Arsenal reached the Carabao Cup final after coming from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the second leg of their semi-final at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

Source: http://www.skysports.com/football/arsenal-vs-chelsea/report/386990

In Karns v. Shanahan, (3rd Cir., Jan. 11, 2018), t U..S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights damage action brought by two evangelical Christian ministers who were arrested for preaching on an NJ Transit train platform without the required permit.  In a 2-1 decision, the court held that NJ Transit is an arm of the state and thus has 11th Amendment immunity.  The 3-judge panel agreed unanimously that the police officers who were also sued have qualified immunity.  WHYY News reports on the decision.

Source: http://religionclause.blogspot.com/2018/01/3rd-circuit-preachers-civil-rights-suit.html

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and American Atheists announced this week that they have sent a joint letter (full text) to Secretary of Defense James Mattis complaining about an increased incidence of military members and their families being forced to participate in religious observances at military training facilities. The letter says in part:By scheduling prayer in graduation ceremonies, and by leading cadets in prayer prior to examinations, our military training facilities are violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. By assigning menial or labor-intensive tasks to cadets who elect not to participate in worship services, these facilities are violating the equal protection principles enshrined in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.Friendly Atheist Blog reports on the letter.

Source: http://religionclause.blogspot.com/2018/01/advocacy-groups-say-military-is.html

The New York Post this week reports on a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal district court against Vistaprint.  The company’s North American Business Headquarters are located in Boston.  Plaintiffs are a same-sex couple who were married in a ceremony in Pennsylvania last September. The couple had ordered 100 copies of a customized program for their wedding.  When they opened the package Vistaprint sent to them, they found that instead of the programs they had been sent 80 copies of an anti-gay pamphlet titled

As previously reported, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is considering an appeal by the Archdiocese of Washington challenging the refusal of the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority to accept bus ads that promote religion, religious practices or religious beliefs. Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief (full text) supporting the Archdiocese whose Christmas ad was rejected by WMATA. The brief argues that