31.   The case marks the first time the federal consumer-protection agency has brought charges involving nutrition claims by a restaurant chain.

32.   The Edmond case marks the second time in the last two weeks that Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas have fallen one vote short of hearing a controversial dispute.

33.   The Jersey City case marked the first time a state intervened in a local school district.

34.   This case marks the first time China has acknowledged a medical crisis relating to contamination by HIV and the possibility of official negligence in the handling of blood products.

35.   The case marked a rare example of crimes among the Amish, a tightly knit Christian sect, being prosecuted in secular courts, county prosecutor Keith Plummer said.

36.   The case marked the first time a former African head of state had been charged with human rights violations by the court of another country.

37.   The case marked the first time a nuclear operator was found criminally responsible for an accident in Japan.

38.   The case marks the first appeal in which the merits of the federal language is considered.

39.   The case marks the first time a Dutch national has been tried here for alleged sex tourism.

40.   The case marks the first time the worldwide anthrax scare has hit Cambodia, which is familiar with the disease primarily as a sickness that affects cattle.