A judge overstepped his authority when he tried to ban enforcement around the world of an $18 billion judgment against Chevron Inc. for environmental damage in Ecuador, a federal appeals court said Thursday.

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained why it lifted the ban last year and blocked a judge from staging a trial to decide if the judgment was obtained fairly.

A judge gave federal prosecutors until a week from Wednesday to give up the name of a witness they say was recruited for a chilling, al-Qaida-sanctioned plot for suicide bombers to attack the New York City subways with explosives made from beauty supplies.

Lawyers for alleged plotter Adis Madunjanin had demanded to know the identity of the man, referred to only as John Doe in court papers, before Madunjanin goes to trial later this year.

A 17th century portrait that once hung over the fireplace of Elizabeth Taylor’s Bel Air home — and only recently reattributed to the Dutch master Frans Hals — is expected to fetch up to $1 million at auction. “Portrait of a Man,” painted in the early 1630s, is being offered at Christie’s sale of Old Masters on Wednesday.

A Hals scholar, Seymour Slive, had listed the painting as a “doubtful” Hals in a 1974 catalog, based on a black and white photo of the work. After Taylor hung it in her home in the 1950s, “It academically fell off the radar,” said Nicholas Hall, head of Christie’s Old Master paintings.

The architect of a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme admitted on Monday to attempting to arrange the murder of a witness who testified against him at trial. More >

The accolades continue for a homeless New York teen who’s a semifinalist in a prestigious national science contest.

Brentwood High School senior Samantha Garvey appeared Thursday as a guest on the “Ellen” talk show, where she received a $50,000 scholarship from AT&T to the college of her choice. She also was given a $5,000 J.C. Penney gift card and a $1,000 gift card for Whole Foods.

Last week, Garvey was named one of 300 semifinalists in the prestigious Intel science contest. The story of the aspiring marine biologist attracted national attention after it was reported that she and her family were forced to move to a homeless shelter on New Year’s Eve.

Retiring U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey said he hopes his upstate New York district remains intact through the current redistricting process. More >

A Columbia University student accused of selling LSD on the New York City campus has pleaded guilty to attempted drug possession.

On Tuesday, Adam Klein became the last of five students to plead guilty in a loose-knit campus drug-dealing ring.

He’s expected to get five years’ probation at sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Samantha Garvey and her family had been living in a Long Island shelter for several days when they got word the 17-year-old aspiring marine biologist had made it to the semifinals of the prestigious national Intel science competition.

Now, with donations coming in and the county finding them rent-subsidized housing, she’ll again be able to do her homework in a home.

Maestro Alan Gilbert brought the New York Philharmonic’s stirring performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony to a grinding halt because of a persistent ringtone emanating from an iPhonein the front row at Lincoln Center. More >