Newport News, Virginia is getting national attention for, in effect, using maritime law to work around business-friendly state laws and even higher-court judicial decisions.

Don't look now, but the midterm elections are not the only huge November win for the politically conservative Koch brothers, and likely not even their most relevant. The CSX Transportation company, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, also scored a huge civil court victory.

As we are mere weeks away from the national midterm elections, it's worth noting how that 'lawyer vs. nonlawyer' theme is developing in Iowa, where a race for United States Senate is both deadlocked and growing nastier by the day.

The insular and well-heeled world of American asbestos litigation is gathering atop San Francisco's Nob Hill this week for what amounts to an annual current-events snapshot, and this year things may get a bit testy in the industry triangle of plaintiff attorneys, defense firms and insurance companies.