"As the investigation or the hearings went forward, it was clear that the attorney general broke no law, did no wrongdoing. And this is an honest, honorable man in whom I have confidence," the president said.

Bush also maintained Wolfowitz was honest in answering every query that was posed at him in the panel hearing.

"The Attorney General went up and gave a very candid assessment and answered every question he could possibly answer -- honestly answer. And in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job."

The President also stressed the Attorney General "has the right" to recommend the replacement of attorneys.

"One of the things that's important for the American people to understand is that the Attorney General has a right to recommend to me to replace US attorneys. US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. In other words, we have named them and I have the right to replace them with somebody else," Bush remarked.

But lower federal courts have disagreed about what happens if a company voluntarily chooses to clean up a site: can it sue other companies, or the U.S. government, to recover costs? Or does the Superfund law require a company to be sued by the EPA first, before it can take action against other parties?

The U.S. government has taken the latter position. The Bush administration argued in court filings that requiring companies to be sued by the EPA before they can recover costs from other entities encourages companies to settle with the government.

There "is little evidence that...Congress," when it enacted the Superfund law, "intended to promote unsupervised cleanups at the expense of government-supervised cleanups pursuant to a settlement or suit," the Solicitor General, the government's lawyer, wrote.

Environmentalists and several U.S. business groups respond that such an interpretation would discourage companies from initiating their own cleanups. The EPA is stretched too thin to oversee the rehabilitation of every site, a coalition of business groups wrote in a court brief.

The case before the court Monday stems from a lawsuit filed by Atlantic Research Corp. in 2002. Atlantic Research retrofitted rocket motors under contract with the U.S. government in the 1980s at an industrial park in Camden, Ark., according to court filings.

Rocket propellant contaminated the industrial park as a result of the work, and the company voluntarily cleaned up the pollution. It then sued the federal government in 2002 to recover some of the costs.

A district court sided with the government, but the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Atlantic could proceed with its suit. The government then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Several business groups, including the Superfund Settlements Project and trade associations representing the chemical, oil, and utilities industries, signed onto a brief supporting Atlantic Research. The Superfund Settlements Project represents 10 corporations, including General Electric Co. and United Technologies Corp., that have spent $6 billion on hazardous waste cleanups, the group's lawyer said.

Fred Anderson, Apple Inc.'s former chief financial officer, has agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission on his alleged part in backdating stock options, according to reports on Tuesday.

Anderson will pay a $150,000 fine and repay option gains of about $3.5 million, but won't admit to any wrongdoing and won't be barred from serving as a corporate officer or on the board of public companies, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News both reported, quoting unnamed people familiar with the case.

They also reported that the SEC is expected to pursue a civil lawsuit against the company's ex-general counsel Nancy Heinen on similar charges.

The Journal said one of Heinen's attorneys, Cristina Arguedas, said her client didn't backdate and will defend herself. It said Apple and an attorney for Anderson declined to comment on the reported settlement.

An Apple probe cleared Chief Executive Steve Jobs of any misconduct in the backdating of stocks at the Cupertino-based maker of computers and music players. While Jobs recommended "favorable" dates for some options, the Apple panel said he was unaware of the accounting implications of his actions and didn't financially benefit from them.

In a 5-4 decision last week, the high court said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed in 2003 does not violate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.

It was the first time the court had upheld a ban on a specific abortion procedure.

The 1999 Missouri law sought to ban the procedure, generally performed in the second or third trimester, but the law was put on hold by a federal judge one day after the legislature enacted it by overriding a gubernatorial veto.

The law created the crime of “infanticide,” defined as intentionally causing the death of a baby “when the infant is partially born or born.”

Doctors violating the ban could have been charged with a felony similar to murder.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon had appealed the 8th Circuit’s ruling.

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said Nixon planned to file a motion Monday asking the 8th Circuit to vacate its injunction against enforcing the Missouri law.

That would allow the law to take effect immediately.

Doctors who violate the federal law face up to two years in prison.

The law had never taken effect, pending the outcome of the legal fight.

Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said Monday that he was unaware of any doctors in Missouri who were performing the procedure or who had performed it in recent years.

“On a practical level, the decision has very little bearing in terms of day-to-day medical care (in Missouri),” he said.

He said he was concerned, though, about the Supreme Court decision’s future effect because the federal ban it upheld did not contain an exception for the health of the mother.

Pam Fichter, president of Missouri Right to Life, said she was “very gratified that the courts have ruled that there are limits to what can be construed as the health of the mother.”

The high court’s ruling is expected to spur efforts at the state level to place more restrictions on abortions.

The Supreme Court of California ruled against Brendlin in 2006, holding that passengers are not automatically seized during a traffic stop, and allowed the evidence to be used in the trial. Brendlin is now backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP, which fear that a judgment for the state would give police broad power to stop vehicles to search passengers. Brendlin's conviction may stand regardless of the Court's ruling, as at the time of arrest he was wanted for an unrelated parole violation, which itself may have justified the state's search. AP has more.

The Supreme Court also heard oral arguments in two other cases Monday. In United States v. Atlantic Research Corp, 06-562, the Court must decide whether owners of areas contaminated by hazardous materials that must be cleaned up under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) can recover contribution from other responsible parties before they are subject to a government enforcement action. In Hinck v. United States, 06-376, the Court will decide whether tax courts have exclusive jurisdiction to review an IRS decision to deny a taxpayer’s request for interest abatement or whether district courts and Federal Claims Court also have such jurisdiction.

The Games will be held in Shanghai, People's Republic of China on October 2-11. Because the Games are a major event for China and Shanghai, the GEC is planning a world-class Opening Ceremony on October 2 to be broadcast throughout China and made available worldwide.

“China is the first Asian country to host the Summer Games, and we are honored to be chosen to represent the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Executive Committee for such an important event in China celebrating humanity, culture and human nature,” said Catherine Sun, chair of the firm's Asia Practice. “We are committed to assisting GEC with making the Games a great success.”

Sun, who recently joined Foley from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, will oversee the firm's relationship with the GEC. She will work with attorneys on the firm's Entertainment & Media Industry Team such as Ken Suddleson and James Nguyen, who will provide entertainment law, new media and intellectual property counseling, and transaction services.  

“We are happy to collaborate with Foley and appreciate Foley's commitment and support to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. The Games Opening Ceremony promises to be a grand gathering where people with intellectual disabilities from all over the world unite for friendship and a joyful stage where people of different ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds celebrate and communicate,” said Dr. Derong Shi, CEO of the GEC.

The Foley team will draft and help negotiate all agreements for international talent who will perform or appear at the Opening Ceremony, the creative and production team for the Opening Ceremony, and international vendors and suppliers. The Foley team also will advise on international broadcast and new media deals, and any additional legal issues the GEC may encounter related to the Opening Ceremony.

The engagement with the GEC follows Foley's announcement that it filed an application with the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China requesting approval to open a representative office in Shanghai.

The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will mark the first time the World Summer Games will be held in Asia and only the second time they will be held outside the United States. In addition to 7,000 athletes, Special Olympics expects the 2007 World Summer Games to draw 40,000 volunteers, 3,500 event officials and thousands of families, volunteers, spectators and journalists from every continent. More information on the Games can be found by accessing the event's Web site at: http://www.2007specialolympics.com. Please click “English” on the top right hand corner for an English version.

Foley & Lardner LLP provides the full range of corporate legal counsel. Our attorneys understand today's most complex business issues, including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property counseling and litigation, outsourcing and information technology, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, emerging technologies, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries.