AP is reporting that President Bush has signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 , legislation that will make it harder for those in debt to wipe out their obligations. 3:53 PM ET – A transcript of the President's remarks on signing the bill is now available. President Bush said: Under [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said Wednesday that it will not reconsider its earlier decision barring the DOJ from seeking a $280 billion penalty in its racketeering lawsuit against tobacco companies. In February, the court ruled that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act permits the government to seek only [...]

The National Education Association and individual school districts in Texas, Michigan and Vermont filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to force the federal government to pay more of the costs incurred under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) . According to the complaint , NCLB requirements force school districts to divert resources or risk being [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Wednesday charged a defense witness for Slobodan Milosevic with contempt of court for refusing to testify while Milosevic was not in court due to illness. Judge Patrick Robinson charged Kosovo Serb leader Kosta Bulatovic with contempt for "knowingly and willfully interfered with the administration of justice by [...]

Twelve NGOs representing Iraq's minority ethnic groups have promised to work together with the transitional government to ensure that minority rights will be protected under the permanent Iraqi constitution to be drafted by the new National Assembly. The groups concluded a two-day conference in Baghdad Tuesday called "to highlight the fact that Iraqi minorities have [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, KPMG LLP , the US unit of accounting firm KPMG International , has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle with the SEC over charges that it allowed Xerox Corp. to manipulate its accounting practices to close a $3 billion gap between actual operating results and the results [...]

AP is reporting that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has scheduled a Friday hearing to accept the guilty plea of 9/11 terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui . 3:31 PM ET – The order noting that "the court finds that the defendant is fully competent to plead guilty to the indictment" is now online .

In the latest of several attacks on the federal judiciary, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has called the work of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy "incredibly outrageous." In a Tuesday interview with Fox News Radio, DeLay said that it's outrageous that Justice Kennedy is "writing decisions based upon international law, not the Constitution of the [...]

Ecuador President Lucio Gutierrez says he is not even considering resigning, despite massive civil unrest and threats of impeachment aimed at his administration. Gutierrez has faced increasing civilian protests against his government, especially since his announcement of a state of emergency Friday and his firing of the Ecuador Supreme Court . Gutierrez said Tuesday he [...]

A legal challenge to the UK postal voting system set for Thursday could delay the scheduled May 5 national elections . John Hemming, deputy leader of Birmingham city council, is filing the High Court challenge, alleging that the postal voting system fails to protect the right to a secret ballot guaranteed by the Human Rights [...]