A federal judge in Manhattan signed off on the deal with Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins over the objections of Apple Inc., which has been accused by both the Justice Department and class action lawyers of conspiring with publishers to jack up e-book prices.

Plaintiffs lawyers pressing antitrust class action claims against Apple and the big publishing houses over e-book pricing have oozed confidence since the litigation began last year. And now that the feds are reportedly targeting the companies too, they say they like their odds even more.

All three leading candidates in the crucial race to replace Andrew Cuomo are pulling in big bucks. But wait til you see who's giving--and how much--to the former Bernstein Litowitz partner.

Kindle, iPad, Nook, or plain old paper. No matter how they read it, it's a sure bet that co-lead plaintiffs counsel at Hagens Berman and Cohen Milstein gleefully devoured U.S. District Judge Denise Cote's latest opinion in their proposed antitrust class action against Apple and a quintet of major publishers.

Antitrust plaintiffs failed to show that any market would suffer an anticompetitive effect.

Saxe, J.P., Friedman, Marlow, Sullivan, McGuire, JJ. 1095 Index 402339/05 In re Street Vendor Project, etc., et al., Petitioners-Appellants, v City o