Bail fund arrests - School libraries restrict Bible - Taiwan Strait tensions

Source: Associated Press

1. Summary
   U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker ruled Friday that Tennessee's first-in-the-nation law placing limits on drag show performances is unconstitutional. The law bans “adult cabaret entertainment" in public spaces or where minors could view it. The law does not mention "drag," but classifies "male or female impersonators" as a type of "adult cabaret." Some note Tennessee already has obscenity laws.
   
   Parker, a Trump appointee, said that while "obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment," there is a difference between "material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law." "No majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit [speech] receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech," he said.
   
   Parker also called the law "unconstitutionally vague," saying hypothetically a female performer in an Elvis Presley costume could be charged under the law. Similar bills are being considered or have been passed in other states. It remains to be seen how they will withstand legal challenges.

   Highly-rated - last 48 hrs
   Trump-appointed judge rejects Tennessee’s anti-drag law as too broad, too vague.
   Associated Press (Moderate Left) • Factual Grade 73% • 3 min read
   

1. Different political viewpoint
   First drag law ruled unconstitutional.
   Hot Air (Right) • Factual Grade 63% • 3 min read

1. Selected long-read
   Republican lawmakers are trying to ban drag. First they have to define it.
   FiveThirtyEight (Moderate Left) • Factual Grade 78% • 6 min read

1. Recent poll
   Should states ban drag performances from areas where they can be seen by children?
   597 votes • 93 comments

Three Atlanta activists were arrested last Wednesday on money laundering and charity fraud charges. The three are the leaders of the Network for Strong Communities, which opera...

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A multi-train collision in the Indian state of Odisha has left at least 275 dead and over 1,000 injured. The Coromandel Express was going over 80 miles...

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On Saturday two warships from the US and Canada jointly sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the band of water that separates China from Taiwan, after transiting through the South Chin...

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Davis County, Utah, will remove copies of the King James Bible from elementary and middle school libraries. The decision follows an anonymous request, filed six months ago, that the Bible be removed from school...

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