The Democratic effort is still in its formative stages, but most of the proposals mentioned by Democrats were rejected by Bush during negotiations that produced the earlier stimulus measure. A new package probably won't be acted on before Congress returns in September from its annual summer vacation.

New legislation could include: additional tax rebates, heating and air conditioning subsidies for the poor, infrastructure projects, higher food stamp payments and aid to the states.

Pelosi told reporters that she "would hope that (tax rebates) would be part of any package" but that some of the Democratic elements need to be attached. Pelosi said later Tuesday that she hopes proposals such as boosting food stamps and home energy subsidies would have more GOP support now, considering the sharp spikes in gasoline and food prices.

The council's unanimous vote comes as officials try to comply with last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns.

The emergency legislation will allow handguns to be kept in the home if they are used only for self-defense and carry fewer than 12 rounds of ammunition.

Handguns, as well as other legal firearms such as rifles and shotguns, also must be kept unloaded and disassembled, or equipped with trigger locks — unless there is a "reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm" in the home.

"This is not perfect legislation," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, who worked with the mayor's office on the bill. "The first step is what we have before us today so that we maintain important provisions in our gun registration law while we continue look at how we can further refine our gun registration law."

Gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, said at least some of the new regulations will likely be challenged. The bill that passed Tuesday maintains the city's unusual ban of machine guns, defined as weapons that shoot at least 12 rounds without reloading, which applies to most semiautomatic firearms.

The emergency legislation will remain in effect for 90 days, and the council expects to begin work in September on permanent legislation.

Though residents can begin applying for handgun permits this week, city officials have said the entire process could take weeks or months.

At hastily convened hearings last month, Mexico argued that the United States is defying a 2004 International Court of Justice order to review the cases of 51 Mexicans sentenced to death by state courts.

That order was based on the Hague-based court's finding that the condemned prisoners had been denied the right to help from their consulate following their arrest.

Wednesday's ruling comes less than three weeks before the first of the death row inmates, Jose Medellin, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection in Texas for taking part in the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls 15 years ago.

At last month's hearings, Mexico's chief advocate Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo told the court the cases had not been systematically reviewed, and the U.S. was "in breach of its international obligations."

John B. Bellinger III, the U.S. legal adviser, said federal government had gone to "extraordinary lengths" to carry out the World Court's directive and to intercede with the state courts.

After the World Court's ruling, President George W. Bush issued a directive to the state courts to abide by the decision and also asked Texas specifically to review Medellin's case ahead of his planned Aug. 5 execution.

U.S. securities regulators subpoenaed firms including Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch as it probes suspected manipulation of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns shares, Bloomberg said, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking trading records and e-mails, one of the people told the news service.

The SEC has sent subpoenas to more than 50 hedge-fund advisers, seeking trading and communications data related to short-selling and options trading in Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Rumours have been blamed for the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns and for the significant slide in Lehman shares this month.

With financial stocks dropping dramatically over the year, lawmakers have been calling on the SEC to investigate whether short sellers and speculators are behind the move.

Over the weekend, the SEC announced plans to crack down on false rumours and said it was examining whether broker dealers and investment advisers had controls in place to prevent market manipulation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled two civil lawsuits Tuesday against a North Texas stock promoter allegedly involved in so-called pump-and-dump market manipulation scams.

One suit is still pending against five other people and one company.

The complaints allege that Coppell accountant Mark B. Lindberg, 40, helped market a series of penny stocks and, along with other defendants, reaped millions of dollars by releasing false information to pump up the share price.

In settling the cases, Mr. Lindberg neither admitted nor denied the allegations. He has agreed to a permanent injunction and is barred from being an officer or director. He also agreed to not be involved in penny stocks.

The initial suit involves an Irving company called Sniffex that Mr. Lindberg helped take public.

The company, which marketed a bomb detection device, is now called Homeland Safety International Inc. and was controlled primarily by two Bulgarians.

The complaint also names president Paul B. Johnson of Colleyville, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and two investors from Denmark. The suit still seeks penalties against the defendants other than Mr. Lindberg.

The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of not paying about 47 billion won ($46 million) in taxes and fined him 110 billion won ($109 million).

But the court did not send Lee to prison, saying he just kept the assets in question after inheriting them under borrowed names from his late father — Samsung's founder — and that he did not actively seek to evade the taxes.

Prosecutors had demanded a seven-year sentence and 350 billion won ($347 million) in fines against Lee.

"The extent of his crime is not serious enough to sentence him to prison," Judge Min Byung-hun said. He sentenced Lee to three years in prison and then suspended the sentence for five years, meaning Lee will not go to jail as long as he avoid further legal woes.

South Korean judges have repeatedly shown leniency in high-profile corporate cases, refusing to send tycoons to prison for fears of the effects it would have on the country's economy.