Lawyers for Vasily Aleksanian, a former lawyer for jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a former vice president of Yukos, had asked the court to allow him to be treated in a hospital. The Simonovsky District Court ruled that Aleksanian should be treated in a Moscow jail because he could flee or pressure witnesses if released.

Authorities' refusal to allow hospital treatment for Aleksanian has sparked criticism that the company and some of its former executives are the victims of a Kremlin revenge campaign.

Khodorkovsky was sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion, a sentence widely seen as the Kremlin's revenge for his political ambitions and funding of opposition parties. Yukos, once Russia's largest oil producer and regarded as one of the country's best-run companies, was sold off in auctions ordered by the state to pay off billions of dollars in back tax claims.

Aleksanian is charged with embezzling funds and shares in Yukos subsidiary Tomskneft worth $490 million, charges he denies.

Khodorkovsky accused officials of trying to extract incriminating, false confessions from Aleksanian and denying him treatment until he cooperates. Khodorkovsky launched a hunger strike on Jan. 30 to protest authorities' refusal to give Aleksanian proper AIDS medication.

The prosecution had raised no objections to suspending Aleksanian's trial, but insisted Aleksanian must remain in custody.

Aleksanian who looked tired and haggard, was visibly angry when he heard the court's verdict.

His lawyer, Yelena Lvova, said he could not get proper treatment in custody and the Moscow-based group For Human Rights denounced the ruling as a "demonstration of the government's inexorable cruelty."

"There is a sense of complacency in the meat industry that believes, `Hey, we solved that problem and we don't have to watch it so much,'" says Marler, whose career has proved otherwise.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that food poisoning each year afflicts some 76 million Americans; 300,000 require hospitalization and 5,000 die.

Many victims end up hiring Marler, who took his first food poisoning case in 1993, during the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest that sickened hundreds and killed four children.

"Bill was certainly at the right place at the right time entering the field of food safety litigation," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, who is in charge of food safety at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. "I see him in kind of a private attorney general role."

Marler, 50, operates three dozen Web sites dedicated to food-borne illnesses. He is a tireless blogger on all things food safety and appears in front of federal and state lawmakers and regulatory boards. The license plate on his wife's Volkswagen reads ECOLI.

In all these cases, Marler has gone to trial just once, winning a $4.6 million verdict against a Washington state school district where 11 children got E. coli poisoning in the cafeteria.

Instead, he adroitly uses his sympathetic clients — and the media — to shame food producers into settling.

"I don't apologize for that," he says. "The publicity helps generate change."

The past year has been a busy one for Marler's six-lawyer firm, which has about 1,000 active cases in all 50 states. The clients typically pay their lawyers 25 to 35 percent of their settlements.

The targets of Marler's lawsuits include the Topps Meat Co., which recalled 21.7 million pounds of its hamburger patties in September — the second-biggest U.S. beef recall ever — then went out of business. When Cargill Inc. recalled 840,000 pounds of beef patties the following month, it brought more lawsuits by Marler.

He is also suing ConaAgra Foods Inc., which recalled its Banquet chicken pot pies and Peter Pan peanut butter last year after they were found to be contaminated with salmonella.

"He's a good lawyer and he does a fine job for his clients," says Leo Knowles, ConAgra's top lawyer. "He's passionate about food safety. At times he's a little bit overly dramatic, but I think he's genuine."

Marler continually implores the food industry to "put me out of business" by adopting more stringent safety procedures. He sent the lettuce industry a letter in 2006 in which he called on growers to stop using irrigation water contaminated with cattle and human feces, to wash fruits and vegetables more thoroughly, and to provide field hands with bathrooms.

"These steps will help make our food supply safer and will enable us to keep our most vulnerable citizens — kids and seniors — out of harm's way," he wrote. "And, with a little luck, it will force one damn trial lawyer to find another line of work."

Marler holds degrees from Washington State University and the Seattle University School of Law. He has no formal scientific training but has immersed himself in microbiology and DNA tracing, and his firm has a scientist on staff on whom he relies.

Marler handled about 150 cases from the deadly 2006 E. coli outbreak involving California spinach, settling roughly half those cases so far with companies such as Dole Foods. Among the clients whose cases are still unresolved is 3-year-old Ashley Armstrong of Indianapolis, whose kidneys were so damaged she will have to take medication for the rest of her life and will probably need a transplant, according to her mother.

He also has been settling dozens of cases against Taco Bell stemming from a 2006 E. coli outbreak that sickened 71 people in five states.

Marler fell into food safety litigation almost by accident.

Brianne Kiner, 9, of Seattle was the first among hundreds who fell ill in the Jack in the Box outbreak. Six lawyers trekked to her bedside during the six months she spent in the hospital, hoping to represent the family. The Kiners hired Marler, a young associate at a mid-size law firm who had never worked on a food case.

"I wanted a young, hungry lion," recalls Suzanne Kiner, Brianne's mother. "He was also the only one who looked at her and teared up."

Against all odds, Brianne survived and lives in a house bought with some of the $15.6 million Marler extracted from the restaurant chain for the Kiners. But Brianne, now 25, still suffers from high blood pressure and immune system damage that makes her prone to colds and flu.

"I call him Uncle Bill," the young woman says. "I think it's incredible what he did, and I'm very thankful that he helped me."

Marler says: "When I started doing the Jack in the Box case in 1993, I never dreamed that I would be doing this in 2008. Unfortunately, it never seems to slow down."

Michael pleaded guilty to using his Long Island, N.Y., mortgage company, Coastal Capital, to hide a half million dollars in bribes to Cunningham paid by Brent Wilkes, a Poway businessman. He also admitted to lying to the grand jury about how the financial transaction was structured.

Michael, 36, is the last person in the case to have his case resolved.

Wilkes was convicted Nov. 5 on 13 counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. Prosecutors said he paid Cunningham at least $625,000 in bribes, including meals, trips and gifts.

Cunningham, who in return steered millions in federal contracts to Wilkes' company, ADCS Inc. of Poway, is serving an eight-year prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion.

Michael's uncle, New York financier Thomas Kontogiannis, pleaded guilty a year ago, and is awaiting sentencing.

Those two assumptions could affect some $1 trillion in revenues over the next five years.

The budget outline presented Monday envisions the loss of $635 billion in revenues over the next five years if Congress makes permanent those tax cuts involving capital gains, the repeal of the estate tax, breaks for married couples and those with children and individual income tax rates. Over 10 years the tax cuts — many set to expire in 2010 if Congress does not act — will cost $2 trillion.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates another $444 billion in interest payments to service that debt over 10 years.

The Democrats who now control Congress show no inclination to extend the tax cuts, arguing that they disproportionately help the rich and the money can be better spent to improve health care or reduce the federal deficit.

The president's proposals to cut out wasteful spending "are dwarfed by the more than $700 billion that would be added to the deficit over the next five years from extending his tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthiest Americans," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Republicans say that failure to extend the tax cuts would result in 116 million taxpayers seeing an average tax increase of $1,800. "We recognize that in order for this economy to grow, it's important to make the tax relief permanent," Bush said.

The budget proposal also records some $70 billion in lost revenue this year and next under the assumption that Congress will take steps to block the alternative minimum tax from hitting more middle-class taxpayers.

The AMT was enacted 40 years ago to ensure that a small number of very wealthy people can't avoid paying taxes. But the tax was never adjusted for inflation, and Congress has been forced to take stopgap measures every year to shield middle-income-level people from the tax. Legislation passed by Congress in late December kept those affected by the AMT from growing from 4 million in 2006 to 25 million in the 2007 tax year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has estimated that it will cost $800 billion to repeal the AMT. Without that politically difficult action, Congress will have to continue to enact yearly fixes, at a cost of $313 billion over the next five years, the Congressional Budget Office says.

The budget proposal also sees revenue losses of nearly $100 billion over five years from health insurance tax incentives promoted by the White House but opposed by Democrats seeing them as threats to employer-based insurance plans.

Plastech Engineered Products Inc., which supplies Chrysler with about 500 plastic interior, exterior and powertrain components for nearly all of its vehicles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday after the automaker told the supplier it was seeking other sources for the parts.

The dispute cut the flow of parts from the Dearborn-based Plastech to Chrysler, and the company on Monday was forced to shut down four factories and cut a shift at a fifth.

Chrysler sued Plastech in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, and the both sides were in court Monday but were unable to resolve the matter, a person briefed on the negotiations said. Talks went into the evening and recessed until Tuesday morning, when further court action was scheduled, said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Chrysler is seeking an immediate resumption of parts production as well as the tools to make the parts, which it owns. Without the tools, Chrysler said in its lawsuit that it eventually will have to cease production of vehicles systemwide.

The automaker terminated its contracts with Plastech on Friday.

Plastech's contracts with the automaker were worth about $200 million, Plastech spokesman Kelvin Scott said. Plastech does about $1.3 billion in total business.

"We are continuing to supply parts to our other customers, including Ford and GM," he said.

One industry analyst said the production slowdown may be short because Chrysler should have little trouble finding new companies to replace Plastech.

Faced with stiff competition and a shrinking market, many suppliers are willing to take on work if it means getting contracts, said Craig Fitzgerald, a partner in Plante & Moran's Strategy and Global Services Group.

In its lawsuit filed Friday, Chrysler claimed Plastech no longer can meet its production demands.

On Monday Chrysler temporarily closed the four assembly plants and shut down one shift at another, affecting about 10,500 workers.

Plants closed are in Sterling Heights, Mich.; Newark, Del.; Toledo, Ohio; and Belvidere, Ill., while the second shift at Toledo Supplier Park in Toledo was dismissed, the company said.

Of the vehicles made at the affected factories, the Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle had the lowest supply in January, at 46 days, according to Wards AutoInfoBank. The largest supply is the Jeep Wrangler, at 117 days.

Although Chrysler has an inventory of vehicles made by the plants, it will not benefit from any plant closures, said Aaron Bragman, an auto industry analyst for the consulting company Global Insight.

"When a plant is idle, you're not making any money. You've got people standing around, so it's just a cost," he said.

Auto companies want enough inventory to have a buffer and don't want it to become depleted, Bragman said. Chrysler has reduced its inventory substantially since it became bloated last year, he said.

Even if Chrysler lays off workers, they would still get most of their pay under their contract with the United Auto Workers.

Overall, the company had 413,874 vehicles in its inventory last month, a 75-day supply, according to Ward's.

The shutdowns are having a ripple effect as auto parts maker Dana Corp. canceled Monday night's second-shift at its modules plant in Toledo. About 150 people work at the plant, which supplies drivetrain parts for Chrysler's Toledo Jeep plant.

Employees at the Sterling Heights stamping plant were sent home early Friday night and after four hours of work Monday, union steward Russell Phillips said.

"We have no extra stock," said Phillips, who adds that Chrysler works on a "just-in-time" policy for parts delivery.

"Most of (the workers) are saying 'this is what they get for not wanting to keep stock in the house,'" Phillips said.

Chrysler employees will be notified of return-to-work schedules from plant officials or through local media, the automaker said.

Plastech has 36 facilities and 7,600 employees in the United States and Canada.

Engine covers, grill panels, moldings, metal stampings, door panels, floor consoles and safety restraint system components are some of the parts Plastech supplies to Chrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., according to the company's Web site.

Ford was still getting parts from Plastech and was unaffected by the dispute, Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told reporters Monday night.

Chrysler's work shutdown should last no more than a week or two, Fitzgerald said.

"I think they will not have any problems filling the void," he said. "There is a lot of excess capacity. Chrysler would do everything it can to get up and running."

The Kansas Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a grand jury from obtaining patient records from a physician who is one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers.

The grand jury is investigating whether Dr. George Tiller has broken Kansas laws restricting abortion, as many abortion opponents allege. The grand jury subpoenaed the medical files of about 2,000 women, including some who decided against having abortions.

Abortion opponents forced Sedgwick County to convene the grand jury by submitting petitions, the second such citizen investigation since 2006 of Tiller, who has long been at the center of the nation's abortion battle. His clinic was bombed in 1985, and eight years later a woman shot him in both arms.

Tiller's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to quash the grand jury's subpoenas, and the court agreed to block their enforcement until it considers the issue.

Chief Justice Kay McFarland said Tiller's challenge raised "significant issues" about patients' privacy and a grand jury's power to subpoena records.

The Sedgwick County prosecutor presenting evidence to the grand jury had objected to the attempts to block the subpoenas, noting that the grand jury's term is limited, but McFarland said the grand jury's term can be extended.

The court set a Feb. 11 deadline for legal arguments in favor of allowing the subpoenas. Tiller's attorneys then have until Feb. 25 to respond.

Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, called the high court's decision "extremely disappointing."

"There is no way to determine if the reasons for these late abortions were done within the narrow legal criteria without looking at the records themselves," she said. "His lawyers say they are worried about women's privacy. They are worried about protecting Dr. Tiller."

Tiller's attorneys, Dan Monnat and Lee Thompson, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

The grand jury is seeking records of all women who visited Tiller's clinic between July 2003 and last month and were at least 22 weeks pregnant at the time. The grand jury also subpoenaed information about current and former employees and referring physicians.

The edited patient records would not have the women's names, but they would have patient identification numbers. Tiller's attorneys claimed in court last week that in an earlier investigation, former Attorney General Phill Kline was able to track down patients' names using the identifying numbers on patients' files.

A spokesman for Kline, who is now Johnson County district attorney, denied that any patients had ever been identified.

Kline eventually filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller before leaving office last year, only to see the case dismissed for jurisdictional reasons.