Programming note: Early Friday morning, I’ll be traveling to Scranton, Pennsylvania for the oral argument of defendants’ post-trial motion filed in a case that law.com previously reported on here. Counsel for the plaintiffs have asked me to assist them both in opposing that post-trial motion and in connection with any appeal that may follow.

“Al-Marri pleads guilty to conspiracy”: The Peoria Journal Star has this news update.

The Associated Press reports that “Former ‘enemy combatant’ pleads guilty in Illinois.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Lingering issues for Al-Marri.”

BREAKING NEWS — “Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire”: Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio has this written report.

NBC News is reporting that “Souter to retire from Supreme Court; His retirement would give Obama his first chance to nominate a justice.”

CBS News reports that “Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire; Centrist Justice Will Remain In Place Until A Successor Is Appointed.”

The Associated Press has an article headlined “Source: Justice Souter retiring.”

And Politico.com has an article headlined “Reports: Souter plans to retire.”

Update: Bill Mears of CNN.com has a profile headlined “Souter known as low-key, fierce defender of individual rights.”

The New York Times reports that “Souter Plans to Leave Supreme Court.”

And Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Souter tells White House that he’ll retire from Supreme Court.”

“Laid-Off Md. Lawyer Who Argued Before High Court Kills Self”: This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post.

“Does Souter’s silence on hiring mean he’s leaving?” Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

Available online from the First Amendment Center: Tony Mauro reports that “FCC’s ‘fleeting expletives’ policy in place for now.”

And David L. Hudson Jr. has an essay entitled “‘Concurring’ justice again questions First Amendment precedent.”

“CAFC Vacates TTAB’s ‘MOSKOVSKAYA’ Vodka Ruling, Clarifies 2(e)(3) Materiality Test”: “The TTABlog” has this post today.

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Federal Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Kilpatrick Stockton’s Mark Levy Dead”: This post appears at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

And the ABA Journal’s “Law News Now” blog has a post titled “Kilpatrick Stockton Lawyer Dead from Gunshot Wound.”

Attorney Mark I. Levy served on the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and from time to time he would send me an email passing along items of possible interest to me or other readers of “How Appealing.” Although I did not know Levy very well, and had not heard from him recently, I offer my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

“Interrogation Results Prompt Scrutiny Of Methods”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Obama says waterboarding was torture” and “Obama favors changes to state secrets doctrine.”

“Court lets private schools expel lesbians”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle today has an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court left intact Wednesday a lower-court ruling that said a private religious high school wasn’t covered by California civil rights law and could expel students it believed were lesbians.”

“There Goes the Neighborhood: A Fight Over Defining ‘Blight.'” Today in The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel has an article that begins, “U.S. Supreme Court rulings on property law don’t often serve as clarion calls to wide swaths of the population. But most rulings aren’t Kelo v. City of New London.”

“McDonald’s loses trademark battle in Malaysia; Court says McCurry restaurant gets to keep its name”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “When it comes to its famous trademarks, McDonald’s Corp. is known for McFightin’. But it came up a loser Wednesday in Malaysia, where a court ruled that an Indian restaurant can keep the name McCurry. The case highlights a never-ending battle for big consumer-products companies: staving off alleged attempts to hijack their marquee brands.”

Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency, reports that “McDonald’s Loses Exclusivity To Prefix ‘Mc.’”

The New Straits Times reports that “McCurry is not McDonalds.”

The Associated Press reports that “Malaysia Rules McDonald’s Has No Monopoly on ‘Mc.’”

And Reuters reports that “McCurry beats McDonald’s in lawsuit.”

“Attorneys weigh in on Bybee’s torture memos; Opinion called OK, repugnant”: This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

And Las Vegas Weekly has posted online an article headlined “Memos on a scandal: Stuffing people in boxes? Facial slaps? Waterboarding? Former UNLV law professor Jay Bybee said none constituted torture while working for Bush.”

“Court orders county reassessment; Justices say taxation system is ‘broken’ and unconstitutional”: Today’s edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article that begins, “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday that Allegheny County’s property reassessment system is unconstitutional and unfair to property owners with lower values and said the county must reassess its property values.”

And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that “Allegheny County ordered to reassess all properties by state Supreme Court.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and a concurring opinion.