Jack Camp, the former federal judge ensnared in a scandal involving drugs and a stripper, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in prison and 400 hours of community service.

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said he could not give a sentence of only probation because Camp had breached his oath of office.

"He has disgraced his office," Hogan said. "He has denigrated the federal judiciary. He has encouraged disrespect for the rule of law."

Before being sentenced, Camp apologized for what he had done and thanked his family and friends, many of whom filled the courtroom.

"I have embarrassed and humiliated my family as well as myself," Camp said. "I have embarrassed the court I have served on and I am deeply sorry for that. When I look back at the circumstances which brought me here and look at what I did, it makes me sick."

Camp said that at the end of the day, "the only thing I can say is that I'm so very sorry."

As a judge, Camp often meted out harsh sentences and rarely gave breaks to defendants who presented mitigating circumstances to explain their conduct. On Friday, Hogan was asked by Camp's lawyers to grant leniency because of the ex-judge's decades-long battle with a bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a 2000 biking accident.

The chairman of the Legislature's Contract Review Committee said an opinion from the executive director of the State Ethics Commission clears a senator to work for a law firm that does business with the state.

The chairman, Republican Sen. Bill Holtzclaw of Madison said the opinion settled the issue of whether Republican Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville was in compliance when he joined the law firm of Capell & Howard.

The Huntsville Times reported that the opinion from Executive Director Jim Sum-ner said changes made in the state ethics law in December had very little, if any, impact of state contracting.

The committee had sought the advice last month when Capell & Howard got a $100,000 contract from the state Department of Corrections.

The court refused to hear on Tuesday an appeal from two newspaper companies, the American Civil Liberties Union and a Nye County brothel called the Shady Lady Ranch.

Laws went into effect in Nevada in 1979 that prohibited brothel advertising in counties where prostitution is illegal. Prostitution is illegal in five counties, which include Las Vegas and Reno, and 10 Nevada counties authorize prostitution by local ordinance.

A federal judge said the laws were overly broad and unconstitutional, but the judgment was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling.

Scott+Scott LLP filed a class action complaint against Oilsands Quest Inc. ("Oilsands Quest" or the "Company") (AMEX:BQI) and certain of the Company's officers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is brought on behalf of those purchasing the common stock and other publicly-traded securities of Oilsands Quest between August 14, 2006 and July 14, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period"), including Oilsands Quest's "Exchangeable Shares" offered as consideration for the minority interest in OQI Sask on August 14, 2006; Oilsands Quest's "units" first publicly offered on December 5, 2007 at $5.00 per unit; Oilsands Quest common stock shares publicly offered on December 5, 2007 on a flow-through basis at $6.11 ($6.17 CDN) per share; and Oilsands Quest's "units" first publicly offered on May 1, 2009 at $0.85 per unit.

If you purchased Oilsands Quest common stock or other Oilsands Quest securities during the Class Period and wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in the action, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. Any member of the investor class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of its choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Scott+Scott (scottlaw@scott-scott.com, (800) 404-7770, (860) 537-5537 or visit the Scott+Scott website, http://www.scott-scott.com) for more information. There is no cost or fee to you.

The complaint filed in the action charges that, during the Class Period, Oilsands Quest and certain of its officers and directors overstated the value of the Company's assets by more than $136 million in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Practices ("GAAP").

A former public relations employee has sued Publicis Groupe SA for $100 million, saying the French advertising company discriminates against women in pay and promotions.

Women make up 70 percent of the company's public relations staff but hold only about 15 percent of leadership positions, the lawsuit says.

"A Publicis woman's place is in the back of the line, far removed from senior management positions, almost all of which are reserved for the men," the complaint contends.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan and seeks class-action status. It was filed by Monique da Silva Moore, who was global healthcare director in the Boston office of the company's public relations division MSLGroup.

"We generally do not comment on pending litigation, but we can say that the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dismissed Ms da Silva's charge reflects the lack of merit to her claims," a spokeswoman for MSLGroup said.

Vivendi SA said Wednesday it will significantly reduce the EUR550 million provision it had made to cover potential damages for a U.S. class action case after a U.S. judge narrowed the size of the class.

The Paris-based company's potential liabilities have been slashed by 80% in light of the court victory, which will free up more cash as the group prepares to buy out Vodafone PLC's minority stake in telecoms operator SFR.

Vivendi made the provision in its 2009 accounts to cover any eventual payout after a jury in January last year found the company liable for 57 misstatements about its financial condition in the two years leading up to its near bankruptcy in 2002.

The damages arising from the ruling in January 2010, which was based on a class involving shareholders outside the U.S., could have totaled more than $9 billion, according to lawyers for the shareholders, although Vivendi's lawyer Herve Pisani rejected the sum as "unfounded."

The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell that shareholders who bought Vivendi shares outside the U.S. are barred from bringing fraud claims against the company in the U.S., considerably narrowed the overall size of the potential class.