Free Republic

The federal government is asking a judge to put on hold a requirement that it begin allowing transgender people to enlist in the military on Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in October barred President Donald Trump's administration from proceeding with plans to exclude transgender people from military service. Part of her ruling required the government to allow transgender individuals to enlist beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

The Federal Election Commission today issued an advisory opinion that finds the Fired Up network of blogs qualifies for the "press exemption" to federal campaign finance laws. The press exemption, as defined by Congress, is meant to assure "the unfettered right of the newspapers, TV networks, and other media to cover and comment on political campaigns." The full ruling is available at the FEC site. A noteworthy passage: "...an entity otherwise eligible for the press exception would not lose its eligibility merely because of a lack of objectivity..."

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that terror suspects held in Cuba must be allowed to meet with lawyers, and that the government cannot monitor their conversations. In a sharp rebuke of the Bush administration, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the administration "attempts to erode this bedrock principle" of attorney-client privacy with "a flimsy assemblage" of arguments. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the 600 foreign-born men then held in the Navy-run prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could challenge their captivity in American courts.