From the “It’s a quagmire we should pull out department” – Wall St. Journal:  “A group of Chicago high schoolers and their parents sued the Chicago Public Schools, arguing that the school system has effectively locked them into a dangerous situation by not allowing the students to transfer to other schools.  The parents involved in the suit say they don’t feel safe putting sending their children back to Fenger High, which sits just blocks away from where a fatal beating took place about two months ago.”

Courthouse News Service:  “A South Carolina license plate bearing the image of a cross before a stained-glass window and the phrase ‘I Believe’ violates the separation of church and state, a federal judge ruled.   The license plate was established by a state law called the ‘I Believe’ Act, which Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer helped push through after a move to create a similar plate in Florida failed.”

Courthouse News Service:  “Environmental groups are applauding a 9th Circuit decision rejecting a land exchange that would have cleared the path for the world’s largest landfill adjacent to Joshua Tree National Monument.   The National Parks Conservation Association, Desert Protection Society and others challenged the land exchange, proposed by Kaiser Eagle Mountain and approved by the Bureau of Land Management.   Kaiser would have acquired 3,481 acres of public land for 2,846 acres of private land and a $20,100 payment.  The proposed landfill would have taken up more than 4,500 acres, operating for 117 years and accepting up to 20,000 tons of trash daily.”

Above the Law:  “Our long, national, helium induced nightmare is almost over.  CNN is reporting that Richard and Mayumi Heene — parents of Falcon “Balloon Boy” Heene — will plead guilty tomorrow”