Fielding served as General Counsel to President Reagan from 1981-86 and deputy counsel under President Nixon from 1970-72, and is regarded by observers as having the political experience that Bush may need to face challenges to executive authority from the new Democratically-controlled Congress. Fielding, 67, leaves his position as a partner at Wiley, Rein and Fielding in Washington, DC.

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. A sheriff's spokesman says an attorney and another man who were shot repeatedly at a Joshua Tree law firm yesterday remain in critical condition.

Attorney Bill Weir and Rocky Favorite were shot multiple times at the J-T Law firm. A San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman says a third victim, 25-year-old Dawn Croom, was hospitalized with a wounded leg but later released.

Bernard Steppe was arrested shortly after the shooting for investigation of attempted murder. He's being held at Morongo Basin Jail on 500-thousand dollars bail.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller says Steppe lived on the same property as the law firm and may have worked for Weir in the past.

Micron Technology Inc. (MU.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Tuesday it has settled a class-action lawsuit that will reduce its previously announced first-quarter profit by up to $80 million.

The lawsuit, which followed a 2002 U.S. Justice Department inquiry into the memory chip industry, covered people and entities that bought a type of computer memory known as DRAM directly from suppliers from April 1999 through June 2002.

In 1994, the Court held 6-3 in C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown that a similar ordinance unconstitutionally restricted interstate commerce; in that instance, the mandated facility was privately owned. The issue now before the court will turn on whether a government-owned facility can be seen as analogous to a profit-seeking private company and thus would be in violation of the Commerce Clause. Five of the six justices who signed the 1994 majority opinion remain on the bench; of the three dissenters, only Justice David Souter remains.

The Supreme Court Monday denied EchoStar's appeal of a lower court decision preventing the company from offering distant network TV station signals to its subscribers. That December 1 cut-off came after a years-long legal tussle with broadcasters over EchoStar's ability to determine with subs were and weren't eligible to recieve the signals. The decision does not affect the ability of EchoStar subs to receive distant signals via outside company National Programming Service. After a federal appeals court mandated the cut-off and NPS was recruited to provide EchoStar subs with distant signals, broadcasters went to court to try to block the move, but were rebuffed.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. said Monday the California Institute of Technology filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based medical equipment manufacturer said the lawsuit is without merit and has filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking declaration that the company isn't infringing Cal Tech patents.

Intuitive Surgical shares fell $2.88, or 3.06 percent, to close at $91.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market Monday.