"I will never back down in defending a woman's right to choose," the likely Democratic nominee said, drawing a sharp contrast with his GOP rival.

"That's what's at stake," Obama added as he campaigned with his half-sister and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the pioneering former first lady he toppled during the Democratic presidential primary, at a "Women for Obama" breakfast fundraiser.

Obama packed his day with female-focused events in New York and Virginia, a reminder of his need to win over women who include some still smarting from Clinton's loss. She had tried to become the first woman to win the White House, and women were her base voters. They took her defeat hard, so much so that even a few are promising to vote for McCain.

Thus, to underscore his differences with McCain on women's issues, Obama cited Senate legislation from the spring that sought to counteract a Supreme Court decision limiting how long workers can wait before suing for pay discrimination.

What is being dubbed here as "the iPod tax" has been tossed around for years. The tax would allow about 1 percent to 3 percent of the price of a digital recording device to go to recording companies, songwriters and artists.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs had hoped to submit legislation to Parliament as early as this fall.

But amid a flurry of criticism from electronics makers, a meeting of a panel studying the proposal failed to reach any agreement Thursday, agency official Masafumi Kiyota said.

"At this point, there is virtually no hope for getting the legislation passed," he said.

The panel agreed to continue talking, but no date has been set, Kiyota said.

Despite an aggressive push by the Japanese recording industry, a similar proposal to impose an "iPod tax" fell apart in December 2005.

The cultural agency proposed a compromise in May to charge only portable digital music players, such as iPods, and digital hard disk recorders. But the manufacturers resisted, saying more equipment could be added as a source for royalties.

Older devices, such as minidisk and DVD recorders, are already subject to copyright fees in Japan. The payments are included in the price tag so most shoppers aren't even aware they're paying it.

This prolongs a twisted legal saga over the legality of the 2004 merger after independent music companies complained that the EU's antitrust authority was wrong to allow the number of major record labels shrink from five to four.

The European Court of Justice on Thursday set aside a 2006 ruling from the Court of First Instance that largely backed the independents, telling the lower court to re-examine the case again.

The Court of First Instance ruling overturning the European Commission's approval for the deal forced regulators to examine it again to prove that it would not create or strengthen a dominant position in the music markets of Europe.

The European Commission cleared the deal a second time in November.

But Sony BMG appealed the 2006 ruling to an even higher court, the European Court of Justice, which said Thursday that judges had made "errors of law" in the 2006 ruling.

A group called the Mothers of Srebrenica was seeking compensation for the failure of Dutch United Nations troops to prevent the slaughter by Serb forces of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim males in the U.N.-declared safe zone.

The Hague District Court said the U.N.'s immunity — which is written into its founding charter — means it cannot be held liable in any country's national court.

"The court's inquiry into a possible conflict between the absolute immunity valid in international law of the U.N. and other standards of international law does not lead to an exception to this immunity," the judges wrote in their ruling.

A ruling lifting the U.N.'s immunity could have had far-reaching implications for the way the world body carries out its peacekeeping operations around the world.

At a hearing last month, Dutch government lawyer Bert Jan Houtzagers said that if a Dutch court decided it had jurisdiction in the case, "any court in any country could do so and that would thwart the viability of the United Nations."

Axel Hagedorn, a lawyer for the victims, said he would appeal Thursday's decision. The case could go to the European Court of Human Rights.

The second quarter of this year saw the pace of law firm mergers rise sharply in the U.S., according to a new report from legal consultancy Altman Weil Inc.

There were 26 new law firm mergers and acquisitions reported in April, May and June, compared to 18 during the first quarter of the year, according to Newtown Square, Pa.-based Altman Weil.

The largest of the latest law firm combinations was between K&L Gates, a 1,500-attorney firm, and Kennedy Convington Lobdell & Hickman, a 175-lawyer firm.

In Memphis there were no significant mergers reported for the quarter. However, in the previous quarter St. Louis-based Husch & Eppenberger LLC and Kansas City, Mo.,-based Blackwell Sanders LLP finalized their merger, which was first announced last September. Of the two, only Husch & Eppenberger had an office in Memphis.

In July 2007, Memphis-based Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC merged Atlanta-based Gambrell & Stolz LLP into the firm, adding 36 attorneys.

"Even in a deteriorating economy, law firms continue to pursue a growth strategy via merger and acquisition," said Altman Weil principal Tom Clay in a statement. "And based on our conversations with law firm leaders, we think the pace is unlikely to slow."

A class-action lawsuit filed June 26 in U.S. District Court in Miami accuses an Orlando law firm founded by a member of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority of racketeering by sending threatening letters that demand money from alleged shoplifters.

According to the complaint, letters from Palmer Reifler & Associates PA say the recipients must pay large fines under state laws or face possible legal action or a "visit from a sheriff."

James Palmer, the senior partner and founder of the firm, was named to the airport board May 23 to a four-year term succeeding Robert Theisen.

The complaint alleges the law firm:

- Sent millions of threatening form letters intended to "harass, intimidate and coerce" people into paying large fines. The suit charges the firm with abusing laws passed in all 50 states as a way for retailers to recover massive losses from retail theft. Under the laws, retailers can seek civil damages and penalties from thieves.
However, a nationally published report contends retailers are supplying the names of those only suspected of shoplifting, even when there is no conviction or solid evidence to indicate guilt.

- Received tens of millions of dollars during the past 20 years at consumers' expense, plus a percentage from the retailers, ranging from 18 percent to 30 percent of the income generated from the letters.
The plaintiffs want to recover their money and stop the alleged harassment by mail and phone, via a jury trial expected later this summer.

It's not the first time Palmer Reifler & Associates have been sued over these types of letters, says Alison Harke, with Harke & Clasby LLP of Miami, one of two firms representing the plaintiffs. However, in previous attempts, the suit either was settled or dismissed. The current approach is to file the lawsuit in federal court under anti-racketeering laws.

Harke says the retailers -- 50 large clients that include Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney -- may be sued later. Wal-Mart referred requests for comment to its legal department, but no response was received by press time. A spokeswoman at J.C. Penney says her company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

"This is a frivolous lawsuit," says Natt Reifler, a partner and attorney who oversees the recovery law activities of the Palmer firm. It seems to challenge the statutes themselves and the right to send "demand" letters, he says, adding that the process a way to resolve differences without resorting to the courts.

The recovery effort is a legitimate procedure under the law, which doesn't allow for the collection of debt, but for damages and civil penalties, says the lawyer.

Thanks to his firm's actions, retailers have recovered a substantial amount of money over the years, Reifler says. He declines to say how much, but adds that the actions "helps keep prices down," which is a boon for consumers.

"This is an economically viable way for retailers to recover their losses," agrees Daniel C. Johnson, a lawyer specializing in commercial law with the Carlton Fields law firm Orlando office, who is not involved in the case.

"I have not heard of anything I would call an abuse" of the particular laws, adds John Rogers, senior vice president and general counsel for the Florida Retail Federation. He notes that he lobbied on behalf of passage of the recovery laws in Florida.

The law benefits retailers not only by recouping money, but also by reducing the time employees must devote to pursuing cases against shoplifters and in monitoring stores, says Rogers.