Free Talk Live

WASHINGTON – Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt.

Congress soon might mute screaming TV-ad announcers who press viewers to "buy now!" -- if broadcasters don't beat the lawmakers to the volume button.

Under a proposal to be taken up today, the Federal Communications Commission would limit ad volumes to the average decibels of the TV show during which they appear.

MI government plans as of April 1 to raid private citizens' property to check pigs they're raising naturally. Pigs will be checked against a very suspect "checklist," which includes the color of the hair and skin, to determine if they are feral or not. If the government raid teams decide the pigs are feral, they will destroy them on the spot. If a farmer/citizen protests or tries to prohibit them in any way, they will be arrested for obstruction of justice.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Lists that identify the books, music and movies individual customers bought from online retailer Amazon.com Inc. are protected from North Carolina tax collectors, a federal judge has ruled.

In a rare move, a federal judge has struck down part of a controversial law signed by President Obama that gave the government the power to indefinitely detain anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial — including U.S. citizens. Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York ruled the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act likely violates the First and Fifth Amendments of U.S. citizens.

A federal judge has ruled that border agents cannot seize a traveler's laptop, keep it locked up for months, and examine it for contraband files without a warrant half a year later.

The volume on the ongoing discussion about whether President Obama should face a primary challenge for the 2012 Democratic nomination is constantly being adjusted. When the president compromises on basic premises of progressivism, when he talks of putting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid cuts “on the table,” and sometimes when he simply seems unfocused and politically inept, the volume goes up.

A judge has ruled that barking and hissing are not protected by the First Amendment. Mason, Ohio, Judge Andrew Batsche ruled Friday that when Ryan Stephens barked and hissed at a police dog in April, he was not protected by a constitutional right. Stephens was petitioning for the dismissal of a charge that he had abused a police dog, claiming the law violates free speech and is too vague.

CIA agent wins $2.8 billion lawsuit against Cuba. A Miami judge is ordering the country of Cuba to fork over $2.8 billion to the former CIA asset that helped authorities locate Che Guevara in 1967. Cubans don’t give a crap though.