Free Republic

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday blocked, for now, the construction of the new White House ballroom, which President Donald Trump has heavily touted. District Court Judge Richard Leon, in his order, enjoined Trump administration officials and the Executive Officer of the President, “from taking any action in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the former site of the East Wing of the White House.”

Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities. The operational impact of U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss’ decision was not immediately clear — both because it will likely be appealed and because too much damage to the public-broadcasting system has already been done, both by the president and Congress. Moss ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease funding...

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to suspend its construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House, barring construction work from proceeding without congressional approval. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to giving...

The man who entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and was photographed in the office of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was convicted on Monday of eight federal crimes related to the incident, including four felonies. Richard “Rigo” Barnett, 62, was convicted of all the charges filed against him after nine days of testimony in the trial in Washington. The jury reached a decision in less than two hours, according to The Washington Post. His most serious conviction was obstructing an official government proceeding, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. His sentencing is set for...

Bachman bests Paul. Pawlenty third. Romney fourth. Works for me!

BERLIN (Reuters) - Over two-thirds of the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay prison are suffering from or at risk of mental problems because they are kept isolated in small cells with little light or fresh air, according to Human Rights Watch. In a report entitled "Locked Up Alone: Detention Conditions and Mental Health at Guantanamo," the group says 185 of the 270 detainees at the U.S. military prison for terrorism suspects are housed in facilities similar to "supermax" prisons. They spend 22 hours alone in cramped cells, have very limited contact with other human beings and are given little more...