The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain, along with Mardel bookstores, not only can proceed with their lawsuit seeking to overturn a portion of the Affordable Care Act, but can probably win.

The judges unanimously sent the case back to a lower court in Oklahoma, which had rejected the companies' request for an injunction to prevent full enforcement of the new law.

"Hobby Lobby and Mardel have drawn a line at providing coverage for drugs or devices they consider to induce abortions, and it is not for us to question whether the line is reasonable," the judges wrote. "The question here is not whether the reasonable observer would consider the plaintiffs complicit in an immoral act, but rather how the plaintiffs themselves measure their degree of complicity."

Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., Mardel Inc. and their owners, the Green family, argue for-profit businesses not just religious groups should be allowed to seek an exception if the law violates their religious beliefs. The owners approve of most forms of artificial birth control, but not those that prevent implantation of a fertilized egg such as an IUD or the morning-after pill.

Hobby Lobby is the largest and best-known of more than 30 businesses in several states that have challenged the contraception mandate. A number of Catholic-affiliated institutions have filed separate lawsuits, and the court suggested faith-based organizations can follow for-profit objectives in the secular world.

"A religious individual may enter the for-profit realm intending to demonstrate to the marketplace that a corporation can succeed financially while adhering to religious values. As a court, we do not see how we can distinguish this form of evangelism from any other," they wrote.

A majority of judges couldn't decide whether the Oklahoma court had sufficiently addressed two parts of Hobby Lobby's initial complaint and sent them back for further review at the local level.

Throughout a ruling that covered more than 160 pages, the judges noted Hobby Lobby faced a difficult choice violate its religious beliefs, pay $475 million in fines for failing to comply with the law (a $100 fine per day for each of its 13,000 workers), or pay $26 million to the government if it dropped its health care plan altogether.

Hobby Lobby and Mardel won expedited federal review because the stores would have faced fines starting Monday for not covering the required forms of contraception. The 10th Circuit judges said the Oklahoma court was wrong to not grant the companies an injunction in the face of serious financial penalties.

Hobby Lobby and other companies challenging the contraception mandate say the morning-after pill is tantamount to abortion because it can prevent a fertilized egg from becoming implanted in a woman's womb. The 10th Circuit heard the case before eight active judges instead of the typical three-judge panel, indicating the case's importance.

The U.S. Department of Justice argued that allowing for-profit corporations to exempt themselves from requirements that violate their religious beliefs would be in effect allowing the business to impose its religious beliefs on employees. In its ruling, the 10th Circuit cited a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court conclusion that for-profit corporations have rights to political expression.

"We see no reason the Supreme Court would recognize constitutional protection for a corporation's political expression but not its religious expression," the judges wrote.

One judge went even further in a concurring opinion.

"No one suggests that organizations, in contrast to their members, have souls," Judge Harris Hartz wrote. "But it does not follow that people must sacrifice their souls to engage in group activities through an organization."

Hobby Lobby calls itself a "biblically founded business" and is closed on Sundays. Founded in 1972, the company now operates more than 500 stores in 41 states and employs more than 13,000 full-time employees who are eligible for health insurance.

Emily Hardman, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Hobby Lobby, called the ruling a "resounding victory for religious freedom."

But Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the judges were wrong.

"This isn't religious freedom; it's the worst kind of religious oppression," executive director Barry Lynn said in a statement.

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Kristen Wyatt is on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity on Friday because the team has not announced the deal. ESPN.com first reported the agreement earlier in the day.

Ribeiro was one of the top players available once the league's free-agency period opened on Friday.

He's a 14-year NHL veteran, who spent last season with the Washington Capitals.

Ribeiro has topped 50 points in a season eight times, and finished with 49 points (13 goals, 36 assists) in 48 games last year.

The Coyotes did announce they've signed free agent goalie Thomas Greiss to a one-year contract. Greiss spent parts of the past four seasons with San Jose.

Scorers:

Waikato Chiefs - Tries: Bundee Aki, Hika Elliot, Ben Tameifuna (2); Penalties: Aaron Cruden, Gareth Anscombe;

Auckland Blues - Try: Charles Piutau; Conversion: Baden Kerr; Penalties: Kerr (3) (Compiled by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by John O'Brien)

The online blueprints for a fully functional 3D-printed gun have disappeared faster than a speeding bullet.

On Wednesday, the State Department ordered the company that posted the schematics, Defense Distributed, to remove them from the web. (Watch a Defense Distributed video explaining the gun above.) According to the State Department, publicly posting the instructions may have violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which governs the "transfer of, and access to" certain weapons and their technical details. By posting the files to the web where anyone in the world could download them, the company may have inadvertently violated those export restrictions.

"Please note that disclosing (including oral or visual disclosure) or transferring technical data to a foreign person, whether in the United States or abroad, is considered an export," the State Department  in a letter.

However, the State Department did not say that the instructions must remain offline for good. Rather, the department asked that Defense Distributed file the necessary paperwork for the government to determine if the blueprints are, in fact, a violation of ITAR. In the meantime, State wrote, the company "should treat the above technical data as ITAR-controlled."

That letter came just two days after Defense Distributed, through its open-source printing project DEFCAD, posted the instructions for its "Liberator" handgun to the Internet. In just three days, the instructions had already been downloaded more than 

Here's how it works, :

Fifteen of the gun's 16 pieces are constructed on the $8,000 Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer, Forbes said. The final piece is a common nail, used as a firing pin, that can be found in a hardware store. []

And indeed, by Thursday evening, the webpage to download the instructions had been updated with the : "This file has been removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information."

Still, the federal order does not mean all copies of the blueprints have been be wiped from the web. The instructions have been posted to the file-sharing sites Pirate Bay and Mega, among others, meaning they're still available for download.

Wilson, who claims to have been inspired by anarchist writings, himself made that point in an , saying he thought he would ultimately be free from the government's oversight.

"I still think we win in the end," he said. "Because the files are all over the Internet, the Pirate Bay has it to think this can be stopped in any meaningful way is to misunderstand what the future of distributive technologies is about."

Lawmakers at the state and federal level have already moved to ban printable firearms.

In California, Democratic state Senator Leland Yee said in athat he would soon introduce a bill to ban weapons that "are invisible to metal detectors and that can be easily made without a background check." At the federal level, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have likewise called for legislation to ban such firearms.

"A terrorist, someone who's mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon can essentially open a gun factory in their garage," Schumer

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(Reuters) - Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake are looking increasingly likely to get shareholder approval to take Dell Incprivate in a $24.4 billion deal. But agitator Carl Icahn still sees room to gamble.

The activist investor, who is Dell's second-largest shareholder after Michael Dell, is now trying to sway investors to vote down the buyout deal by raising his competing offer for the No. 3 PC maker.

If Michael Dell wins, Icahn will go home with a profit of $10.7 million for his troubles, Reuters calculations show. If Icahn wins, he will have a troubled company on his hands to turn around. But if neither happens, the billionaire investor could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Representatives of Icahn, Dell and Silver Lake declined to comment.

Icahn's cost basis, which has not been reported before, and his new Dell offer show why the 77-year-old investor is seen as one of the most feared activists in corporate America. Earlier this week, he urged Dell shareholders to go to court to get a higher price for their shares from Michael Dell. Dell's special board committee as well as legal experts said that strategy was fraught with challenges, such as the risk that the court may decide the shares are worth less than the offer price.

"You know this guy is willing to put up a good fight," said James Cox, a corporate and securities law professor at Duke University School of Law.

Dell faces an uncertain future amid a steep decline in personal computer sales as the popularity of tablet computers grows. The company's special committee of the board, which is overseeing the sale process, has repeatedly spurned Icahn's alternative plans to recapitalize Dell and reward shareholders, leaving open the possibility that the shares will plunge if the buyout is voted down. Dell shareholders will vote on the Michael Dell-Silver Lake offer of $13.65 per share on July 18.

So far the odds are in the favor of the Michael Dell-Silver Lake buyout offer getting shareholder approval even if the vote is seen as close, investors say. All the three major advisory shareholder firms this week backed the take-private bid.

Icahn's offer, whose details are due to be unveiled on Friday, would sweeten his previous plan to have Dell repurchase 1.1 billion shares at $14 apiece with warrants.

His hope is that arbitrage-loving hedge funds will find the warrants - which are expected to have an exercise price of $20 per share - to be an attractive piece of paper to trade. People familiar with the deal estimate that 25 percent to 30 percent of Dell's stock is now owned by such event-driven funds.

For Icahn, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $20 billion, Dell has been an uphill struggle from the get-go. But he has managed to turn some of the odds in his favor.

Last month, he managed to lower the average cost of his stake in Dell by buying 72 million shares for $13.52 each from Southeastern Asset Management Inc, another shareholder that is also backing his cause. Icahn had earlier paid $13.89 each for 73.5 million Dell shares.

The maneuver brought down the cost of his now 8.7 percent stake in Dell to $13.58 per share, including Dell's dividends, which is 7 cents per share below Michael Dell's offer.

He would stand to lose a substantial portion of the $2.07 billion he paid for his stake were Dell shares to collapse if the Michael Dell offer was voted down and he did not succeed in getting his way.

But Icahn is clearly confident that shareholders would back his plan if they decided to vote down the buyout. Icahn has committed more than $3 billion of his wealth towards a $5.2 billion financing package for his share buy-back plan. He would have to pay this money only if all 12 of his nominees were appointed to Dell's board.

(Additional reporting by Nicola Leske in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Stephen Coates)

Will North Colorado become America's 51st state?

That's what some residents in the Centennial State are pushing for. Representatives from eight northern counties convened Monday, , to "begin mapping the boundaries for the new state they say will represent the interests of rural Colorado."

The secession movement stems from "a growing urban-rural divide," with state lawmakers in Denver passing sweeping gun control legislation and calling for more renewable energy and less oil and gas productiona big part of northern Colorado's economy.

Northern and Northeastern Colorado and our voices are being ignored in the legislative process this year, and our very way of life is under attack, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway .

This is not a stunt. This is a very serious deliberative discussion thats going on, Conway . Theres a real feeling that a lot of folks who come from the urban areas dont appreciate the contribution that many Coloradans contribute.

Officials from Weld, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties were involved in the discussions, Conway said, adding that two counties in Nebraska are interested in joining the new state.

We need to figure out way to re-enfranchise the people who feel politically disenfranchised now and ignored, he said.

Conway and his coalition are hoping to put the question of secession to voters in November through a ballot referendum.

Of course, seceding isn't that easy. West Virginia was the last to state to do it, breaking free from Virginia during the Civil War in 1863or 14 years before Colorado was admitted to the Union. To form a new state, approval would be needed from voters, the Colorado General Assembly and U.S. Congress.

The movement does appear to have at least one supporter in Washington.

The people of rural Colorado are mad, and they have every right to be, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Yuma, Colo., . The governor and his Democrat colleagues in the statehouse have assaulted our way of life, and I dont blame people one bit for feeling attacked and unrepresented by the leaders in our state.

Feeling disenfranchised, one could argue, is part of being American. Residents from more than 30 states, including Colorado and Texas, filed petitions to secede in the wake of President Barack Obama's reelection in November. But citizens in Austin, Texas,to allow the city to "peacefully" secede from Texas and remain a part of the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Zynga Inc. jumped Monday after the technology blog AllThingsD reported that Don Mattrick, the president of Microsoft's Xbox business, is joining the company, possibly as CEO.

THE SPARK: The move would mean that Mark Pincus, the founder and current CEO of the troubled online game maker, is stepping aside. Representatives for Zynga and Microsoft did not immediately respond to messages for comment Monday afternoon. Citing multiple, unnamed sources close to the situation, AllThingsD said Mattrick is close to taking a top job at Zynga, "possibly" as CEO.

BACKGROUND: Zynga has been struggling to keep people interested in and paying for its online games, which include "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends." It announced in June that it was cutting 520 jobs, or about 18 percent of its workforce to save money.

SHARE ACTION: San Francisco-based Zynga's stock rose 27 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $3.05 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $2.09 to $5.61.

Venezuela and Bolivia both made asylum offers to Snowden over the weekend, and Nicaragua has said it is also considering his request.

"We support the sovereign right of .... Venezuela and all states in the region to grant asylum to those persecuted for their ideals or their struggles for democratic rights," Castro said in a speech to Cuba's national assembly.

The foreign media was not given access to the session, but the speech was broadcast on state-run television several hours after it took place.

Snowden has been out of sight in the transit area of Moscow's main airport since he suddenly appeared there on a plane from Hong Kong two weeks ago.

His simplest route to Latin America would be on one of five direct flights that Russian carrier Aeroflot operates to Havana each week. However those flights normally pass through U.S. airspace, raising the possibility they could be intercepted.

It is also not clear, despite Castro's speech, whether Cuba wants to risk torpedoing mildly improved relations with the United States by letting Snowden transit through the island.

Snowden had been booked on an Aeroflot flight two weeks ago, but did not board the plane.

Castro also voiced support for Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose presidential plane was diverted to Austria recently after taking off from Moscow.

Morales has accused the United States of pressuring European governments to deny his plane permission to enter their airspace amid suspicions that Snowden might have been onboard.

Castro said the case "shows that we live in a world in which the powerful think they can violate international law, endanger the sovereignty of states and trample the rights of citizens."

In his speech, the 82-year-old Cuban leader said his country was aware of the kind of secretive NSA programs Snowden revealed. He said that as a longtime enemy of Washington, the Caribbean nation has been "one of the most harassed and spied-upon nations on the planet."

The Cuban leader also brought up the case of Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Castro militant wanted in both Venezuela and Cuba for the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane that killed 73.

Posada Carriles has been living in the United States since 2005. Multiple legal efforts to deport him have failed.

___

Peter Orsi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Peter_Orsi

The St. Louis company also said Wednesday that it tried to plant a seed for future growth by eating some drought-related expenses in the recently completed quarter.

Monsanto said the 2012 drought that parched stretches of the United States forced it to use South American greenhouses more to produce corn seeds. That contributed to a 7 percent increase in cost of goods sold in this year's quarter. Monsanto decided to eat the higher expenses tied to seed production instead of passing them along through price hikes.

CEO Hugh Grant told analysts during a Wednesday morning call the company saw that as "an investment in our customer base," one they hope helps customer sentiment and profitability next year.

The move was more than just a public relations stunt, according to Morningstar analyst Jeff Stafford. He said Monsanto has turned off some farmers in the past by introducing new seeds at very high prices.

"They are acutely aware of driving prices year over year and what that means in their relationship with farmers," he said.

Overall, Monsanto earned $909 million, or $1.68 per share, in the quarter ended May 31, down from $937 million, or $1.74 per share, a year ago.

Earnings totaled $1.66 per share, not counting a tax matter resolution.

Revenue inched up less than 1 percent to $4.25 billion. In contrast, Monsanto's revenue had soared 17 percent in last year's quarter when the mild spring that preceded the drought allowed farmers to sow crops earlier.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.61 per share on $4.41 billion in revenue for this year's quarter, according to FactSet.

Several analysts cited a lower tax rate as the main factor behind the better-than-expected earnings.

Monsanto Co. makes seeds for crops like corn, soybean, cotton and wheat and crop protection chemicals like the herbicide Roundup. The agricultural giant produces genetically engineered seeds used by farmers for their pest resistance and ability to produce bigger crops.

Many U.S. farmers credited genetic modifications in corn with saving last year's crop from all but total devastation as half of the nation endured the worst drought in 60 years. But these crops also have drawn criticism from organic food advocates who say they are harmful to people and the environment. Last month, protesters organized "March Against Monsanto" rallies in several countries over genetically modified food.

Monsanto has maintained that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

Corn, which is used for food, fuel, animal feed and soda syrup, is by far Monsanto's largest unit, and revenue from that segment climbed 3 percent to $1.56 billion in the quarter.

But revenue from its soybean and cotton segments both fell. The company saw fewer acres of cotton planted.

Stafford said Brazilian farmers helped pressure the soybean segment because they stopped paying royalties on a brand of seeds.

Revenue from the company's agricultural productivity segment, which includes herbicides, climbed 9 percent to $1.19 billion.

Monsanto, which has touted its corn seed and international growth prospects, said late last month that it expects earnings growth of more than 20 percent in fiscal 2013 from its on-going businesses. It forecast annual adjusted earnings, which exclude some one-time items, of $4.50 to $4.55 per share and reaffirmed that prediction on Wednesday.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $4.58 per share.

Shares of Monsanto fell 56 cents to close at $100.84 Wednesday. Its shares had peaked for the past year at $109.33 in mid-May. Monsanto shares are up 7 percent so far in 2013.

In a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, Clapper says his answer was "clearly erroneous."

Leaks by NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden have revealed the NSA's sweeping data collection of U.S. phone records and some Internet traffic every day, though U.S. intelligence officials have said the programs are aimed at targeting foreigners and terrorist suspects overseas.

Clapper was asked in March if the NSA gathered "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans." He answered that it didn't happen wittingly.