Chinese software developers over the Green Dam Youth Escort monitoring program suffered several targeted attacks earlier this week, when documents containing malicious exploits were sent to attorneys, the firm stated late Wednesday.

On Monday evening, lawyers at the firm of Gipson Hoffman & Pancione received e-mails that appeared to have been sent by associates, the group said in its statement. The Trojan e-mail messages contained either links to Web sites or attachments and were specially constructed to retrieve data from the victim's computer or the company's server.

"The specific source of the attacks has not yet been determined, but it appears that they attacks were initiated within China," the firm said in its statement.

Republican Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken in one of Minnesota's tightest Senate elections ever, but the margin was so slim it triggered an automatic recount.

Of nearly 2.9 million ballots cast, Coleman led Franken by 727 votes in unofficial returns from the Minnesota secretary of state. Coleman had 1,211,628 votes, or 42.03 percent; Franken had 1,210,901 votes, or 42.01 percent.

Dean Barkley of the Independence Party was third with 15 percent.

The margin was well within a threshold set by state law for an automatic recount that could drag into December. Franken had the option of waiving the recount, but he said he wouldn't.

"We won't know for a little while who won the race, but at the end of the day we will know the voice of the electorate is clearly heard," Franken said. "This has been a long campaign, but it is going to be a little longer before we have a winner."

Franken said his campaign was already looking into reports of irregularities in Minneapolis where some voters had trouble registering, though he wouldn't elaborate.

If the lead holds up, Coleman would be among the fortunate Republicans who survived big gains by Democrats nationwide. He planned an appearance later Wednesday.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat, said a recount wouldn't begin until mid-November at the earliest and would probably stretch into December. It would involve local election officials from around the state.

Indymac Federal Bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporationrefused to insure four accounts up to the required $100,000, theaccount-holders say in Federal Court.
    Katherine Coleman says the FDIC shorted her $478,638 from four insurable accounts after it took over Indymac Bank in July.
    Colemansays the FDIC told her that it would consolidate her accounts and sendher a receivership certificate. Then it sent her a check for $184,524.That's half of the $369,048 the FDIC calculated that Coleman had atIndymac, in her own name and that of the Coleman family.
    Colemansays she refused to sign the check because Indymac actually held$663,162 in her combined personal, family and trust accounts.
    She says each account should be insured to $100,000, and possibly more if the recent increase in federal insurance applies.
    Colemansays her personal money market account held $180,357, but the FDIC toldher that it would only insure $46,979 of that account. She says it gaveno reason for coming up with that figure.
    Coleman wasco-trustee with Theresa Coleman for the Coleman Family Bypass Trust andColeman Family Survivor Trust. The first trust account held $71,000,while the second trust held $84,890. The FDIC allegedly refused toinsure either account.
    Katherine Coleman is also trustee forthe Revocable Living Trust of Mary Donohue. Indymac allegedly toldColeman that the trust would be insured up to $100,000 for each of itsseven beneficiaries.
    The plaintiffs say the bank never toldthem that the account balance could be added to Coleman's personalaccount balance if the bank failed. However, the FDIC refused to coverany of the Trust's $326,915.
    Katherine and Theresa Coleman are represented by Morton Rosen and James Oldendorph Jr. with Haight, Brown & Bonesteel.