Yahoo, Alibaba: We're "committed to" negotiations (AP)

By CHRISTINA REXRODE, AP Business Writer Christina Rexrode, Ap Business Writer – Sun May 15, 8:07 pm ET

NEW YORK – Yahoo Inc. and Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group tried to present a united front Sunday as they worked on a dispute that has caused tension in their already strained relationship.

But the two tech giants offered few details, releasing only a one-sentence statement saying they were in "productive negotiations" to resolve "outstanding issues related to Alipay," which is Alibaba's online payment service.

Yahoo, which owns a 43 percent stake in Alibaba, saw its stock tumble last week after it announced Tuesday that Alibaba had spun off Alipay. The announcement caused investors to worry that Yahoo's stake in Alibaba will become less valuable, and also brought into clearer focus the rockiness of the two companies' relationship.

Yahoo spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek declined to answer questions about who was involved in the negotiations or what Yahoo wants from them. She noted that Sunday's statement was the first issued jointly by Yahoo and Alibaba.

"Alibaba Group, and its major stockholders, Yahoo! Inc. and Softbank Corporation, are engaged in and committed to productive negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues related to Alipay in a manner that serves the interests of all shareholders as soon as possible," the statement said, in its entirety.

It echoed an equally vague statement from Tuesday, when Yahoo said it was engaged with Alibaba and Softbank in "ongoing discussions regarding the terms of the restructuring and the appropriate commercial arrangements related to" Alipay.

Representatives for Alibaba and Softbank, a Japanese firm that is also a longtime investor in Alibaba, didn't return messages for comment on Sunday.

Yahoo and Alibaba also disagree over when Yahoo was informed of the spinoff, which transfers ownership of Alipay to another company owned by Alibaba Group's CEO, Jack Ma. Yahoo says the transfer occurred last August, but that it wasn't notified until March 31. Alibaba says Yahoo's board was informed of the ownership change during a July 2009 meeting

In Tuesday's regulatory filing, Yahoo said Alibaba had spun off Alipay so it could more quickly obtain "an essential regulatory license." Ma has become more antagonistic since Carol Bartz, a brash Silicon Valley veteran, became Yahoo's CEO in January 2009. With Alipay under his control, analysts believe Ma could have more negotiating power if Yahoo tries to sell its stake in

Alibaba is one of China's most powerful Internet companies, and its success has helped bolster Yahoo as the Sunnyvale, Calif., company has struggled to keep up with Google Inc. The six-year investment has also been a way for Yahoo to keep a toehold in fast-growing China after it and other companies, including Google, have had a hard time growing their own businesses in the heavily regulated and politicized country.

In the first quarter, Yahoo's net income fell 28 percent. The net income of Alibaba.com, the flagship company of Alibaba Group, rose 37 percent.

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Parents of teen who committed suicide sue school, district

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe boy's mother files a federal lawsuit against a Texas school districtShe says the staff failed to protect Asher Brown, 13Asher had told his mother and stepfather that he was taunted, they claim (CNN) -- The mother of a Texas teenager who committed suicide last year filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, arguing the school he attended did nothing after receiving complaints he was being bullied.

Asher Brown, 13, an eighth-grader at Hamilton Middle School, shot himself to death at home last fall.

Amy Truong, Asher's mother, also names Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in the lawsuit. She argues the middle school staff witnessed some incidents of bullying, physical assaults and name-calling against her son. Despite a policy on bullying and harassment, the suit states, district personnel "had an actual practice and custom of looking the other way."

Last year, Truong and the boy's stepfather told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Asher was bullied because he was small, did not wear fashionable clothing and was a Buddhist. They also said Asher told them he was gay and had received taunts about his sexuality.

The school district had no immediate reaction Tuesday. According to the lawsuit, it has stated there was no evidence of any bullying or complaints filed on behalf of Asher. But the lawsuit says his stepfather, David Truong, went to the school district to talk about Asher being bullied.

The Truongs said they are lobbying the Texas Legislature for anti-bullying reform legislation, according to CNN affiliate KPRC.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages and asks that the school adopt a policy known as "Asher's Rule" in which students can confidentially report bullying and harassment.

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Fox News Poll: Qaddafi Seen as More Committed than Obama

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By a wide margin, American voters think Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi is more committed to staying in power than President Barack Obama is to ousting him.

In addition, most voters think the Obama administration has failed to explain what the U.S. goals are in Libya, and more voters disapprove (51 percent) than approve (42 percent) of the president’s handling of the situation there.

These are just some of the findings in a Fox News poll released Wednesday.

By a large 31 percentage-point margin, more voters think Qaddafi is determined to staying in power (57 percent) than think Obama is committed to removing him (26 percent).

Most Republicans (71 percent) and independents (65 percent) say Qaddafi is more determined. Even among Democrats, a slightly larger number believe Qaddafi is more committed (43 percent) than think President Obama is (39 percent).

Meanwhile, despite President Obama making a prime-time address to the nation on March 28, most voters -- 61 percent -- say the administration has not explained what the U.S. is trying to achieve in Libya.

That includes not only 79 percent of Republicans, but also nearly half -- 45 percent -- of Democrats. For independents, 64 percent do not think the administration has clearly explained the goal.

Click here for complete poll results.

International military operations, including U.S. forces, began attacking pro-Qaddafi defenses on March 18.

Even as support for U.S. intervention in Libya is up a bit from last month, twice as many voters oppose it. Thirty percent favor the U.S. military getting involved, up from 25 percent three weeks ago (March 14-16).

A 62 percent majority opposes the military involvement, compared to 65 percent previously.

Support for the action among Democrats has increased to 33 percent in the new poll, up from 21 percent in mid-March. Still, a 59 percent majority of Democrats opposes it.

More than three-quarters (77 percent) reject the idea of the U.S. arming Libyan rebels -- something the administration says it is considering.

Some lawmakers are upset the president authorized military action in Libya without consulting Congress. A majority of voters -- 58 percent -- agree that was wrong. Some 37 percent think it was acceptable for the president to move ahead without Congressional input.

Views among Democrats are evenly split: 47 percent say it was okay to take action without Congressional input and 46 percent say it was wrong. Most Republicans -- 74 percent -- think it was wrong for President Obama to authorize action without consulting Congress, as do 54 percent of independents.

Nearly two-thirds of voters (63 percent) view the intervention in Libya as different from what the U.S. did in Iraq, and over half think it’s wrong to describe the action as

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