Ex-Michigan U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak has been named a partner at a top Washington lobbying and law firm.

The Democrat from Menominee played a key role in the passage of President Barack Obama's health care legislation. He didn't seek re-election in 2010.

Venable LLC announced Monday that Stupak will serve as a partner in its legislative and government affairs practice.

Venable has a large stable of former lawmakers and government officials, including ex-Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana and ex-Transportation Secretary James Burnley.

Stupak served on the House's Energy and Commerce Committee during 18 years in Congress, chairing its subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

He's also serving as a fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

Attorneys for the locked-out NFL players arrived at federal court on Tuesday to meet with the judge who will oversee court-ordered mediation with the league.

The attorneys met with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, with Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller in attendance. All declined comment.

The NFL's attorneys are scheduled to meet with Boylan on Wednesday before the sides begin mediation Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered the mediation on Monday with the lockout at one month and counting. Nelson is still considering a request from the players to lift the lockout imposed by owners after the players dissolved their union, clearing the way for the court fight.

The meetings will help get Boylan caught up with the arguments on both sides, setting the table for the first face-to-face negotiations between the players and the league since talks broke off March 11 in Washington and the collective bargaining agreement expired.

New York man who claims ownership in Facebook is now seeking 50 percent of the site's value from founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Paul Ceglia of Allegany County originally sought 84 percent in a federal court complaint against Zuckerberg last year. He cited a contract he says he signed with the former Harvard student in 2003 that gave him half the business, plus more if it launched late.

A revised complaint dated Monday amends the claim to 50 percent and indicates that Ceglia agreed to waive the late-penalty clause just before the site launched in 2004.

The suit in federal court in Buffalo says Ceglia gave Zuckerberg $1,000 to help Zuckerberg get his fledgling Facebook idea off the ground.

News organizations have argued successfully for the release of jurors names in the case of a Massachusetts woman who was convicted of attempted murder for withholding cancer medication from her autistic son.

Lawrence Superior Court Judge Richard Welch did not immediately release the names Tuesday, in order to give anyone who wanted to fight against it the opportunity for a hearing. He instructed the AP, The Boston Globe and The Salem News to make arguments with attorneys.

During the hearing, Welch agreed there was no compelling reason not to make the list public, and no one argued against the release of the names.

Jurors convicted Kristen LaBrie of Salem of attempted murder and three other charges for failing to give chemotherapy to her son, Jeremy. The boy later died.

A court is ordering the Pennsylvania State Police to release records sought by The Associated Press about work that its employees perform while they are off-duty.

The Commonwealth Court opinion filed Monday upholds an earlier decision by the state Office of Open Records that was appealed by the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association.

The troopers' union had argued that releasing the records could act as a road map to someone seeking to harm an off-duty trooper. But the majority opinion written by Judge Johnny J. Butler says the union and state police didn't prove that releasing the records would endanger troopers.

Last year, a moonlighting state trooper was connected to off-field incidents involving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Pittsburgh Steelers star sometimes used the trooper friend as his personal assistant.

One budget deal down, President Barack Obama and Congress began to pivot Sunday from the painful standoff over this year's spending to a pair of defining debates over the nation's borrowing limit and the election-year budget.

Much will be revealed at midweek, when the House and Senate are expected to vote on a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year and Obama reveals his plan to reduce the deficit, in part by scaling back programs for seniors and the poor. Across the dial on Sunday, messengers from both parties framed the series of spending fights as debates over cuts — a thematic victory for House Republicans swept to power by a populist mandate for smaller, more austere government.

"We've had to bring this president kicking and screaming to the table to cut spending," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., on "Fox News Sunday."

Presidential adviser David Plouffe said Obama has long been committed to finding ways for the nation to spend within its means. He confirmed that the president would unveil more specifics for deficit reduction with a speech Wednesday that would reveal plans to reduce the government's chief health programs for seniors and the poor.