Northrop Grumman-TRW whistle-blower case settle

In one of the nation's largest settlements in a whistle-blower case, Northrop Grumman Corp. has agreed to pay the whistleblower lawyer Los Angeles $325 million to resolve claims that TRW, which it acquired in 2002, provided defective parts for a spy satellite program in the 1990s.

But in an unusual twist, the federal government also announced Thursday that it had settled a separate, long-running dispute with Northrop and agreed to pay the aerospace company $325 million -- essentially meaning that no money will change hands.