The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for the Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

After Benghazi, IRS tea party probe: Govt seized AP phone records
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/benghazi-irs-tea-party-probe-govt-sei...

FINDLAY -- A man now faces charges after an April Fool's gag goes wrong. Police charged Robert Leonard with disorderly conduct for allegedly panicking the community with a Facebook post.

Leonard wrote Findlay was under attack and the Army was surrounding the town as a joke on April Fool's Day. He now faces a $1,500 fine. Leonard says it's crazy he's actually being charged and might choose to go to jail instead of paying the fine.

Daniel Brewington was not happy with the way that Dearborn County, Indiana, Judge James D. Humphrey handled his divorce case, during which he lost custody of his children, and he explained why at length in various strongly worded online commentaries. Largely as a result of those posts, Brewington is serving a two-year sentence at the Putnamville Correctional Facility for intimidation, attempted obstruction of justice, and perjury.

New Hampshire, Wyoming and Nebraska are the latest states to introduce Ag-Gag laws aimed at preventing employees, journalists or activists from exposing illegal or unethical practices on factory farms.

A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to two years in prison for insulting the country’s ruler on Twitter, a lawyer following the case said, as the Gulf Arab state cracks down on criticism of the authorities on social media. According to the verdict on Sunday — published by online newspaper Alaan — a tweet written by Rashid Saleh al-Anzi in October “stabbed the rights and powers of the Emir” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Anzi, who has 5,700 Twitter followers, was expected to appeal the verdict, said the lawyer, who asked not to be named.

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday. In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity."

The Foundation For Individual Rights In Education(FIRE) surveyed 409 schools and found 6 out of 10 maintain severely restrictive 'red-light' speech codes.

Katherine Olejnik and Matt Duran Have Not Been Charged with Any Crime, and Yet They Have Been Locked Up for Three Months and Counting.

A nurse at the hospital that was duped by a prank call from two Australian radio DJs concerning Prince William's pregnant wife, Catherine, has apparently committed suicide, the hospital confirmed Friday. The nurse "was recently the victim of a hoax call," King Edward VII Hospital said in a media statement. The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in the prank call, in which some details of the Duchess of Cambridge's condition and care were given.

William Bailey of Canton will spend a month behind bars after he was caught on video making fun of the way a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy walks.