The Assembly's 28-14 vote — the bare two-thirds majority needed — followed the state Senate's vote a day earlier to enact the measure into state lawbooks over the conservative Republican governor's objections.

The bill provides that domestic partners have the same rights as married couples in matters such as community property and responsibility for debts. It also prohibits discrimination against domestic partners.

Critics contended that domestic partners can sign private contracts to accomplish many of the goals of the bill, and that it conflicted with the intent of Nevadans who voted in 2002 for a constitutional amendment supporting marriage between a man and a woman.

The measure states, among other things, that no "solemnization ceremony" is required and it's "left to the dictates and conscience of partners entering into a domestic partnership" whether to have such a ceremony.

GM shares lost more than 22 percent to fall as low as 87 cents in morning trading on Friday. It was the stock's lowest trade since April 18, 1933.

The symbolic decline comes just days away from a government-imposed restructuring deadline of June 1. The company is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by then, leaving shareholders virtually wiped out.

On Thursday, the automaker offered a new debt-for-equity proposal to its bondholders. The deal would give the government a 72.5 percent stake in the company but made no mention of existing shareholders.

The top court said that Lee Kun-hee was not guilty, reiterating a judgment made by the Seoul High Court last year. The charges stemmed from long-standing allegations of dubious financial transactions purportedly aimed at transferring corporate control from Lee to his son.

In a related case, the court threw out convictions of two Samsung executives who had been found guilty of selling convertible bonds to Lee's children at prices less-than-market value.

The court said that it could not find that the executives had violated breach of trust laws in the case and sent it back to the Seoul High Court for reconsideration.

Critics had said the sale was aimed at enabling Lee to hand over control of the Samsung Group to his son Jae-yong, now an executive at Samsung Electronics Co.

The elder Lee, who led South Korea's biggest industrial conglomerate for 20 years, was convicted last year of tax evasion and given a suspended prison term.

Lee is a South Korean corporate icon who has personified Samsung. He succeeded his father as chairman and is widely credited with turning the group's flagship, Samsung Electronics, into a global brand.

Lee was indicted in April last year following a probe by special prosecutors into allegations of wrongdoing aired by a former Samsung lawyer. The indictment prompted Lee to quit as chairman of Samsung Electronics.

The opinion was requested by Gov. Jack Markell, who has signed a bill that would make Delaware the only state east of the Rocky Mountains to offer sports wagering.

In a 22-page ruling dated Wednesday, the court says the state constitution permits lotteries that have an element of skill, as long as chance is the predominant factor in winning or losing.

The justices also say the proposed sports lottery satisfies the constitutional requirement that lotteries be under state control.

The NFL opposes the lottery and has said it may challenge the bill in court.

General Motors Corp.'s primary bankruptcy law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is housed in New York in the aptly named GM building.


In June 2008, a group of investors purchased the iconic building on Fifth Avenue and three others in a $4 billion deal and said they might decide to sell the building's naming rights, which expire in 2010.

The law firm in 1996 renewed its 350,000 square feet of office space on 11 floors in the GM building for 21 years starting in 1998.

GM sold the building in 1991. The Detroit automaker's New York operations left its namesake building last year and moved into the Citigroup Center. In 1968, GM had 26 floors of office space in the 50-story building, but that had shrunk to just three by last year.