Lawyer Peng Jian said the Xinhua District Court in the northern city of Shijiazhuang is the first Chinese court known to have accepted a lawsuit in connection with the scandal.

Peng said Wednesday the suit was filed by a parent from Beijing whose child was one of thousands sickened by milk deliberately contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.

Peng said the suit demanded 31,000 yuan ($4,538) in damages from the now defunct Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group. Peng said the 11-month-old victim became ill after drinking Sanlu's infant formula.

Investors reignited the market's two-week rally, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books. They're also pleased with a report showing a surprising increase in existing home sales last month.

The Dow has ended the day up 497 points at 7,775 after rising more than 500 just before the closing bell. That was its biggest point gain in more than four months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 54 at 822 and the Nasdaq composite is up 98 at 1,555.

More than 2,800 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while just 262 fell. Volume came to a very heavy 1.91 billion shares.

WolfBlock LLP has more than 300 lawyers. The firm announced Monday that the partners have voted to shut down, but not immediately. They plan to keep operating for several months so the transition will be orderly for clients and employees.

WolfBlock says its core practice is real estate law and the recession has hurt that greatly. The credit crisis is another factor it the decision to close.

In addition to its Philadelphia headquarters, WolfBlock has offices in Boston; Cherry Hill, N.J.; Harrisburg, Pa.; New York; Norristown, Pa.; Roseland, N.J., and Wilmington, Del.

But Al-Marri's third trip to the area comes under far different circumstances — facing trial on federal charges alleging he supported al-Qaida terrorists. His first court appearance is Monday.

Al-Marri, 43, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley University in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he was an al-Qaida sleeper agent tied to organizers of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was a legal U.S. resident but became the only "enemy combatant" in custody on American soil.

He was held without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

Then, last month, a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted al-Marri on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror.

The scant Feb. 26 indictment offers no details on the long-awaited charges and federal officials are not discussing al-Marri's case.

Under current law, felons can't vote until they have served their sentences, including the completion of any parole or probation, and paid all restitution and other court fees.

A measure to remove that payment requirement — opponents say it's akin to a modern-day "poll tax" — has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. If it becomes law, felons could simply re-register to vote once they're no longer in state custody, including any parole or probation.

"The basic unfairness is that our system is currently based on someone paying off their legal obligations," said Rep. Jeannie Darneille, a Tacoma Democrat who sponsored the measure. "If you have money, you can get your rights restored, and if you don't have money, you won't."

Washington's neighbor, Oregon, automatically restores voting rights to felons once they're released from prison. Nearly 40 other states and the District of Columbia also have less onerous restrictions on restoring voting rights to felons.

But others argue Washington state is obligated to make sure felons complete all of their sentence, including all monetary obligations.

"Until they pay their fines and restitution, to me, they haven't carried out their entire sentence," said Rep. Ed Orcutt, a Kalama Republican who opposes the bill. "So their voting rights shouldn't be restored."

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a Seattle Democrat who sponsored a similar measure in the Senate, said felons will still need to pay off their debts, but won't have to wait to vote while they're doing so.

"It's more an issue of fairness," she said. "I don't think the right to vote should be based on one's income."

The question hanging over these proceedings is whether this jury, unlike the one at Spector's first trial 18 months ago, will be able to reach a unanimous verdict. The first panel deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.

When closing arguments in Spector's retrial begin Monday, prosecutors will attempt to convince jurors that the 69-year-old music producer fired the fatal shot as Clarkson tried to leave his home. The defense will argue that Clarkson, a down-on-her-luck actress approaching middle age, put the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

A change from circumstances presented to the first jury is a ruling Friday by Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler that provides an option to convict Spector of a lesser charge. Fidler instructed jurors that involuntary manslaughter charges could be considered.

If Spector, who became famous for creating rock music's "wall of sound," is convicted of that charge, he could be sentenced to as little as two to four years in prison.

Prosecutors did not charge Spector with involuntary manslaughter, and district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said they would still argue that he is guilty of second-degree murder, a conviction with a prison sentence of 15 years to life.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruling Monday throws out an appeals court's dismissal of the lawsuit and sends it back to a lower court.

Atlanta claims Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and 14 other online travel companies owe millions in unpaid taxes. Similar challenges have been filed by Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Branson, Mo.

The lawsuits challenge pricing schemes in which consumers are charged a higher price than what the sites pay hotels for the rooms, allowing the sites to pocket service fees. The taxes are paid on that cheaper rate — and cities say they're deprived of millions in revenues.