The Canadian law firm ‘Merchant Law Group’ has launched a high profile class action suit against Facebook over the social network allegedly breaching the privacy of its users.

Tony Merchant Q.C stated Friday that “this claim asserts that Facebook shamelessly breached the privacy of people who trusted it.”

Facebook has had a number of legal problems over its privacy policies in recent times – On February 4, 2009, without proper communication to or agreement by its Users, Facebook revised its Terms of Service, asserting broad, permanent, and retroactive intentions to reveal Users’ information, even as to Users who deleted their Facebook.com accounts. The Company stated it could make public a User’s “name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising.” Having met with numerous objections from Users and after being threatened with action by U.S. federal government regulators, Facebook withdrew the proposed changes.

This latest claim alleges that the tools provided by Facebook to Users of the social network are materially misleading and calculated to result in unauthorized breaches of Users privacy and conversion of their personal information, including but not limited to the breach of Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act., 2000, c. 5. and other breaches of statute and common law.

A federal appeals court ordered a new trial Thursday for the former chief marketing officer of one of the nation's biggest food products distributors, saying errors by a judge make it necessary to dissolve the conviction and the seven-year prison term that followed.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the new trial for Mark Kaiser after concluding that the trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury in November 2006, resulting in a flawed trial.

Kaiser, 55, of Ellicott City, Md., has been free on bail since he was sentenced three years ago to seven years in prison.

A lawyer for Kaiser did not immediately return a telephone message for comment. Prosecutors also did not immediately comment.

Kaiser was convicted of securities fraud, conspiracy and false filing after prosecutors said he and others enhanced their own bonuses by boosting the company's earnings $800 million from 2000 to 2003 by reporting fake rebates from suppliers.

Kaiser worked for U.S. Foodservice Inc., a former subsidiary of supermarket giant Royal Ahold NV. Ahold sold U.S. Foodservice Inc. in 2007 to a group of buyout firms led by KKR & Co. LLP. Defense lawyers argued at trial that Kaiser was kept in the dark about any financial misdeeds that occurred at the company.

Netherlands-based Ahold's U.S. properties include the Stop & Shop and Giant supermarket chains. U.S. Foodservice is one of the largest distributors of food products in the country, providing to restaurants and cafeterias.

The former head of a mortgage lending company accused of scheming to steal more than $500 million from the government's financial bailout fund has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Lee Bentley Farkas entered the not guilty plea Friday in Alexandria, Va., to charges including conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with the alleged plot at Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Corp.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema set a Nov. 1 trial date despite protests from Farkas' lawyer that it will be impossible for the defense to go through the millions of pages of documents in the case by that time.

Farkas still doesn't have a permanent lawyer because his assets have been frozen. However, the government is expected to unfreeze some of them so he can pay for his defense.

The nation's top civil liberties group on Wednesday issued travel alerts for Arizona, saying the state's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants could lead to racial profiling and warrantless arrests.

American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Arizona, New Mexico and 26 other states put out the warnings in advance of the Fourth of July weekend. The Arizona chapter has received reports that law enforcement officers are already targeting some people even though the law doesn't take effect until July 29, its executive director said.

The alerts are designed to teach people about their rights if police stop and question them.

The Arizona law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime for legal immigrants to not carry their immigration documents and bans day laborers and people who seek their services from blocking traffic on streets.

Attorneys defending the law against constitutional challenges filed by the ACLU and others argue that the Legislature amended it to strengthen restrictions against using race as the basis for questioning by police. Five lawsuits are pending in federal court, and the U.S. Justice Department is believed to be preparing a legal challenge.

Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor War Machine has been sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation after he assaulted people at two San Diego bars.

War Machine pleaded guilty Thursday to two felony counts of assault and to violating probation in a previous assault case. He has a professional fight scheduled for July 9 and was ordered to surrender for jail a week later.

Prosecutors say the 28-year-old fighter knocked away some bottles and glasses on a bar, cutting a bartender. He also got into a scuffle and punched a security guard.

His attorney says an acquaintance started one of the fights but War Machine failed to stop it. The fighter legally changed his name from Jon Koppenhaver.

President Obama today called for a "practical, common sense" immigration system that will help the U.S. economy and maintain the steady flow of immigrants who have always enriched the United States.

"Such an approach demands accountability from everybody," Obama said during his first major immigration speech as president.

Obama said his administration has already taken record-setting actions to strengthen the border, and also urged Congress to approve "a pathway to legal status" for the 11 million or so illegal immigrants who are already here.

Speaking to lawmakers, academics, and community leaders gathered at American University, Obama stressed the contributions that immigrants have made and the discrimination they faced throughout U.S. history. "Immigrants have always helped to build and defend this country," Obama said.

Immigration has become "a source of fresh contention" in recent says because of new Arizona law that gives police greater authority to question people's citizenship, Obama said in his first major immigration speech as president. His administration is expected to file a lawsuit against Arizona, but the president did not discuss that plan.