The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Thursday that is has opened a formal investigation into the settlement between Google and book publishers over the digital publishing rights to certain books, citing antitrust concerns.

"The Antitrust Division is investigating the possibility of anticompetitive practices involving digital book intellectual property rights and distribution," said Gina Talamona, a DOJ representative. She declined to elaborate beyond that statement and the letter sent Thursday to Judge Chin.

A woman who was convicted of computer fraud in an Internet hoax that led to the suicide of 13-year-old girl was tentatively acquitted Thursday by a federal judge.

Lori Drew, 50, drew national scorn after it was revealed that she helped create a fictional boy on MySpace to befriend the girl and pump her for information about her on-again-off-again friendship with Drew's daughter.

Megan Meier, who was being treated for depression, hanged herself in 2006 after the fictitious boyfriend dumped her and told the Missouri girl that "the world would be a better place without you."

In November 2008, jurors convicted her on three misdemeanor counts of illegally accessing a protected computer. Judge George Wu said his decision to reverse the verdict is tentative and will not become final until he issues a written ruling. Prosecutors had urged the judge to send Drew to federal prison for three years.

said by sonicmerlin :

“In the absence of exclusivity agreements, wireless carriers would have less incentive to develop and promote innovative handsets, because other providers would have immediate access to the handsets without having made any investment in research and design," Verizon wrote in its comments to Congress on during a hearing on exclusivity.

Wow, I didn't know Verizon and other wireless carriers made phones. Golly gee, now I see where....what's that? They *don't* make phones? Oh.

Well then, screw you Verizon.