Washington Mutual Inc. and its fellow defendants have agreed to pay $208.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from the lender's collapse in 2008, the biggest U.S. bank failure in history.

The defendants and lead plaintiff Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board outlined the terms of the agreement in documents filed with U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday.

The pact calls for Washington Mutual to pay $105 million, for a group of underwriters that includes Goldman, Sachs & Co., to pay $85 million, and for Deloitte & Touche LLP to kick in another $18.5 million. In exchange, the plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss all claims against the lender and its co-defendants.

The settlement must be approved by a bankruptcy court overseeing Washington Mutual's reorganization plan.

In 2008, the federal government seized WMI's flagship bank, based in Seattle, and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.

Plaintiffs ranging from huge pension funds to small individual investigators accused WMI and its banking executives of securities fraud, claiming the bank's lending standards and practices were misrepresented, questionable business practices were not disclosed and federal financial reports were misleading.

The Ontario teachers' pension fund has claimed it lost $24 million from alleged wrongdoing by WMI and the other defendants.

Under the terms of the settlement deal, WMI and the other defendants did not admit any wrongdoing.

The Obama administration won a legal battle Friday in the long-standing fight over where to bury the nation's nuclear waste, but it's not likely to be the last.

The federal appeals court in Washington ruled against South Carolina, Washington state and others that want to ship radioactive spent nuclear fuel they are temporarily storing to a repository 90 miles from Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain.

Congress chose Yucca Mountain as the leading candidate for waste disposal. But opponents are concerned about contamination, and the Obama administration said it would not consider the site and would look for alternatives.

The appeals court ruled that it's not an appropriate time for it to intervene because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hasn't made a final decision yet on the status of Yucca Mountain. So the court threw out the case.

But the court pointed out that the commission is required under the law to issue a final decision within four years of an application, which will come in 2012 for the Bush administration's application for construction at Yucca Mountain. The court noted the commission's decision can be reviewed by the court and that it can also be sued for failing to act by the deadline.

Other than Yucca Mountain, the United States has no long-term plan for disposing of its nuclear waste. A federal report issued early in June said the U.S. has generated more than 82,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste, which it was storing at 80 sites in 35 states.

A federal appeals court has struck down Michigan's ban on the consideration of race and gender in university admissions.

In a 2-1 decision Friday, the court said Michigan's Proposal 2 is unconstitutional because it burdens minorities. Voters approved the amendment to the state constitution in 2006, and the court notes the only way people who disagree with it can seek change is in another statewide vote.

The law has forced the University of Michigan and other public schools to change admissions policies giving minorities preferential treatment.

The ban passed with 58 percent of the vote nearly five years ago and also applies to government hiring.

California, Nebraska and Washington state have similar bans. Arizona and Colorado voters have rejected them in recent years.