The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued the ruling Monday, reversing a lower court judge.

The appeals court found that the detainees and their families have a privacy interest in their identifying information. The government had argued that the detainees faced possible harm if their identities were revealed.

The appeals court said that The Associated Press, which sought the identities, had not shown how the public interest would be served by disclosing them.

A lawyer for the AP said he would comment after he studies the ruling.

The Financial Services Committee will question the SEC's internal watchdog Monday, as lawmakers try to learn why the regulatory agency failed to detect an alleged $50 billion investment fraud by Madoff.

Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme will be a case study for a planned overhaul of laws regulating financial markets, said Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., who will chair the hearing.

Witnesses include H. David Kotz, the SEC inspector general. He's already is looking into the agency's failure to uncover the fraud despite several warnings.

Kotz previously said he will examine the relationship between a former SEC attorney and Madoff's niece, who are now married.

Julian said the man glared before "maliciously expelling a large amount of saliva" onto a carpet in the courthouse hallway. Earlier in the day, the judge found Malone guilty of failing to obey a stop sign in September. He was ordered to pay a $75 fine.

Malone said he is innocent of the traffic violation and suggested the judge should show mercy because it was Christmas Eve. Julian told Malone there was no excuse for his behavior. Malone was released from jail on Friday.

Seven lawsuits have been filed in connection with the deadly Metrolink commuter train crash in Los Angeles.

The lawsuits were filed Tuesday and Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, on behalf of the victims of the Sept. 12 collision.

Two of the lawsuits allege negligence and wrongful death and seek unspecified amounts in damages. They name the regional rail authority that operates Metrolink, several contract companies and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority as defendants.

The other five negligence lawsuits name Connex Railroad, a contractor that provides engineers who run the Metrolink trains, its parent company Veolia Transportation and the estate of the train's engineer as defendants. Those lawsuits seek a jury trial and general damages.

http://www.rkallp.com/metrolink-disaster-lawyers.html

A judge is scheduled Jan. 9 to sentence 31-year-old Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Chuckie Taylor.

Emmanuel was convicted in October of committing torture and other abuses as head of a paramilitary force in his father's government. It was the first use of a 1994 U.S. law allowing prosecution for torture overseas.

Prosecutors say the lengthy sentence would send a worldwide message against torture. Emmanuel's court-appointed lawyer didn't immediately comment Monday.

Charles Taylor is on trial before a United Nations tribunal for alleged war crimes in Sierra Leone.

Bruce Turnidge, 57, and his 32-year-old son, Joshua, appeared in back-to-back hearings Friday on multiple counts of aggravated murder. A grand jury indictment released Friday alleges that the bomb that exploded Dec. 12 was part of a bank-robbery attempt, but it does not say how the men allegedly intended to get the money.

Authorities had not previously specified a motive for the bombing in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of Portland. Prosecutors have refused to talk about details outside the courtroom.

"As for getting into the specifics, I can't say anything more than what's alleged in the indictment," said Matt Kemmy, a deputy district attorney who's been handling the case.

Investigators previously disclosed that a caller to a Wells Fargo office in Woodburn on Dec. 12 made a threat and said that further instructions would come from a cell phone near a garbage can. Officers said they determined that the phone was not part of an explosive device.

Later in the day, investigators turned their attention to the West Coast Bank office next door, and a green metal box was found outside.