Duluth, Minn. - The first actual copyright infringement jury trial for an individual suspected of illegal file-sharing got underway in Minnesota on Tuesday, as 30-year-old mother of two Jammie Thomas appeared in court to answer to allegations she offered 1,702 songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network in 2005. [more..]

Washington - U.S. banks will not be required to block payments by check from U.S. residents to online casinos as part of a new law that prohibits debit and credit cards' use in such transactions, according to new regulations proposed on Monday, Reuters reported. [more..]

Chicago - Hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan have become the first musicians to legally license a sample from a Beatles song for one of their own compositions, Pitchfork reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo on Tuesday introduced what it is calling the biggest upgrade to its Web search service in over three years, which includes real-time search "suggestions" and more links to video, audio and photos integrated into search results. [more..]

New York - Politics and news website The Huffington Post will name former CBSNews.com general manager Betsy Morgan as its new chief executive today, The New York Times reported. [more..]

San Diego - Sony Electronics on Tuesday introduced its second-generation Reader Digital Book, which will go on sale for $300 later this month at Borders stores and from Sony's website. [more..]

Shanghai - Chinese online games operator The9 has announced that it will acquire a 50% stake in Microsoft's MSN China for $200 million. [more..]

San Francisco - Despite concern about the overall economy from the downturn in the real estate sector, U.S. venture-backed companies and their investors may be in the midst of another liquidity boom, according to a new report from Dow Jones VentureOne. [more..]

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft said on Tuesday that it has acquired Jellyfish.com, a Madison, Wisc.-based comparison shopping search engine. [more..]

Los Angeles - The Rubicon Project, a provider of Internet advertising technology, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in its first round of funding. [more..]

San Francisco - Wikinvest, the developer of a wiki-based website that covers the investing community, has raised $2.5 million in its first round of financing, led by DCM, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

Natick, Mass. - Punchbowl Software, a provider of online event planning services, on Tuesday announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed capital from Intel Capital and eCoast Angels. [more..]

San Diego - Singe Touch Interactive, a developer of mobile media download technology, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Soapbox Mobile, a mobile marketing agency and technology provider. [more..]

Jay Baage blogs about reports that Microsoft will launch the second generation of its ill-received Zune music players on Tuesday. [more..]

My buddy at Redfin, Glenn Kelman, shares some really interesting numbers that other entrepreneurs can use as a benchmark when doing financial modeling. [more..]

Did you catch Monday Night Football on ESPN last night? Unless you’re a Patriots fan, you can be forgiven for feeling nauseous over commentator Tony Kornheiser’s game-long gushing analysis of, in this order: 1) Tom Brady, 2) Bill Belichick, 3) The Patriots organization. [more..]

Chiba, Japan - Japanese consumer electronics firm Matsushita (Panasonic) on Tuesday announced plans to release a new line of advanced Blu-ray disc recorders next month that includes a one-terabyte model capable of storing 381 hours of full HD programs, Reuters reported. [more..]

San Francisco - Snocap, a provider of digital music licensing and management services, said on Tuesday that it will alter its relationship with Internet CD retailer CD Baby, through which artists using CD Baby could distribute their music via a Snocap widget on their MySpace profiles. [more..]

New York - Major League Baseball on Tuesday announced that it will test Medialink's Teletrax digital watermarking service to monitor usage of its postseason game video by broadcasters. [more..]

Columbia, Md. - IBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology that lets broadcasters transmit a digital, multicast signal alongside their analog signals, on Tuesday announced that major broadcast groups CBS Radio, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Cox, Entercom and Greater Media are installing iTunes Tagging technology that lets HD Radio owners flag songs they hear on the air for later purchase at the online store. [more..]

Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced on Tuesday that it has signed deals with CNN and six other video producers to provide content for distribution on its mobile devices. [more..]

New York - ROO Group, a provider of Internet TV broadcasting technology, on Tuesday said it added Fox Television Stations, Agence France-Presse and Chat the Planet to its client roster. [more..]

Atlanta - The Weather Channel Interactive said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal to become the official weather provider on News Corp.'s MySpace online social network. [more..]

Seattle - Fusa Capital, a developer of consumer search and navigation services, on Tuesday launched its IHeard.com free Internet radio search engine. [more..]

Santa Monica, Calif. - Game developer id Software and publisher Activision on Tuesday shipped their "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars" PC game to North American retailers. [more..]