PDF text], the ACLU is challenging the government's use of an administrative subpoena known as a National Security Letter, which allows the FBI access to library records and prevents anyone in receipt of the subpoena from ever stating that the FBI made the demand. The current suit is under a heavy gag order, which the unnamed library and ACLU have challenged on First Amendment grounds. The court has scheduled an emergency hearing for August 31 to hear the request. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Merck [corporate website] is considering settling some of the thousands of state and federal lawsuits [JURIST report] it faces for the distribution of its painkiller Vioxx [JURIST news archive], a spokesman for the company's legal team said Friday. This latest statement follows last week's $253 million Texas jury verdict [JURIST report] in the first Vioxx personal injury lawsuit to go to trial. The painkiller was recalled last fall after clinical tests showed that patients who use the drug for more than 18 months faced increased risk of stroke and heart attack [FDA public health advisory]. In an interview [text] published in Friday's New York Times, Merck's general counsel Kenneth Frazier said that the company would consider settling suits brought by people who took Vioxx for extended periods of time and had few other risk factors for heart disease. AP has more.

[JURIST] Russian diplomats meeting with members of the Independent Inquiry Committee [official website] looking into the now defunct UN Oil-for-Food Program [official website; JURIST news archive] have said that Russian companies did not violate UN sanctions against Iraq while participating in the humanitarian program. As described in a Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement [text] released Thursday, the committee members were told that:

In relation to questions about the role of Russian companies in the humanitarian program it was emphasized that in the course of the implementation of this program our national companies, which they have officially assured the Russian Foreign Ministry about, had acted in strict accordance with the sanctions regime against Iraq as established by UN Security Council resolutions and with relevant legislative acts of the Russian Federation.

[JURIST] The US Defense Department Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Service Academies released its report [PDF text; press release] Thursday, announcing that, despite some progress, hostile attitudes and inappropriate treatment of women persist at the US Military Academy [official website] at West Point and the Naval Academy [official website] in Annapolis, Maryland. Congress established the panel in response to a 2003 Air Force Academy scandal in which victims of sexual assault and rape were punished for reporting the incidents. In surveys conducted earlier this year, over half of women responding and 11 percent of men said they had experienced some type of sexual harassment since entering the academies and the new study concludes that accusations of sexual misconduct are still only rarely prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. The task force recommended that service academies improve training of prospective officers with an increased emphasis on the value of women in the military. According to the panel, current training on sexual harassment and assault is inadequate and cadets and midshipmen are uninformed about how to obtain medical care, counseling and legal assistance. Some progress has been made though, as reforms under the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response [official website] program have since taken place throughout the military. The new system also provides for restricted reporting [DOD press release], allowing the victim to provide details of the attack and receive treatment and counseling without triggering an official investigation, and requires all military personnel to undergo training [official website] to prevent sexual assault. AP has more.

[JURIST] Following a one-day extension in negotiations [JURIST report] on the Iraqi constitution [English translation; JURIST news archive], the speaker of the National Assembly said Friday that if consensus cannot be reached by the end of the day, the draft charter would bypass parliament and would instead be approved by an October 15 popular referendum. Hajim al-Hassani has said that the additional meeting Friday of the constitutional drafting committee [official website] was scheduled to allow Shiites time to respond to proposals tabled at a late meeting Thursday. According to al-Hassani, if there is no consensus after Friday's meeting the draft presented to parliament [JURIST report] earlier this week will be submitted to Iraqi voters in the October referendum. Several issues remain unresolved [JURIST report] at this point, with the main point of contention being the role of federalism. President Bush has reportedly made personal phone calls to Shiite leaders, urging them to make concessions [AP report] in the negotiations. Meanwhile, supporters of former president Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] held demonstrations [AFP report], protesting the draft constitution's branding of Hussein's Baath party as a terrorist group. The protesters also said they would reject the constitution because of its reliance on federalism. AP has more.

8:44 AM ET - AP is reporting that a Shiite official has said that his group has presented its final compromise offer on two issues that have so far blocked agreement on Iraq's constitution.

10:25 AM ET - Shiite leader Abbas al-Bayati said Friday that the concessions offered were on the issues of federalism and efforts to remove former members of Hussein's Baath Party from public life. Under the Shiite proposals, the new parliament that will be elected following approval of the constitution at the end of this year will be given the right to issue a law on the mechanism of implementing federalism. The new parliament will also be given authority to set a timetable for the work of the Supreme National Commission for de-Baathification. According to Al-Bayati, Shiites are waiting for a response from Sunni leaders. AP has more.

1:48 PM ET - AP is reporting that a Shiite negotitator has said there has been progress on the federalism issue, but there are still disputes over the status of Saddam Hussein's Baath party.