The Supreme Court Monday rejected a generic-drug maker's appeal challenging a patent for a blockbuster blood-thinning drug developed by Sanofi-Aventis SA and co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

The dispute arose after the Canadian generic-drug maker Apotex Corp. applied to market a generic version of the anti-blood-clotting drug Plavix shortly before its original patent expired in 2003.

France-based Sanofi sued Apotex for patent infringement because Sanofi researchers had separated Plavix's two main molecules and successfully applied for a second patent on just the effective molecule in the drug.

Apotex argued that the second patent, which doesn't expire until 2011, shouldn't have been granted. Two years ago the Supreme Court ruled in KSR v. Teleflex that a patent can't be awarded to the results of a procedure that is "obvious to try."

But both a U.S. judge in New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington upheld the patent's validity, ruling that the results of the drug tests couldn't have been predicted, even if trying the experiment itself were obvious.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury Thursday awarded the survivors of Jennifer Lea Strange $16,577,118 as a result of her death nearly three years ago in a water-drinking contest conducted by a local radio station.

In making the award, the seven-man, five-woman panel found that Entercom Sacramento LLC, the local subsidiary of Entercom Communications Corp. of Philadelphia was negligent in putting on the contest that ultimately resulted in Strange's death.

Plaintiffs lawyers had asked the jury for an award for economic and non-economic damages in a range of $34 million to $44.3 million.

Strange, 28, died Jan. 12, 2007, after participating in what KDND promoted as its "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest that promised the popular Nintendo video game to whomever could drink the most water without urinating or vomiting. The Sacramento County Coroner's Office determined that she died of acute water intoxication. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department investigated the case to see if it was a homicide, but no criminal charges were filed.

Plaintiffs attorneys filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her husband, William Strange, individually and as guardian of their two young children, Ryland, 6, and Jorie, 3; and Ronald Sims, the father and guardian of the woman's oldest son, Keegan, 13. The plaintiffs charged that the defendants were negligent in holding the contest.

Officials at the Washington-based Hogan & Hartson law firm and London-based Lovells said Thursday that they are discussing a possible merger, a move that would make the combined entity one of the largest law firms in the world, with 2,500 lawyers and 40 offices.

Both firms specialize in similar practice areas -- mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, litigation and other corporate transactions. A merger, officials said, would allow them to increase market share and become a global powerhouse in three of the most important financial markets in the world: the United States, Europe and Asia.

"In order to play at the top tier of the legal profession, you need breadth and depth in all three of these geographic markets, and you need to be at the top of the markets," said Peter Zeughauser, chairman of the Zeughauser Group, which is advising Lovells on the proposed merger. The new firm would "draw more clients and more top talent to service that work," he said.

The management teams at Hogan & Hartson and Lovells are expected to make a unanimous recommendation to the partners of the firms, who have the final say on the proposal, officials said. Documents detailing the merger will be sent to partners next week, officials said. If they approve the proposal in December, as is expected, the merger would go into effect in May.

A University of Connecticut student committed an act terrorism by posting Internet messages telling people to "stop the snitching" after the stabbing death of football player Jasper Howard, university police said Thursday.

Christopher Mutchler, an 18-year-old freshman from Wethersfield, faces charges of hindering prosecution, committing an act of terrorism and several misdemeanors. He is due in court Nov. 10.

The messages were found Oct. 20, posted on an ESPNU news page about the stabbing and a Facebook wall set up for mourners to leave condolence messages.

"STOP the snitching and post the names of anyone you know who gave information to the cops," read one profanity-laced posting on the ESPNU site. "jazz didnt deserve do die the person who killed him didnt intend to kill HIM anyone who snitched should face the social consequences."

Over 8,000 people visited the Facebook wall, and police say they had reason to believe the messages were instilling fear and preventing witnesses from coming forward.

The winner of the reality TV show "Big Brother 9" is headed to federal court for a detention hearing on a drug charge.

Adam Jasinski (jah-ZIN'-skee), of Delray Beach, Fla., is charged with attempting to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston Friday.

Jasinski was arrested in North Reading on Oct. 17 after he allegedly showed a government witness two plastic bags filled with oxycodone, a prescription painkiller that can cause dependance.

Jasinski won $500,000 on "Big Brother 9" in April 2008. In an affidavit, a federal drug agent said the 31-year-old Jasinski told him he had been using his winnings on the CBS reality show to buy thousands of oxycodone pills and resell them along the East Coast.

A 40-year-old Denham Springs woman has been arrested for allegedly misappropriating $30,000 while working at a law firm.

According to court documents, the misappropriation of funds occurred between July 15, 2008, and June 12.

During that time, authorities say Christine Cronin Iddings used company credit cards to make purchases.

Investigators with the Attorney General's Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested Iddings Thursday, and booked her into Parish Prison on 54 counts of access device fraud, 15 counts of forgery and a count of identity theft.

It wasn't immediately clear if Iddings has an attorney.

Hidden data embedded in electronic public records must be disclosed under Arizona's public records law, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case that attracted interest from media and government organizations.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision overturned lower courts' rulings and is one of the first decisions by a state appellate court on whether a public records law applies to so-called "metadata" — data about data.

Metadata can show how and when a document was created or revised and by whom. The information isn't visible when a document is printed on paper nor does it appear on screen in normal settings.

"It would be illogical, and contrary to the policy of openness underlying the public records law, to conclude that public entities can withhold information embedded in an electronic document, such as the date of creation, while they would be required to produce the same information if it were written manually on a paper public records," Justice Scott Bales wrote.

A Washington state appellate court ruled last year that metadata in e-mail received by a city's deputy mayor was a public record under Washington's public records law.