“Judge rejects ‘necessity defense’ in abortion case”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A judge ruled Tuesday that Kansas law doesn’t allow a so-called ‘necessity defense’ in the trial of a man charged with killing one of the nation’s few late-term abortion providers.”

“Pfizer Jury Said to Set Prempro Damages at $8 Million”: Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “Jurors said in 2007 that a Pfizer Inc. unit should pay more than $8 million in punitive damages to a woman who blamed the company’s menopause drugs for her breast cancer, according to people familiar with the sealed figure.”

“Court bans sale of Word; Microsoft has fix ready”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court ordered Microsoft Corp. to stop selling its Word program in January and pay a Canadian software company $290 million for violating a patent, upholding the judgment of a lower court.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Microsoft Must Alter Word or Stop Sales, Court Says.”

Reuters reports that “Microsoft loses Word appeal, will adjust program.”

And at the “Patently-O” blog, Dennis Crouch has a post titled “Appellate Court Enforces Permanent Injunction against Microsoft Word.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.

“OPM defies order on same-sex benefits”: In today’s edition of The Washington Post, Joe Davidson’s “Federal Diary” column begins, “With logic only a lawyer — and perhaps only a government lawyer — could love, the Obama administration is refusing to obey a federal judge’s order that agrees with a position the administration supports.” (Via John Elwood at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”)

My most recent earlier coverage of this matter appears here.

“Appeals court rejects Ky. online hotel tax suit”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit in which Louisville and Lexington officials tried to collect taxes from hundreds of online hotel brokers such as Hotels.com.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.

“Sheriff deputies racked up overtime at high court”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal contains this article today.

“Groups laud Cox in carp fight; AG takes bid to close Chicago-area locks to U.S. Supreme Court”: This article appears today in The Detroit News.

The Detroit Free Press reports today that “Cox suit aims to shut waterways; Response to carp too slow, he says.”

The Chicago Tribune contains an article headlined “Asian carp: Michigan asks Supreme Court to shut 2 corridors to Great Lakes; Great Lakes’ $7 billion fishing industry threatened, Michigan says.”

And The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Michigan asks US Supreme Court to act in Asian carp flap; Michigan’s attorney general takes aim at Illinois canal that, many worry, could be Asian carp’s entree to the Great Lakes; He petitioned the Supreme Court Monday to intervene quickly.”

“N.D. Supreme Court considers racial slur case”: The Associated Press has this report.

“New Michigan Supreme Court rules may be unconstitutional”: Today in The Detroit News, Matthew Schneider has an op-ed that begins, “Imagine that Michigan voters elect Justices A and B to the state Supreme Court. The voters want A and B to decide cases. But suppose four other Justices think A and B might be biased. Over A and B’s strong objections, they ignore the voters and ban Justices A and B from deciding cases.”

“Restoring Access to the Courts”: This editorial calling for the passage of legislation to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court‘s ruling in Ashcroft v. Iqbal appears today in The New York Times.

“Solicitor General Holds Views Close To Her Chest”: This audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”