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The deal could trigger a wave of agreements across Asia and is seen as vital to keeping US trade policy alive in the face of growing political discontent over the benefits of free trade.

The accord still has to be ratified by the US Congress and the South Korean national assembly, where it is likely to face difficulties because of the unpopularity of both presidents and their weak representation in their respective houses.

The pact was struck just minutes before the final deadline for George W. Bush, the US president, to notify Congress of his intent to ­ratify the agreement before his authority to "fast track" deals with a simple yes or no vote expires.

Mr Bush sent a letter to the Democratic leadership in Congress within moments of the deal being signed saying the agreement would "further enhance the strong US-Korea partnership, which has served as a force for stability and prosperity in Asia".

There was immediate condemnation from Democrats, led by members of Congress from states that depend on farming and car manufacturing – two sectors that lost out in the negotiations.

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow said: "I will do everything in my power to defeat this agreement."

Bill Rhodes, vice-chairman at Citigroup and head of the US Korea Business Council, said that company worries about a watered down agreement had been largely addressed. But Ford, the carmaker, called on Congress to reject the deal as it did not go far enough in tearing down South Korean barriers to vehicle imports.

Under the agreement, tariffs on all vehicles under 3,000cc will be eliminated immediately and phased out over three years for bigger passenger cars and 10 years for pick-up trucks.

Rice was entirely excluded from the deal, in line with Seoul's wishes, while Washington received an undertaking that South Korea would allow the resumption of beef imports, suspended after health scares.

Seoul also agreed to eliminate import tariffs on US beef gradually over the next 15 years, while the US declared it would immediately abolish 61 per cent of tariffs on textiles and garments in terms of its import value.

Significantly, Washington accommodated Seoul's requests to consider development of Kaesong, the South Korean-run industrial zone in North Korea.

About 94 per cent of tariffs on commodities will be scrapped within three years, gradually increasing to 100 per cent.

The jury found the defendants guilty on March 30 of all 14 charges in a December 2005 indictment, following a 20-day trial and a day of deliberations. The Honorable Henry T. Wingate, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, presided over the trial.

The jury convicted Minor, 61, of conspiring with Teel and Whitfield; six counts of honest services mail fraud; one count of honest services wire fraud; two counts of bribing and employee of state agency that received federal funds; and one count of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, for the use of the employees and resources of his law firm, Minor & Associates, to accomplish and further a pattern of racketeering activity that included bribery of Whitfield and wire fraud in connection with the payoff of a loan to Whitfield. Teel, 56, was convicted of conspiring with Minor in a bribery scheme; two counts of using the mails to deprive the citizens of Mississippi of the intangible right to his honest services; and one count of federal program bribery. Whitfield, 44, was found guilty of conspiring with Minor in a bribery scheme; four counts of honest services mail fraud; one count of using the wires in a scheme to deprive the citizens of Mississippi to the intangible right to his honest services; and one count of federal program bribery.

"The jury's conviction of attorney Paul Minor and former Judges Walter Teel and John Whitfield sends an important message – we will not tolerate the bribery of judges to influence matters before the court," said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. "The American people expect and demand a system of justice that is free of corruption. We will prosecute those who attempt to buy or sell positions of high public trust for their own financial benefit."

The jury heard evidence that, in November 1998, Minor guaranteed a $25,000 line of credit for Teel at a Biloxi bank while Teel was a candidate for a judgeship in chancery court of Harrison County. The line of credit purported to be for campaign expenses. After Teel was elected, Minor, in an effort to conceal the fact that he was paying off the loan himself, used cash and an intermediary to disguise the true source of the loan payments. Thereafter, then-Judge Teel was assigned to a civil case in chancery court in which Minor's firm represented a local bank in a bad faith declination of coverage suit against the bank's insurance provider. The case was to be tried without a jury. In 2001, as the case proceeded, Teel made favorable rulings for Minor's client on issues of discovery and summary judgment.

Around that time, then-Judge Teel and two other chancery court judges became the subject of a state criminal investigation for misappropriation of funds. Among the efforts Minor made to assist the judges under investigation was a meeting Minor arranged between the judges and the then-Attorney General of Mississippi. Minor provided transportation to the meeting via his private jet and also hired a public relations firm to assist the judges. After Teel was indicted on state charges, Minor paid a portion of the legal expenses for Teel's defense. Teel was ultimately acquitted. Within weeks of the meeting with the Attorney General, Teel presided over a settlement conference in the lawsuit between Minor and the attorneys for the bank's insurance provider. During the negotiation, Teel made statements to the parties indicating his belief in the strength of the plaintiff's case and insinuated that, were the defendants to push the case to trial, Teel would be inclined to award punitive damages to the plaintiff. The insurance provider promptly agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million dollars. None of the attorneys representing the insurance provider were made aware of the financial relationship between Teel and Minor.

The jury also heard evidence that, in November 1998, Minor guaranteed a $40,000 loan for Whitfield at a Biloxi bank while Whitfield was a candidate for re-election to the Circuit Court of Harrison County. The loan purported to be for campaign expenses. After Whitfield was elected, Minor guaranteed an additional loan for then-Judge Whitfield for $100,000, purportedly for the down payment on a house. Minor, in an effort to conceal the fact that he was actually paying off the loans himself, used cash and an intermediary to disguise the true source of the loan payments.

Whitfield was later assigned to a personal injury case in circuit court in which Minor's firm represented an oil rig worker injured as a result of his employer's alleged negligence. Whitfield presided over the trial and found in favor of Minor's firm's client. He awarded damages in the amount of $3.75 million dollars, an award he later reduced by approximately $100,000. Minor continued to disguise the fact that he was making payments on the Whitfield loans and ultimately paid them off through the use of an intermediary.

Minor, Teel and Whitfield each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charges; 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the federal program bribery charges; and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the honest services mail/wire fraud charges. Minor also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the RICO charge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 14, 2007.

The verdict is the result of the second trial in this matter. The previous trial, conducted in the summer of 2005, involved similar allegations against Minor, Teel, Whitfield, and Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz. The jury acquitted Diaz of all charges, acquitted Minor on the charges related to Diaz, but was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining charges.

The case was prosecuted jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice, Public Integrity Section, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruth R. Morgan and David H. Fulcher; and Trial Attorney Natashia Tidwell of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Chief William M. Welch, II. Senior Deputy Chief Peter J. Ainsworth of the Public Integrity Section participated in the investigation and indictment of this matter. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The south-western state is the 12th in the United States to endorse the use of marijuana for medical uses. New Mexico's state legislature is the fourth in the country to enact such a measure.

The law allows marijuana use by patients suffering from several conditions, such as HIV and Aids, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, according to a news release from Richardson's office.

California began allowing similar use of marijuana in 1996. In 1978, New Mexico began allowing very limited use of marijuana, or its active ingredient, THC, to help control cancer patients' nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, but only when other nausea-control drugs failed.

The law creates a panel of eight expert physicians and other health care workers to supervise the program. Qualified patients must be under a doctor's care and supervision, the news release said.

"I would like to thank the governor for... giving me another shot at life," said Essie DeBone, who suffers from advanced complications from HIV and Aids.

The Internal Revenue Service reports that a large number of cell-phone users are overlooking the telephone tax refund mistakenly believing that the one-time refund only applies to land-line customers.

According to the IRS, most cell-phone users qualify for the federal telephone excise tax refund. In most cases, the refund is also available to land-line, fax and Internet phone customers as well. The method of phone signal transmission does not affect the refund. The telephone-tax refund can add $30 to $60 -- or even more -- onto a taxpayer's refund.

"Many taxpayers are overlooking this special refund and the chance to get a bigger refund," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "We encourage taxpayers to spend a few extra minutes reviewing their tax return to make sure they are making an accurate request. A little extra time can mean a bigger refund check."

The government stopped collecting the long-distance excise tax last August after several federal court decisions held that the tax does not apply to long-distance service as it is billed today. The tax continues to apply to local-only phone service.

Federal officials also authorized a one-time refund of the three-percent tax collected on long-distance or bundled service billed after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006. Bundled service is local and long-distance service provided under a plan that does not separately list the charge for local service. Bundled service includes, for example, phone plans that provide both local and long-distance service for either a flat monthly fee or a charge that varies with the time for which the service is used. It is the type of service provided by many cell-phone companies.

"We want all taxpayers entitled to this refund to get it, whether they are using a tax preparer or doing the return themselves," Everson said.

So far this year, about three in 10 tax returns received by the IRS are not requesting the telephone-tax refund.

Is downtown Los Angeles finally headed towards the likes of New York or Chicago's bustling and vibrant urban environments?  With the recent boom of construction and real estate development going on, it appears that downtown LA will once again be a popular destination for Angelinos.

The real hints that the neighborhood is changing come in more subtle forms — such as the tours Derrick Moore has been giving around downtown recently. Moore, a senior associate in CB Richard Ellis' Urban Development Group, has been helping representatives from national chain stores such as Walgreen's and the Outback Steakhouse group — who have long shied away from downtown — search for properties in the area. He has wined and dined potential retailers at local hotspots — and found their reaction a distinct shift from even a few months ago, when most took a wait-and-see attitude toward the neighborhood.

Residents have moved in, with the population now at 30,000. Some of downtown's long-anticipated, large-scale projects — including a supermarket and a movie theater — are only months from opening. Questions about downtown's future have heightened with the recent cooling of Southern California's real estate market. But downtown so far doesn't appear to be suffering much, and there are growing signs that retail is actually strengthening.

"First and foremost," Moore said, "we have to figure out the parking issue in downtown. We have to make parking easy for all the folks we are expecting to attract … for a reasonable amount of money."

One key test for downtown will be the role that parking plays in its evolution. Several observers said it is hard to find inexpensive, easy parking in the district — and that could harm the push for an active street life in downtown.

One thing that the area is lacking is a grocery store.  People don't want to live somewhere where they have to drive for 30 minutes to the closest supermarket. After over 30 years without one, the arrival of Ralphs — which started downtown at 6th and Spring in the late 1800s but abandoned the district in 1950 — is seen by many as a sign that the district's fortunes have returned.

"I think that the Ralphs opening is going to be the adhesive to hold it all together," Moore said of the retail renaissance. "That's what's missing."