ruling

Vaccine makers such as Pfizer are breathing easier now that the Supreme Court has ruled they can't be sued for defective vaccine designs. The majority opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia was unequivocal: Congress has barred lawsuits over the rare but unavoidable side effects of vital vaccines.

A federal court ruled to allow a defamation case against news man John Stossel to move forward. The case neatly parallels the tribulations endured by Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod earlier this summer and could provide a strong foundation for her to pursue a defamation suit of her own against blogger Andrew Breitbart.