Lawyer's illness delays war crimes trial of Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr

ACORN responded with a lawsuit accusing Congress of abusing its power with what amounted to a "corporate death sentence." The appeals court disagreed, citing a study finding that ACORN received only 10 percent of its funding from federal sources.

-- Associated Press

Federal judge blocks sugar beet plantings

A federal judge in San Francisco banned all future plantings of genetically engineered sugar beets -- a major setback for biotech giant Monsanto.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White's ruling follows his finding last September that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had deregulated Monsanto's variety of genetically modified sugar beets without adequate environmental study.

Sugar beets account for most of the U.S. sugar supply. But conventional seeds remain widely available, and environmentalists suing Monsanto said the judge's decision should not significantly affect sugar production.

-- Associated Press

Laborers' union to rejoin AFL-CIO: The Laborers' International Union is rejoining the AFL-CIO, five years after leaving in a bitter dispute that split the U.S. labor movement. The Laborers' is the second of six breakaway unions to return to the AFL-CIO. Last year, the union of hotel, restaurant and clothing workers known as UNITE HERE rejoined.

Bell, Calif., property taxes questioned: The tiny Southern California city of Bell, which is already under scrutiny for giving its officials huge salaries, may have to return $3 million in illegal property taxes. State Controller John Chiang said Friday that an audit found that for at least three years, the Los Angeles suburb has been charging higher-than-allowed property taxes to pay for its pension obligations.

-- From News Services