Kent was to make his first court appearance Wednesday after being indicted last week on federal sex crimes following a Department of Justice investigation. He is facing two counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse.

If convicted of attempted aggravated sexual abuse, Kent could face up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Each of the two counts of abusive sexual contact carries a sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Kent's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, has said his client is innocent and will stay on the bench while he awaits trial.

Kent's former case manager, Cathy McBroom, accused the judge of physically harassing her in a sexual manner over a four-year period, starting in 2003. The final incident was in March 2007, when she said the judge pulled up her blouse and bra and tried to escalate contact until they were interrupted.

Her accusations were first investigated by the Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which suspended Kent in September 2007 for four months with pay but didn't detail the allegations against him.

As part of the judicial council's punishment, Kent was transferred to the busy Houston federal courthouse, where McBroom was relocated after reporting her allegations. Kent had been the only U.S. District Court judge in Galveston, an island beach town 50 miles southeast of Houston.

Until his indictment, Kent was known for writing humorous rulings peppered with sarcastic scoldings of lawyers. Kent, a federal jurist in Galveston since President George H.W. Bush appointed him in 1990, has not presided over any high-profile cases.

Kent is the first federal judge to be charged with sex crimes. Most other indictments of federal judges have involved corruption or other financial misdeeds.

Dan Webb also said the rules for the hearing would greatly hamper Kilpatrick's defense. He asked for a 14-day restraining order to suspend the proceedings, scheduled to start Wednesday.

"There are some very basic rights that clearly have to be applied," Webb told Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski.

The judge said he had planned to go fishing but would work on the case over the holiday weekend and make a ruling Tuesday.

The Detroit City Council is asking Granholm to use her constitutional power to remove Kilpatrick from office for misconduct.

The mayor is accused of misleading council members into approving an $8.4 million settlement with fired police officers. The council says it didn't know the deal included provisions to keep a cover on romantic text messages between Kilpatrick and a top aide.

Kilpatrick's lawyers filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming the mayor can't get a fair hearing from the governor. A key argument: Granholm held a private meeting in May to try to settle Kilpatrick's criminal perjury case and get him to resign.

Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows. The government says it can't.

Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone is allowed to perform the test and advertise its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that would have cleared the way for the testing. The appeals court said restricting the test is within the scope of the government's authority.

Kilpatrick was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of assaulting two Wayne County investigators. It's one of two criminal cases against the mayor, who denies shoving the pair while they tried to deliver a subpoena to a friend.

Kilpatrick is barred from traveling outside the metro Detroit area. Those bond restrictions likely will be discussed at the arraignment. The mayor also is required to wear an electronic tether to monitor his whereabouts.

In Kilpatrick's other criminal case, involving allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice, a judge has said he can go to Denver for the convention.

The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will leave the rights in the hands of Penguin Group Inc. and the heirs of John Steinbeck's widow, Elaine. Author John Steinbeck died in 1968; his wife in 2003.

The appeals court said a lower court judge misapplied copyright law in awarding the rights in 2006 to the son, Thomas Steinbeck, and granddaughter Blake Smyle. Both already receive a portion of the proceeds of sales.

The case was returned to the lower court with instructions to leave the rights with various individuals and organizations, including the publisher Penguin and Elaine Steinbeck's heirs. The heirs include her sister, four children and grandchildren.

Mark S. Lee, the lawyer representing Thomas Steinbeck and Blake Smyle, said he was disappointed with the ruling.

Attorney Susan J. Kohlmann, who represented Steinbeck's estate, said the estate and its heirs were delighted, saying Wednesday's ruling meant "the wishes of John Steinbeck related to ownership of his literary works have been validated."

Jose Ernesto Medellin, 33, was killed by lethal injection in the Huntsville death chamber at 9:57 p.m. Medellin was sentenced to die for the 1993 rape and murder of two girls, aged 14 and 16, in Houston, Texas. The Mexican-born Medellin was in the midst of an initiation into the Black and Whites street gang at the time.

The ICJ told US authorities in 2004 that Medellin's case and that of other Mexicans facing execution violated the Vienna Convention because authorities failed to inform the foreigners of their right to consular access and assistance during trial.

US President George W. Bush ordered that the cases be reviewed, but the US Supreme Court in March ruled that his request was unconstitutional.

Medellin's execution went ahead even though Ban urged US authorities to comply with the ICJ's order.

Major business groups, usual GOP allies, have implored Congress to act on the tax credits, many which expired at the end of last year or will run out at the end of this year. But for many Republicans, it's a matter or principle and politics: many oppose what they say are new tax increases to pay for parts of the package and nearly all say the Senate's only business now is acting on an energy bill that promotes drilling and other measures to boost domestic oil supply.

The White House, citing new taxes and other objections to the bill, threatened a presidential veto. The vote Wednesday was 51-43, nine short of the 60 needed to begin floor debate.