In brief: Judge allows Samsung to sell Galaxy tablet in U.S.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A federal judge has lifted a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Corp.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled Monday the South Korean technology giant is now free to start selling the product in American stores.
The judge had previously banned U.S. sales of the tablet pending the resolution of a sweeping patent trial between Apple Inc. and Samsung over vital technology used in smartphones and tablet computers.
A jury in September ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1 billion after finding many of Samsung’s products illegally used technology developed by Apple for its iPhones and iPads. But the jury found that Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 wasn’t one of the offending products.
Madoff workers to stand trial
NEW YORK – A trial will be held next year for five of Bernard Madoff’s former employees who are accused of conspiring in history’s biggest Ponzi scheme.
The Oct. 7, 2013, trial date was set Tuesday by a federal judge in Manhattan.
Prosecutors say some defendants were helping Madoff carry out his fraud as far back as the early 1970s. Madoff claimed when he pleaded guilty to fraud charges three years ago that he acted alone.
Prosecutors say it will take about two months to present all the evidence against those accused of helping him cheat thousands of people out of nearly $20 billion.
Tainted salmon recalled
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Smoked salmon tainted with salmonella bacteria has sickened hundreds of people in the Netherlands, sparking major recalls there and in the U.S., Dutch health authorities said Tuesday.
The Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said the salmon has been traced to the Dutch company Foppen.
The institute said in a statement that around 200 people – and likely more – in the Netherlands and more than 100 people in the United States have been sickened by a strain of the bacteria called Salmonella Thompson.
Costco Wholesale Corp., which sold the salmon in the U.S., said it had no reports of illness.
Those infected by the salmonella bacteria can suffer symptoms including fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
Paper clips
• Three Tennessee women sued Wal-Mart Inc. on Tuesday claiming they lost pay and promotion opportunities because of their gender. The suit represents three women who each worked for Wal-Mart for more than 10 years.
• The electric power producer Dynegy Inc. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Houston company, which generates and sells electricity in wholesale power markets, said late Monday that its reorganization allowed it to eliminate more than $4 billion in debt. Its new shares are expected to begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DYN.”
• Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens and his fourth wife, Madeleine, are filing for divorce. Boone Pickens is an Oklahoma native who made much of his fortune in oil drilling. The 84-year-old Pickens has since become an advocate for alternative energy sources. The two married in 2005.
• Hallmark Cards Inc. says it’s closing its Topeka, Kan., plant and consolidating its operations at its two other Kansas plants. The greeting card company said Tuesday about 1,300 people now work at the three plants.