Federal authorities arrested a suspected terrorist, whom the FBI alleges was planning to bomb the Federal Reserve building in New York, NBC 4 New York first reported. 

According to the FBI's complaint, 21-year-old Bangladeshi citizen Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis has been accused of plotting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Building.   

Nafis, who lives in Queens, came to the U.S. on a student visa on or about January 2012, the complaint said.

He was arrested during a sting undercover operation as part of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the spokesperson said.  

He will be arraigned in court in the Eastern District of New York this afternoon.  

Here's the full statement from the FBI: 

"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure. The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences. It is important to emphasize that the public was never at risk in this case, because two of the defendant’s ‘accomplices’ were actually an FBI source and an FBI undercover agent. The FBI continues to place the highest priority on preventing acts of terrorism."

Acting Assistant Director Mary Galligan

Here's an excerpt from the FBI's complaint (emphasis ours): 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, SS:

JOHN NEAS, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, duly appointed according to law and acting as such.

Upon information and belief, on or about October 17, 2012, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant QUAZI MOHAMMAD REZWANUL AHSAN NAFIS did knowingly, intentionally and  without lawful authority attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction, to wit: an explosive bomb, against persons and property within the United States, and the offense and the results of the offense would  have affected interstate and foreign commerce.

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332a(a)(2)(D))

Upon information and belief, on or about and between July 15, 2012 and October 17, 2012, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere,the defendant QUAZI MOHAMMAD REZWANUL AHSAN NAFIS did knowingly and intentionally attempt to provide material support and resources, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b), including communications equipment, explosives and personnel, including himself, to a foreign terrorist organization, to wit: al-Qaeda. 

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B(a)(1)) 

The source of your deponent’s information and the grounds for his belief are as follows:

1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).

1. I have been employed by the FBI for approximately two years. I am currently assigned to the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (“JTTF”), which is dedicated to investigating counterterrorism-related matters. As a result of my training and experience, I am familiar with the tactics, methods and techniques of terrorist networks and their members.

Background

I. The Defendant

2. According to records from federal immigration authorities, the defendant QUAZI MOHAMMAD REZWANUL AHSAN NAFIS (hereinafter “NAFIS”) is a 21-year-old Bangladeshi citizen who entered the United States on a student visa in or about January 2012.  NAFIS lives in Queens, New York.

II. Al-Qaeda

3. Al-Qaeda has been designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. On February 23, 1998, al-Qaeda issued the following directive: [I]n compliance with God’s order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims: The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it[.]

Al-Qaeda has committed and attempted to commit numerous large-scale terrorist attacks against the United States and American citizens, including, among others, the August 7, 1998 bombings of United States
embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which caused hundreds of deaths, and the September 11, 2001 airplane hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, which caused the deaths of thousands of Americans. More recently, in 2009, three al-Qaeda operatives plotted to conduct a suicide bombing attack against the New York City subway system, but the plot was disrupted by law enforcement.

Here's the part of the complaint where Nafis allegedly tried to detonate a van full of explosives in the Financial District: 

On or about October 15, 2012, the UC called NAFIS and advised that they would be ready to proceed with the attack on October 17, 2012. NAFIS agreed and indicated, in sum and substance, that 18 he was eagerto proceed with the attack on that day. This call was consensually recorded.

36. In the evening on or about October 16, 2012, NAFIS called the UC and stated, in sum and substance, that he wanted to “add something” to the planned attack, and that he wanted the attack “to happen, no matter what.” That call was consensually recorded.

37. In the early morning on or about October 17, 2012, NAFIS and the UC met and drove to the Warehouse in a van (the “Vehicle”). This meeting was consensually recorded. During this drive to the Warehouse,NAFIS told the UC, in sum and substance, that he had a “Plan B,” which involved changing the attack into a suicide bombing operation in the event that NAFIS believed the attack was about to be thwarted by police.

38. After arriving at the Warehouse, NAFIS assembled the purported one thousand-pound explosive device, pouring the bags containing the inert explosive material into the trash bins and placing them inside the Vehicle. He also installed components for the purported detonator. As NAFIS and the UC prepared to leave the Warehouse, NAFIS collected the empty bags that had contained the inert explosive material and placed them in the van. NAFIS then told the UC, in sum and substance, that he was collecting the extra bags because he believed that there might be residual explosive materials 19 in the bags that would contribute to the strength of the anticipated detonation and kill more people.

39. NAFIS and the UC then drove in the Vehicle from the Warehouse to the New York Federal Reserve Bank. During this drive, Nafis explained that his jihadist views were shaped, in part, by videotaped sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki. In addition, NAFIS told the UC that he wanted to record a video statement prior to detonating the device.

40. Before entering Manhattan, NAFIS armed the purported explosive device for detonation by turning on the cellular phone to be used in the detonator, installing the battery in the detonator and connecting the wires linking the detonator to the purported explosive materials.

41. Upon arriving at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, NAFIS and the UC parked the Vehicle, exited, and walked to a nearby hotel. Once inside a room at the hotel, NAFIS told the UC to film a video statement Nafis wanted to make concerning the attack. During a video-recorded statement to the American public, NAFIS stated: “We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom.” While making his video statement, NAFIS covered his face, wore sunglasses, and disguised his voice. 20

42. After completing the video, NAFIS repeatedly attempted to detonate the purported bomb by placing multiple telephone calls to the cellular telephone which he had installed as the initiating device for the detonator. By placing these calls, NAFIS was attempting to detonate the purported bomb inside the Vehicle which was parked next to the New York Federal Reserve Bank.These calls by NAFIS were observed by the UC and captured via court-authorized pen register/trap and trace devices on both the phone NAFIS used to make the calls, and the phone connected to the purported explosive device. Agents entered the Vehicle and visually confirmed that the detonator had been activated. Agents subsequently placed NAFIS under arrest.

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On Oct. 31, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases from Florida about drug-sniffing dogs that will either affirm or weaken the constitutional privacy rights of Americans.

Rulings favorable to the government would allow law enforcement to conduct warrantless searches and surveillance on an even more routine basis.

The first case will ask the court to clarify how accurate a drug dog must be to establish probable cause for the search of a vehicle. 

The second case asks if police may take a drug dog to the front porch of a home to sniff for evidence of marijuana inside. 

The Fourth Amendment guarantees freedom from government intrusion into individual privacy. It protects citizens from "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires police to justify a search with probable cause or a warrant.

In both cases the government argues that the dog is "alerted" only by illegal contraband so it doesn't count as a search, visiting Yale Law School professor Jeffrey A. Meyer writes in The New York Times.

But dogs make mistakes, Meyer points out, so it's dangerous to base a constitutional protection on a dog's nose rather than on the privacy of the space that's being invaded.

The Fourth Amendment's protections are strongest in the home—Meyer notes the Supreme Court once said that "every man's house is his castle" and even the “poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all forces of [government].”

Furthermore allowing a superior instrument like a drug-sniffing dog or a high-tech scanning device to "sense" something from the outside would "free the government to conduct routine scans of people’s homes or their bodies," according to Meyer.

Meyer concludes that the right choice for the court will be "to affirm our rights in our homes and our persons to be free, in the absence of emergency circumstances, from the warrantless use of dogs and sense-enhancing technology."

SEE ALSO: Obama Administration Says It's Legal To Track Citizens' Every Movement Without A Warrant >

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Guinea Bissau has a population of just over 1.5 million people. Two thirds of them live in poverty. Its GDP is ranked 191st in the world — making it one of the poorest countries on the planet. It has the sixth highest death rate in the world, and only one drug addiction clinic.

And now, it's being called the world's first true "Narco-State" by Time Magazine.

Since 2005, it has become a hotspot for the cocaine trade to Europe. Poverty, poor governance, and its relative proximity to Europe make it an ideal spot for drug dealers in Latin America looking to get their product to Europe. 

The U.S. estimates that 30 tons of cocaine passes through Guinea-Bissau a year. So how much is that worth?

Well, a 2011 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the transatlantic cocaine trade says a kilogram of cocaine in Guinea-Bissau costs €7,000. 30 U.S. tons is equal to approximately 27,215.542 kilograms. That means the annual value of the cocaine trade is equal to about €190.5 million. If you convert that to U.S. dollars, that's about $250.3 million.

Guinea-Bissau's official GDP?

$1.95 billion

That means the cocaine trade is equal to almost 13 percent of the final market value of all officially recognized goods and services in the country.

Jessica Hatcher has been covering the crisis for Time magazine. Here's an excerpt from her piece published on Sunday:

Despite obvious signs of the trade — such as $100,000 cars in Bissau’s streets and smugglers’ abandoned Gulfstream jet at the airport — the drug business thrives on a willful silence. Malam is a 35-year-old Bissau-Guinean drug dealer and international trafficker. He tells me he has full impunity because he is related to a former President. “The police are worthless,” says Malam, who refuses to use his full name. “They’re in everyone’s pocket.” He dips into his own supply on occasion and counts himself lucky. The younger and poorer in Guinea-Bissau use cocaine’s cheaper and more-addictive derivative, crack. As night falls in the capital, young people can be seen gathering in groups under mango trees or in sleepy side streets to smoke rocks of crack cocaine for less than a dollar a hit. “No police approach them,” says Peter Correia, a government health care worker, in his small office piled high with boxes of condoms. “They can’t because of the condition of these people — they are becoming dangerous.”

Read more from Time Magazine >

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A Mississippi man flying to visit his wife in Japan was detained during a stop in Hawaii on Monday and has been barred from re-boarding any flight because his name came up on a U.S. no-fly list, Elliott Freeman of the Digital Journal reports.

Wade Hicks, Jr., a former Department of Defense (DoD) contractor, believes he was detained because he's an outspoken critic of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as well as the official story of 9/11.

Hicks was on his way to visit his newlywed wife, a U.S. Navy lieutenant stationed in Okinawa, Japan when he was escorted from the plane and detained by armed military personnel for several hours before being informed he was on the no-fly list.

"They just basically are telling me, 'You can't fly because we said so,'" Hicks said in an interview with radio talk show host Doug Hagmann. "They didn't know how I even left Travis Air Force Base [in San Francisco]."

Hicks was not given an explanation of why he couldn't fly but he's concerned it has to do with his outspoken views.

"I was very, very vocal about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and I did contact my representative about [the NDAA]", Hicks said. "I do believe that this is tied in some way to my free speech and my political view."

Freeman reports that Hicks previously hosted a radio show called "Free Speech Zone" in which he discussed controversial issues such as 9/11.

"I am a very vocal opponent of 9/11," Hicks said. "I've seen the evidence, and I think the evidence I've seen warrants a new investigation, and I'm very vocal about it as well."

Hicks emphasized that he has never made any threats of violence. He has no criminal record or outstanding warrants and has passed extensive background checks to receive an enhanced concealed carry license. He also holds a Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC), a security card issued by the TSA for transportation personnel.

"I have no idea how long I'm going to be stranded in Hawaii or if I'm going to be able to leave here on an aircraft," Hicks said. "Try to get back from Oahu to the [continental] United States," he said. "It's a long swim and it's a long boat ride."

SEE ALSO: Why You Should Be Outraged About The Ruling To Keep The NDAA Indefinite Detention Clause In Effect >

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A Massachusetts prosecutor has resigned in the wake of a scandal that threatens to unravel thousands of drug cases in the state, Ally Donnelly of NECN reports.

Chemist Annie Dookhan, 34, was arrested last month after she admitted to tampering with evidence over two or three years, the AP reported at the time.

George Papachristos, 37, prosecuted numerous drug cases in which Dookhan provided the drug analysis, according to the Boston Globe.

The Globe, citing an unnamed person familiar with the investigation, reports that Papachristos and Dookhan frequently exchanged emails and that some touched on personal subjects like Dookhan’s troubled marriage.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey released the following statement:

“After discussions with his supervisors, Assistant District Attorney George Papachristos has offered his resignation ... George Papachristos communicated that he does not wish to be a further distraction from the central issue of the criminal conduct that has been alleged and the complete breakdown of supervision that allowed it to continue.”

Dookhan handled more than 60,000 drug samples submitted in the cases of about 34,000 defendants over nine years, according to the AP. 

The office of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick identified 1,141 inmates in Massachusetts jails and prisons convicted based on evidence handled by Dookhan, the Globe has previously reported.

The Globe notes that some drug convicts have already been released from custody because of questions about the handling of evidence in their cases. The ACLU is asking that all cases be thrown out where DAs or police officers communicated directly with the chemist, according to NECN.

 Here's the NECN report:

SEE ALSO: Rogue Chemist Arrested After Admitting She Faked Drug Tests >

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The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks railed against U.S. national security policies when he was allowed to address the courtroom at Guantánamo Bay on Wednesday, Reuters reports. 

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, wearing a military-style camouflage vest, accused the U.S. government of killing many more people in the name of national security than he is accused of killing.

Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,976 people on September 11, 2001.

He was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan and held in secret CIA prisons—where he was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003—until being transferred to Gitmo in September 2006. 

Here's what he said (in Arabic through an English interpreter), according to Reuters:

"When the government feels sad for the death or the killing of 3,000 people who were killed on September 11, we also should feel sorry that the American government that was represented by (the chief prosecutor) and others have killed thousands of people, millions ... 

Many can kill people under the name of national security, and to torture people under the name of national security, and to detain children under the name of national security, underage children ...

The president can take someone and throw him into the sea under the name of national security and so he can also legislate the assassinations under the name of national security for the American citizens ...

Your blood is not made out of gold and ours is made out of water. We are all human beings."

Mohammed's statements, while widely viewed as simply anti-American and advocating terrorism, also give a unique perspective into why the U.S. has been increasingly seen as a ruthless bully on the world stage over the last 11 years.

Prior to the attacks on 9/11 and the World Trade Center bombing in 1998, al-Qaeda's main gripe was that the U.S. should withdraw it's troops from Saudi Arabia, a place all Muslims consider the Holy Land.

So perhaps these statements were not just the reflections of a radical organization, but also grievances of common people in Muslim countries as well.

Mohammed and four other alleged conspirators could face the death penalty if convicted of charges that include conspiring with al Qaeda, attacking civilians and civilian targets, murder in violation of the laws of war, destruction of property, hijacking and terrorism.

SEE ALSO: This Courtroom Exchange Shows Why It's So Hard To Prosecute The Alleged 9/11 Plotters >

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Société Générale's Dylan Grice recently described the way Greek police were turning a blind eye to the Golden Dawn political party's harassment of immigrants as "chilling."

But judging by a report from BBC's Paul Mason on the situation on Newsnight last night, "chilling" may not be a strong enough word to describe what's going on in the streets of Greece right now.

It's evolving into an incredibly scary scenario for immigrants who live in Greece. And Mason reports that Greek politicians, the media, and the police are all a part of it.

Meet Ilias Panagiotaros, a Greek MP and "the de facto commander of the Golden Dawn attack squads," as Mason describes him.

Panagiotaros allegedly led an attack on a Greek theater where an Albanian was directing a play last week.

Golden Dawn supporters clashed with riot police and hurled bricks while the actors and guests were trapped inside – unsure of whether help was on the way.

The theater attack was not just an isolated incident. Golden Dawn "attack squads" roam the streets intimidating immigrants on a regular basis.

Below is a group of Golden Dawn supporters destroying the shops of immigrant storeholders at an outdoor market.

Paul Mason reports that Golden Dawn is even talking about targeting kindergarten students:

Now Golden Dawn is suddenly everywhere. Its eight local offices at election time have become 60 nationwide. It is polling consistently as the third most popular party at 12%. Its parliamentarians have threatened to "drag migrant children from the kindergartens," and requested a list of the kindergartens with high migrant numbers. This, the Greek education ministry has willingly provided.

And the police are reportedly in on it, which means victims have virtually nowhere to turn.

Panagiotaros told Mason that he estimates 50-60 percent of the Greek police force supports Golden Dawn, and "every day it is growing," – which means they don't get involved when Golden Dawn is doing damage. Some Greeks claim terrible mistreatment at the hands of police who openly boast their allegiance to Golden Dawn as well.

And the media is just making things worse, Mason reports:

As the media have joined in - relentlessly identifying foreigners with crime - the far right's poll rating has increased. Theodora Oikonomides, a journalist at the alternative radio network RadioBubble, who has covered the rise of Golden Dawn, voices a fear common to many:

"Golden Dawn's favourite themes, such as xenophobia, homophobia and anti-Semitism have now become part of Greek public discourse, whether at the political or at the social level."

Dylan Grice is right – this is definitely a story to be watching closely right now.

Paul Mason's full Newsnight report is a must watch. View it on BBC here >

Europe has another big crisis, and it's much more dangerous than sovereign debt >

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LONDON (Reuters) - Apple Inc lost its appeal over a ruling that its rival Samsung's Galaxy tablet did not copy the iPad in a British court on Thursday.

The world's two leading smartphone makers are fighting over patents, both for smartphones and for tablets, in courts around the world.

The Court of Appeal upheld its judgment that despite some similarities, Samsung did not infringe Apple's design, in part because its products were "not as cool" as the iPad.

The U.S. company was instructed to run ads saying the Korean company did not copy the iPad, both on its website and in selected newspapers.

Judge Kitchin said on Thursday that the notices must be in a font size no smaller than Ariel 14.

(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Paul Sandle)

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The man accused of trying to blow up the Fed yesterday struggled with the moral implications of the crime before allegedly deciding to go through with the attack.

Ahsan Nafis, 21, was arrested yesterday afternoon after the FBI suspected he was plotting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

But, Nafis almost didn't carry out his attack, worrying that entering the U.S. on a student visa meant he couldn't carry out jihad here, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Nafis used Facebook to ask an FBI informant as well as another person whether Islamic law would prohibit his plot, The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog reported Wednesday.

“The three discussed certain Islamic legal rulings that advise that it is unlawful for a person who enters a country with a visa to wage jihad there,” according to the complaint.

One of Nafis' unnamed confidants in Bangladesh told him those rules didn't apply, according to Law Blog.

University of Washington law professor Clark Lombardi, an Islamic law expert, told Law Blog he didn't know of any laws prohibiting jihad if the person had a visa.

DON'T MISS: Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Blasted 'War On Terror' Policies In Court While Wearing A Camo Vest >

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A recent legal intelligence survey by ALM looked at how well law firms can act like businesses.

The takeaway?

They can't.

"The level of commitment leading law firms are showing to strategic planning is moving in the right direction, but the rate of substantive progress is still frustratingly slow,” the report found, according to The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog. “There is genuine cause for concern.”

Only one in eight law firms has a strategic plan for improving profits and retaining their best talent, The Am Law Daily reported Tuesday.

And even the firms that do have a plan often aren't able to execute it very well.

Firm leaders need to start learning about business goals and becoming familiar with "the financial health of the firm" or they'll never succeed at running a successful business, LexisNexis's director of consultants Bo Yancey stated in the report.

DON'T MISS: The 20 Biggest Legal Stars On Twitter >

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It's getting down to the wire for convicted insider trader, Rajat Gupta.

The Raj Rajaratnam co-conspirator is set to be sentenced on October 24th, and New York City Judge Jed Rakoff has gotten hundreds of letters asking that he show leniency in his punishment of Gupta, says the NYT.

World leaders like Kofi Annan and Bill Gates have even written to ask for mercy.

But possibly the most interesting request comes from Gupta's own lawyer, Gary P. Naftalis. Because Gupta has been active in global humanitarian causes, he's requested that his client forego prison and instead head to Rwanda.

From the NYT:

“The Rwandan government has expressed support for a program of service in which Mr. Gupta would work with rural districts to ensure that the needs to end H.I.V., malaria, extreme poverty and food security are implemented,” Mr. Naftalis wrote.

Would you take that suggestion? Leave it in the comments.

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A group of models is fighting back against agencies and cosmetics companies they claim made millions off them without their consent.

Lead plaintiff Louisa Raske, 31, is suing Trump Model Management, Wilhelmina International, Revlon, Maybelline, and others, claiming they used models' images long after the models' contracts had expired, Courthouse News Service reported Thursday.

The agencies either forged the models' signatures or pretended to have contracts with them in order to use the pictures, according to Raske's complaint.

"Unless the models somehow fortuitously discover the use of their image on a product or in an advertisement, the models never demand or receive payment and at the very least, the modeling agencies are unjustly enriched by the models' funds," Raskse, who has appeared in bridal magazines, wrote in her complaint.

Raske is seeking $20 million in damages, according to CNS.

DON'T MISS: Immigration Agents Are Calling This Russian Immigrant A Hooker But She Says She Was Frame >

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PayPal has become pretty good at ruffling consumers' feathers.

The e-commerce giant can apparently freeze your account at anytime. And Regretsy founder April Winchell even accused PayPal of being so cold-hearted it shut down her Christmas charity drive.

In the past, consumers banded together to file class actions claiming the e-commerce giant held users' funds captive without giving them a good reason, the Verge reported.

But thanks to an April 2011 Supreme Court decision, companies like PayPal can require users to resolve their claims outside of court in "arbitrations," effectively banning class action lawsuits.

As of Nov. 1, PayPal is jumping on the bandwagon to require consumers to agree to arbitration. But there's a catch!

Users can provide an old-fashioned, written opt-out notice by Dec. 1 and preserve their right to sue the pants off PayPal, the Verge has pointed out. Now you just have to find some paper ...

SEE ALSO: The Founder Of The 'Sugar Daddy' Dating Empire Is Fighting PayPal For Ditching Him

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The five-times great grandson of Nathan Rothschild, who helped finance the British victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, is part of a crumbling deal that doesn't reflect his family's good name.

Nathaniel Rothschild's latest project, a $3 billion deal to create an Indonesian coal deal, lies in tatters, according to Dealbook's Mark Scott. 

In 2010, Rothschild, the former co-chairman of the hedge fund Atticus Capital, teamed up with the Bakrie family, an Indonesian dynasty, and formed the London-listed mining giant Bumi. His bet on a coal boom in Asia misfired and the company's share price has dropped more than 80 percent over the last 18 months, reporting a net loss of more than $400 million in the last two years. 

Infighting ensued and the 41-year-old Rothschild stepped down from the board "amid allegations of financial misconduct at some of the company's Indonesian subsidiaries." He accused Bumi's chairman, Samin Tan, of not protecting rights of minority shareholders. 

In light of an offer the Bakries made for his shares, Rothschild told Dealbook:

"It would be a disgrace to proceed with, or even to entertain, the proposal made by the Bakries."

The dispute comes at a time when majority owners in resource rich countries are trying to get their companies listed in London while restricting the amount of control they cede to shareholders.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday found the Defense of Marriage Act  violates the right to equal protection guaranteed by the Constitution.

DOMA defines marriage as between a man and a woman and says states don't have to recognize same-sex marriage.

It has the practical effect of sometimes requiring gay couples to pay more federal taxes.

In striking the law down, the Second Circuit sided with a 83-year-old Edith Windsor, who was forced to pay estate taxes after the death of her wife in 2009.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up DOMA – as well as California's Proposition 8, which barred same-sex marriage in the state – this term.

SEE ALSO: 83-Year-Old Lesbian Hopes She Can Survive Her Fight Against The Defense Of Marriage Act

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Superman will stay with DC Comics. 

After an ongoing legal feud between the comic owner Warner Bros. and the living heirs of the Man of Steel's co-creators to reclaim copyright to the character, U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright II found the heirs signed away their rights back in 1992. 

The heirs of Joe Shuster, who first illustrated Superman, attempted to terminate the contract made 20 years ago under a provision that allowed creators to reclaim rights to properties made before 1978. 

However, Wright found that because Shuster's sister Jean Peavy made a new agreement in '92 to accept higher annual payments of $25,000 (up from $5,000) from Warner Bros. per year voiding any right to copyright claim.  

Under the agreement made October 2, 1992, DC claimed it would cover Shuster's debts and pay Peavy $25,000 a year for the rest of her life. In return, any of Shuster's rights to the character would be turned over to DC, and Peavy could never claim a right to Superman again. 

From the ruling:  

"In sum, the Court finds that the 1992 Agreement, which represented the Shuster heirs’ opportunity to renegotiate the prior grants of Joe Shuster’s copyrights, superseded and replaced all prior grants of the Superman copyrights."

Warner Bros. will be releasing a new Superman reboot, "Man of Steel," June 14, 2013.

SEE ALSO: The extravagent airfare allowances of Bob Iger, Rupert Murdoch, and more >

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled the Defense of Marriage Act violates gay couples' right to equal protection.

The Second Circuit breaks down why the Clinton-era law – which defined marriage as between a man and a woman – doesn't serve a "government interest," which would be necessary for it to be constitutional.

DOMA's defenders said the law served the government goals of preserving the "traditional understanding" of marriage and enouraging "responsible procreation."

The Second Circuit shot down both those arguments.

While the court agreed the government has an interest in responsible baby-making, it just didn't see how barring the recognition of same-sex marriages encouraged the straights to procreate.

The court also said it's not the government's job to maintain traditional values, noting that the Supreme Court rejected similar "appeals to tradition" when it struck down Texas' sodomy law.

While the court conceded the point that same-sex marriage is a relatively new and unfamiliar phenonemon, it hinted that it's not its business to weigh in on religious objections to gay couples.

Neither federal or state law is "concerned with holy matrimony," the Second Circuit found. "Government deals with marriage as a civil status – however fundamental – and New York has extended that status to same-sex couples."

 SEE ALSO: 83-Year-Old Lesbian Hopes She Can Survive Her Fight Against The Defense Of Marriage Act

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China is believed to execute about 4,000 people a year, according to human rights organization Dui Hua. And a number of those executed are white collar criminals.

Everyone from CEO's of mining companies, small business owners, and political figures have been given a death sentence after being found guilty of fraud, corruption, or illegal fund raising.

Recently netizens have protested the death sentence and got a few overturned. China's legal system is widely criticized because those with political clout are said to get off with lighter sentences.

What follows are some of the most notorious cases in which white collar criminals were given a death sentence or were executed. In some cases, the guilty were given a two-year reprieve i.e. if they committed no more crimes for two years and were on their best behavior their sentence would be amended to life in prison.

Note: Figures on the death penalty are a state secret. The number of executions have declined since 2007 because of a reform that required death penalties to be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Song Wendai, death sentence

Crime: Grafting and embezzling public properties and funds

Job title: Former CEO of Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Co Ltd

Song Wendai was sentenced to death for illegally obtaining shares of the company and embezzling 87 million yuan ($13.87 million) in public funds and assets including gold and silver.

Source: Shanghai Daily / Shenzhen Daily

Wu Ying, death with a two-year reprieve

Crime: Fraud and raising money outside the banking system

Job title: N/A

Wu Ying aka 'Rich Sister' was sentenced to death in December 2009 by the the Jinhua Intermediate People’s Court in Zhejiang for defrauding investors of about $60.2 million.

But netizens rallied in support for Wu saying her punishment was too harsh and that defendants with political connections got away with lenient sentence. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) overturned the death sentence in April this year giving her a two-year reprieve.

Source: The New York Times

Du Yimin, executed

Crime: Fraud and illegal fund raising

Job title: Beauty parlor owner

Du Yimin was convicted of illegally raising 700 million yuan ($103 million). She is said to have promised investors high returns but instead used them to buy apartments, cars and other luxury goods for herself.

She was sentenced to death by an intermediate court in March 2008, and was executed in August 2009.

Source: Xinhua

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As Chicago struggles to quell gang violence that has contributed to a jump in homicides, a top elected official wants to tax the sale of every bullet and firearm — an effort even she acknowledges could spark a legal challenge.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will submit a budget proposal Thursday that calls for a tax of a nickel for each bullet and $25 for each firearm sold in the nation's second-largest county, which encompasses Chicago.

Preckwinkle's office estimates the tax will generate about $1 million a year, money that would be used for various county services including medical care for gunshot victims. Law enforcement officials would not have to pay the tax, but the office said it would apply to 40 federally licensed gun dealers in the county.

Through last week, the city reported 409 homicides this year compared to 324 during the same period in 2011. Although the violence still doesn't approach the nearly 900 homicides a year Chicago averaged in the 1990s, officials say gang violence was largely to blame for a rash of shootings earlier this year.

Preckwinkle insists the ordinance is far more about addressing gun violence than raising money for a county that faces a deficit of more than $100 million next year.

"We think that's an appropriate thing to do, especially in the light of the gun violence we struggle to deal with in our criminal justice system and our public health system," she told a local newspaper editorial board this week, according to a transcript of the meeting provided by her office. "The legal gun shops in suburban Cook County are a conduit for crimes in Chicago. There's no way around it."

Preckwinkle declined to speak with The Associated Press ahead of the announcement Thursday, but her spokeswoman Kristen Mack confirmed the details of the plan.

Mack said the office has found no other local jurisdiction in the nation that has imposed a tax on bullets, even though several have considered it. Legislation on such a tax was previously introduced by state lawmakers in Springfield, but it was never been voted on, she said.

Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, scoffs at such talk, saying the tax wouldn't do anything to address gang violence but would harm local businesses and law-abiding citizens.

"If she wants to get to the people causing all the problems she ought to put a tax on street gangs," he said. "All this is going to do is drive business out of Cook County, into other counties, Indiana and Wisconsin."

One suburban gun shop owner agreed, saying that his customers, many of whom are hunters and police officers, will simply go elsewhere.

"Who's going to come to Tinley Park to buy ammunition," said Fred Lutger, the owner of Freddie Bear Sport in that suburban Chicago community.

And, said Lutger of that money going toward treating gunshot victims, "Why should be paying for gang bangers shooting each other? You're taxing law-abiding citizens for what criminals are doing."

Gun rights advocates spent years challenging in court Chicago's handgun ban, which was ultimately overturned in 2010 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Preckwinkle's proposal has caught the attention of gun rights advocates across the nation, according a national firearms civil rights organization.

"This is putting the budget woes of Cook County on the backs of gun owners," said Dave Workman, of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. "It's not the law abiding citizens stacking bodies like cord wood in Chicago, it's the bad guys."

Workman said that while it is too early to say what the response might be to a proposal that may or may not be improved, "I could envision a coalition of different groups saying 'Wait a minute, you are making us financially responsible for the Cook County government's inability to hold down spending."

In Illinois, Lutger said a lawsuit was certain and Pearson said he and others started talking about a legal challenge as soon as they heard Preckwinkle was considering the tax.

Even Preckwinkle seemed resigned to a legal challenge in her comments to the newspaper board.

"You can't make decisions based on the basis of whether or not somebody's going to sue you or then you'll never do anything," she said.

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College graduates' average student loan debt has reached an all-time high of $26,600, a new report found Thursday.

While college grads have it tough, the debt crisis for law graduates is a totally different animal, Paul Campos writes in "Inside the Law School Scam."

A law professor himself, Campos points to three major reasons why law school grads might be worse off than college grads.

• Campos says law schools have misled students as to the economic value of their degrees in light of the terrible market for lawyers.
• A law graduate incurs much more debt than the average college graduate. While undergrads had an average debt load of $26,000 in 2011, the average debt for private law school graduates was $125,000 last year, the ABA Journal has reported.
• Lastly, the actual system of teaching in law schools is a mess, because law schools are bad at teaching people how to be lawyers and giving them the liberal arts education they already got anyway, Campos said.

Steven Davidoff, another law professor, has argued that law school gets a bad rap, pointing out that veterinarians pay even more for their graduate education with less of a pay-off.

SEE ALSO: New Survey Shows Why Lawyers Are Terrible At Doing Business >

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