Judge Kenneth Lester has issued a written order on the motion brought last week by the state for a gag order. Judge Lester says the lawyers for the parties (the state and Mr. Zimmerman) have acted with the utmost professionalism and no gag order on them is warranted.

He then reminds lawyers "connected to" the case and "their agents" that they are also subject to Florida ethical rules for lawyers on extrajudicial comments and are subject to discipline if they violate the rules. [More...]

President Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death.

Newt Gingrich is finally giving up his bid to become President.

For those following the Roger Clemons retrial, Andy Pettitte testified today.

New Zealand has a big campaign contribution mess developing, and it involves donations from Kim DotCom.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

As John Edwards attorneys challenged Cheri Young's memory and version of events at trial today, including questioning her about Andrew Young's memory issues due to use of alcohol and Ambien, they also filed a motion to strike some of the testimony she gave yesterday. Alternatively, they are asking the Court to give the jury a limiting instruction as to the purposes for which it can her statements. The motion is available on PACER.

Of particular concern to the defense is Mrs. Young's testimony corroborating what her husband told her about whose idea it was for Young to claim he was the father of Rielle Hunter's child back in December, 2007. [More...]

One of the reasons I warn commenters here not to attack the character of Trayvon Martin is that I don't think it will come up at trial, and I'm following and attempting to analyze the legal proceedings. Mark O'Mara has made it clear he would not be raising Trayvon's character at trial. If it's not an issue in the legal case, I see no reason to speculate about it.

Today O'Mara makes it clearer. He lists what people won't find on the new website and social media pages he established for the case:

We Will Not Comment On The Character of Trayvon Martin, His Family, or His Supporters

Robert Dewey, a Colorado inmate sentenced to life without parole for murder, left jail today a free man after serving 18 years of his sentence. DNA testing, using a technology not available at the time of his conviction, proved he was innocent.

Dewey is the 290th person to be exonerated nationwide on the basis of DNA evidence proving factual innocence -- meaning someone else committed the crime.

"I find that Mr. Dewey is factually innocent of the crimes of which he was accused of in this case," the judge said, noting Dewey had spent more the 6,000 days behind bars. "Mr. Dewey is now again a free man."

[More...]

Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, White House counterterrorism official John Brennan today defended the use of drones against al Qaeda.

“Yes, in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States and to save American lives, the United States government conducts targeted strikes against specific al-Qaida terrorists, sometimes using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to publicly as drones,” Brennan said.

He defended targeted strikes and the use of drones as "ethical." You can watch some of his statement here.

Here is the state's motion for a gag order in the George Zimmerman case. The Court's minutes from April 29 state the motion was not "entertained." [More...]

Week 2 is underway in the trial of John Edwards. Andrew Young's wife, Cheri Young, continued her testimony this morning.

“I heard Mr. John Edwards tell me on the phone that he checked with the campaign lawyers and that this was legal,” said Cheri Young, who was on the witness stand for a second day of questioning by prosecutors.

More on her testimony here. Her husband, Andrew Young, testified similarly last week when he said Edwards told him he thought the contributions were legal. [More...]

Today, ManU v. Man City for control of the Premier League race. It's at 3 EST on ESPN. Sadly, I won't get to watch it live. If you want to give soccer a try, this is not a bad one to start with. It should be bedlam.

Open Thread.

Amazing Race is in India tonight. I haven't watched this season before tonight. I'm glad to see that Brendon and Rachel from Big Brother are still competing. One of competing pairs are Border Patrol Agents. I hope they go home before Brendon and Rachel. Has anyone been watching?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

A lawyer for the media is claiming States Attorney Angela Corey missed the 15 day deadline for providing discovery to George Zimmerman. The media wants access to the documents under Florida open records laws, which the media maintains must be made available to it 15 days after the defendant files his request.

When denying requests from the public for the Zimmerman discovery records Friday, Corey's office told Local 6 Florida law allowed her to keep the records secret using a criminal investigative exemption because "no records have been provided to the defendant." But Ponce, who specializes in public record law, believes that Corey can no longer use that reason to withhold records from the public, now that the 15 day discovery deadline has passed.

The problem with the media's argument, according to O'Mara, is that he told Corey to delay giving him the documents and hasn't yet received them. O'Mara issued this statement on the website he established for the case, in which he defends Corey. [More...]

Who watched President Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner? I'm watching the tail end now. He ended with saying he had more material prepared, but had to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew. They didn't look too amused.

Jimmy Kimmel is on now. You can watch live here. [ more}