The plaintiffs accuse Sanofi-Aventis US management of sex discrimination, saying they were not promoted because of their gender and were paid significantly less than their male colleagues.

The women are seeking more than 300 million dollars in compensation.

Sanofi-Aventis denied the allegations.

The original plaintiff, Bellifemine, started working at Sanofi-Aventis US in 1995 and is still employed there. The three others -- Amy Zeoli, Michelle Popa and Sue Sullivan -- said they resigned in 2006-2007 over the situation.

All four plaintiffs said their bosses had sexually harassed them, in words or unwelcome gestures. Some said they suffered repeated incidences of harassment after reporting the offensive behavior to management.

"We'll be moving for class certification on behalf of approximately 6,000 women in the next few months, after we obtain the statistical data which shows that Sanofi pays its female pharma reps less than men, and fails to promote women at the same rate as men," said a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Steven Wittels of Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP.

"We are confident that the data will support these claims," he said.

Wittels said the 300 million dollars sought was modest because "each woman is entitled to up to approximately 500,000 dollars in damages for compensatory back and future wages and punitive damages."

Sanofi-Aventis US issued a terse statement denying the women's allegations.

"We are confident that the suit lacks merit and that all of our employees are treated fairly and in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws," the company said.

Judge Robert Hanson of the Polk County District triggered the license land rush when he ruled on Thursday that Iowa's law restricting marriage to a man and a woman was unconstitutional. His ruling faces appeals by state officials who want it reversed, but in the meantime the window was open.

The gay marriage issue is a hot one politically at all levels. Twenty-six states have constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriage. Three states allow civil unions for gay couples -- with only Massachusetts permitting full same-sex marriage. New Hampshire will allow gay civil unions beginning in January.

Fritz and McQuillan were among about a dozen couples waiting in a line that formed before dawn at the Polk County Courthouse.

Fritz said he proposed to McQuillan on Thursday night after hearing about the judge's ruling and then went to a store to buy wedding rings.

"He instant messaged me over the Internet that this was going on," McQuillan said. "When he picked me up around 9 o'clock he proposed to me on the spot. Besides the obvious shock, I still haven't recovered. Maybe it'll set in later this week."

Fritz said the two did a "lot of double-checking everything on the Internet to make sure that we got all the paperwork filled out correctly the first time. We didn't want to get refused because we messed up a 't' somewhere." Fritz says he called McQuillan's mother in California to ask permission to marry her son. Not everyone was as happy.House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of the Iowa Legislature called the ruling a "shocking" reversal of the will of the people of the state. He blamed Democrats saying they had refused to back an amendment to the state constitution that would have cemented the ban.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has been campaigning in Iowa, called the decision another example of a ruling by an activist court. He said it demonstrates the need for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing gay marriages.

Michelle Gardner of Ames, a neighbor of Fritz and McQuillan who served as a witness on their marriage application, said "I'm just so happy to be in Iowa for this and so happy to be a part of their wedding."

Her 10-year-old daughter, Esther, clutching a bouquet, was in line to be the couple's flower girl.

Although no reason was given, Snow recently told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that, due to financial reasons, he did not expect to remain on the White House staff through the remainder of President Bush's term.

Bush told reporters Friday that he will "sadly accept" Snow's resignation.

Flanked by Snow and Perino in the White House press room, the president spoke warmly of his departing press secretary.

"It's been a joy to watch him spar with you," Bush told reporters.

Bush said he was certain of two things in regard to Snow.

"He'll battle cancer and win," Bush said, "and he'll be a solid contributor to society."

Turning to Snow, the president then said: "I love you, and I wish you all the best."

Taking the podium, Snow said he was thankful for the opportunity to serve as press secretary.

"This job has been a dream for me -- and a blast," Snow said.

Snow's cancer was diagnosed for the first time in February 2005. His colon was removed, and after six months of treatment, doctors said the cancer was in remission.

Perino announced March 27 that Snow's cancer had recurred, and that doctors had removed a growth from his abdomen the day before.

Sources told CNN two weeks ago that Snow was planning to leave his job, possibly as early as September.

Snow, who had said he would leave his post before the end of Bush's second term, repeated that the decision is based on finances, not health. He took a major pay cut after leaving the world of cable television and talk radio to come to the White House.

According to The Washington Post, Snow makes $168,000 as the White House spokesman.

Bush tapped Snow to replace Scott McClellan in April 2006. Snow had been an anchor for "Fox News Sunday" and a political analyst for the Fox News Channel, which he joined in 1996. He also hosted "The Tony Snow Show" on Fox News Radio.

On Thursday, Snow told CNN his health is improving, citing two new medical tests this month which found the cancer has not spread.

"The tumors are stable -- they are not growing," Snow said of the results from an MRI and a CAT Scan. "And there are no new growths. The health is good."

The press secretary, whose hair has turned gray during chemotherapy treatment, said his black hair is expected to grow back in about a month.

"I'm also putting on weight again," he said after returning from a 10-day vacation. "I actually feel very good about" the health situation.

Snow said that on Friday he was to see his oncologist, and they will decide on some minor forms of chemotherapy to start as maintenance treatment.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. and five other Hollywood film studios were awarded a total of $25,500 from a Beijing seller of pirated DVDs, the China Court Web site reported Friday.

The case was heard in Beijing Xicheng District People's Court. The defendant was a video shop belonging to the Beijing Yongsheng Century International Cultural Development Co.

The pirated films included "Lord of the Rings" and "The Day After Tomorrow," the Web site said. It did not identify the five other studios.

Pirated films are popular in Beijing and other parts of China. Besides legal video shops, such as the defendant in the case, there are numerous street peddlers of pirated videos.

Chinese product piracy has worsened tensions with Washington, which filed a World Trade Organization complaint in April accusing Beijing of violating trade commitments by failing to protect copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights.

Integrated Electrical Services on Friday said it reached a settlement with the U.S. regulators related to an investigation alleging violation of certain accounting laws by the company and six former officers.

The settlement does not require Integrated Electrical to make any monetary payments, the company said in a statement.

A civil complaint was filed by the SEC against the company and its employees alleging improper accounting of certain receivables and inadequate disclosure of its contingent liabilities in certain prior periods.

The complaint also alleged that the company failed to properly disclose a change in its policy for bad debt reserves and the resulting write-down of such reserves in 2003 and 2004.

In fact, according to attorneys for California, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, known as the "California Group" of plaintiffs, "Microsoft's market power remains undiminished and … key provisions of the final judgment—those relating to middleware— have had little or no competitively significant impact."

The disagreement and upcoming courtroom battle about whether or not the final judgment has resulted in more competition in the middleware market comes in a series of filings made to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ahead of the next joint status conference between all the parties to be held on Sept. 11.

The matter is all the more critical given that most of the terms and conditions of Microsoft's antitrust settlement with the government are due to expire this November.

In January 2006, PUCO approved the recovery of some of FirstEnergy's fuel costs through a fuel rider and allowed them to recover other fuel costs over a 25-year period beginning Jan. 2009 through distribution rates.

The court also found that said it did not believe PUCO addressed whether the deferral of recovery was anticompetitive. It sent the issue back to the commission for further consideration.

FirstEnergy said it plans to contest the court's interpretation and ask it to reconsider the ruling. It also intends to file a concurrent application with the PUCO, laying out a new plan for recovery of the fuel costs.

It said it would continue deferring the fuel costs until the court hears its motion to reconsider the case.