HARTFORD, Conn. - A federal appeals court has ruled that former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland's administration violated state employees' constitutional rights when it laid off 2,800 workers based on their union membership in 2003, a decision Rowland said will affect other states' governors and local officials during budget negotiations.

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a major victory for multinational companies, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the ability of human rights plaintiffs to invoke a 224-year-old federal law when suing companies over alleged collusion with violent foreign governments.

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared ready to overturn, at least in part, a voting rights law that guards against racial discrimination in US states with a segregationist past. At issue is the 1965 law's Section 5, which requires nine mainly southern states and local governments in seven other states to obtain Justice Department approval for any changes in their electoral codes.

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - It has been three years since U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito seized the limelight during one of President Barack Obama's State of the Union speeches. He has not been back since. The annual address on Tuesday marked the third year in a row that Alito has not attended the event. He was one of three justices - the others being fellow conservatives Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - who were no-shows.