Pozen Inc. (POZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which develops drugs to treat acute and chronic pain, said on Tuesday it has settled a class-action lawsuit filed against the company and its chief executive officer, Dr. John Plachetka.

Pozen said all claims against the company and Plachetka will be dropped without admission of wrongdoing by any party.

The settlement agreement, which remains subject to court approval, will be funded with proceeds from the company's directors and officers' liability insurance.

About POZEN

POZEN is a pharmaceutical company committed to developing therapeutic advancements for diseases with unmet medical needs where it can improve efficacy, safety, and/or patient convenience. POZEN's efforts are focused primarily on the development of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and other pain-related conditions. POZEN has development and commercialization alliances with GlaxoSmithKline for the proposed product candidate Trexima combining sumatriptan, formulated with RT Technology, and naproxen sodium in a single tablet for the acute treatment of migraine, which is currently under review by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and with AstraZeneca for proprietary fixed dose combinations of naproxen with the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole magnesium in a single tablet for conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in patients who are at risk for developing NSAID-associated gastric ulcers. The company's common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "POZN". For detailed company information, including copies of this and other press releases, see POZEN's website: www.pozen.com.

Pulley Watson King & Lischer (PWKL), a long-established firm in Durham, has hired Rella:Cowan, a marketing and advertising agency, to rebrand the law firm which specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Rella:Cowan will work with PWKL to research and develop the firm’s brand positioning and create a new corporate identity and website, as well as other marketing tactics.

“We talked to a number of marketing and branding agencies, and Rella:Cowan was the one who truly understood what we need to do for this firm,” said Stephanie Jester, Firm Administrator for PWKL. “We were impressed with their proven experience and their guidance in helping this firm become even more competitive in the complex realm of medical malpractice and personal injury law.”

The agency is conducting a competitive analysis and executive interviews to develop the firm’s new brand positioning. The research phase will be followed by the development of a full corporate identity package with a new logo and website that will include public service information about specific medical conditions and preventing them.

About Pulley Watson King & Lischer
Pulley Watson King & Lischer (PWKL) is one of North Carolina's leading plaintiff's personal injury firms, with an excellent reputation for handling catastrophic cases while providing outstanding client care. PWKL’s practice includes wrongful death, medical negligence, personal injury, environmental claims, estate planning, corporate law, and commercial litigation. The firm’s attorneys are members of a variety of professional associations and are active in many community service efforts. Richard Watson and Guy Crabtree, both partners with the firm, were recently named to 2007 The Best Lawyers in America list. Malvern King, Managing Partner, was inducted into the General Practice Hall of Fame by the North Carolina Bar Association in June.

About Rella:Cowan

Rella:Cowan is a full-service strategic marketing and advertising agency. With award-winning work and diverse experience, Rella:Cowan helps clients effectively communicate their brands. The agency’s current clients include companies in financial services, technology, retail and professional services. For more information, visit http://rellacowan.com.

The latest move in the separation of powers fight between the legislative and executive branches came as members of Congress began returning from their Fourth of July recess. An atmosphere of high tension accompanied the resumption of work as a fight also loomed there between majority Democrats and some key Republicans and Bush over his Iraq war policy.

In his letter regarding subpoenas the Judiciary panels issued, Fielding said, "The president feels compelled to assert executive privilege with respect to the testimony sought from Sara M. Taylor and Harriet E. Miers."

"You may be assured that the president's assertion here comports with prior practices in similar contexts, and that it has been appropriately documented," the letter said.

Fielding was responding to a 10 a.m. EDT deadline set by the Democratic chairmen, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, for the White House to explain it's privilege claim, prove that the president personally invoked it and provide logs of which documents were being withheld.

As expected, Fielding refused to comply. He said he was acting at Bush's direction, and he complained that the committees had decided to enforce the subpoenas whether or not the White House complied.

"The committees have already prejudged the question, regardless of the production of any privilege log," Fielding wrote. "In such circumstances, we will not be undertaking such a project, even as a further accommodation."

Conyers' response left little doubt where the matter was headed.

"Contrary what the White House may believe, it is the Congress and the courts that will decide whether an invocation of Executive Privilege is valid, not the White House unilaterally," the House chairman said in a statement.

The privilege claim on testimony by former aides won't necessarily prevent them from testifying this week, as scheduled.

Leahy said that Taylor, Bush's former political director, may testify as scheduled before the Senate panel on Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee scheduled Miers' testimony for Thursday, but it was unclear whether she would appear, according to congressional aides speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were under way.

The exchange Monday was the latest step in a slow-motion legal waltz between the White House and lawmakers toward eventual contempt-of-Congress citations. If neither side yielded in that circumstance, it would go to a federal court.

The probe into the U.S. attorney firings was only one of several Democratic-led investigations of the White House and its use of executive power spanning the war in Iraq, Bush's secretive wiretapping program and his commutation last week of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence.

Meanwhile, several Democratic-run investigations are playing out this week as they head toward contempt of Congress citations and, if neither side yields, federal court.

On Iraq, Democrats expect to resume legislative challenges to Bush's policy on the war as the Senate this week takes up a major defense spending bill. The administration has been concerned about an escalation of Iraqi war fervor. So much so that Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a four-nation South American tour this week to work with the White House on Iraq policy. unclear whether she will appear.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said Monday there had been "a steady erosion for the president's policy" in Congress because of the "tremendous loss of life among our troops" in June and "the failure of the Iraqi government to pursue the political reforms that are necessary to quell the sectarian violence."

Collins is among the Senate Republicans seeking to see U.S. troops departing Iraq by early 2008. Bush's strategy for a short-term troop increase to stabilize Baghdad and certain parts of Iraq has not been successful, she said.

"The president argued that we needed to undertake the surge in order to give the Iraq government the time, the space to pursue the political reforms," Collins said on CNN. "That hasn't happened. Instead it has been our troops who are making the sacrifice, who are bearing the burden, and that's why you see a real change in support for the Iraq strategy."

In Baghdad Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned that a quick American troop withdrawal could lead to civil war and the collapse of the Iraqi state.

THLD closed Friday's regular trading session at $1.18, down $0.06 or 4.84%. However, in after hours trading, shares grew $0.0147 or 1.25%, trading at $1.1947.

China's top court closed loopholes for bribing officials, issuing rules to stem rampant graft that threatens to undermine the Communist Party's grip on power.

The court and top prosecutor jointly issued the rules Sunday in an effort to "catch up with the tricks of wily, corrupt officials," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The rules widen the definition of bribery to include money, gifts or favors given to the family members or proxies of officials, or to officials after they retire.

Officials can be charged with graft even if they don't personally get a bribe, and the rules make it illegal to help officials covertly arrange bribes.

The rules come a month after President Hu Jintao stressed again that China must urgently tackle corruption, a deep-rooted problem the party has been battling publicly for a decade.

To fight corruption in the state-controlled media, the government posted on the Internet the names of all Chinese print and television journalists and listed the contact information for their organizations.

Shady dealings by media employees using the names of their newspapers have "marred the reputation of Chinese media," Xinhua reported Sunday, announcing the list.

Chinese reporters often cut deals to write positive stories or suppress negative news in return for bribes or promises to buy advertising in their publications.

Former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronnie White said Monday that he is joining the law firm of Holloran, White & Schwartz LLP as a partner.

The Missouri Supreme Court announced in May that White planned to retire from the bench July 6.

White served from 2003 to 2005 as the state's first African-American chief justice. He was appointed to the court in October 1995. He previously served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

Partner Thomas Schwartz said in a statement, "Judge White will focus his practice on civil trials, appeals, and business litigation representing investors, shareholders and small business owners. As a former judge on both the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court, his experience will make him a formidable advocate on the appellate level."

In addition to White, the firm is said it hired Justin Guerra as an associate. Guerra is a graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law and will focus on personal injury cases, including toxic tort, medical malpractice, workplace injuries and serious traffic accidents.

The firm also announced its recently moved to a new location at 2000 S. 8th in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.

“We believe the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) reached erroneous conclusions that could have been corrected by seeking clarification from Orrick before LCB published its audit report,” said the letter from James Houpt.

But the letter went on to say that the law firm considers Nevada to be a valuable client, and the firm's “intent is not to risk that relationship.”

State Treasurer Kate Marshall said the check already has been deposited in a state bank account.

“They respectfully disagreed with the audit, but they also felt it was the right decision for them to make the overpayment identified in the audit,” Marshall told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The state of Nevada is a little over $95,000 better off for it.”

As a result of the audit of the college savings program while under the review of then-Treasurer Brian Krolicki, Marshall sent a letter to the firm seeking a response.

Orrick had served as bond counsel to the state at the time the services were rendered for the program. The contract allowed the firm to provide legal services to other state agencies as well. The firm currently does not have any contract to serve as bond counsel with the state.

The treasurer's office is awaiting a response from another firm that did business with the state for the college savings program on a separate issue raised in the audit.

A Georgia consulting firm, GIF Services, was overpaid $300,000, according to the audit released in May.

The audit was sought by legislators after Marshall said in March that it appeared funds for the program were diverted for unauthorized legal expenditures and marketing costs.

The audit also raised the issue of whether Krolicki broke state law by not depositing $6 million in state-earned fees into the state treasury. The audit has been turned over to the attorney general's office for an investigation.

Krolocki, now lieutenant governor, has said he broke no laws in his management of the program during his eight years as treasurer.

The program was established by the 2001 Legislature to allow parents to invest money in mutual funds to build up college funds for their children.

None of the money that parents invested is missing or ended up in an improper account, according to the audit.