“Court’s Domestic Partners Get Health Insurance”: Pamela A. MacLean had this post yesterday at her “Trial Insider” blog.

My earlier coverage of Monday’s order of the Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council can be accessed here.

“Our Constitutional Law Scholars’ Amicus Brief on Recess Appointments”: Will Baude had this post yesterday at “The Volokh Conspiracy.” You can access the brief at this link.

And yesterday at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Todd Ruger had a post titled “Senate GOP Asks Justices to Find Recess Appointments Invalid.” You can access the amicus brief at this link.

“Conestoga Wood case goes to Supreme Court; Will get hearing before full court this spring”: Today’s edition of The Intelligencer Journal Lancaster (Pa.) New Era contains this front page article.

The Deseret News reports that “Supreme Court to hear 2 cases involving Obamacare contraception mandate.”

The Chicago Tribune reports today that “Illinois companies’ health care challenge hinges on Supreme Court.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “Supreme Court ruling could affect Catholic dioceses’ case.”

NBC News has reports headlined “Supreme Court will take up controversial Obamacare provision on contraception” and “Can employers cherry pick health care? Supreme Court to decide.”

Laura Bassett of The Huffington Post reports that “Supreme Court To Take Up Controversial Birth Control Cases.”

And business columnist Michael Hiltzik of The Los Angeles Times has an essay titled “Supreme Court to rule on whether corporations pray.”

“Impact of U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Texas abortion law on Alabama law unclear”: This article appears today in The Montgomery Advertiser.

“The DOJ’s ‘New York Times problem’ with Assange”: Politico.com has this blog post.

“Appeals court considers whether Justice Department memo should be made public”: The Washington Post has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court on Tuesday considered whether the Justice Department must make public a legal opinion on the scope of the FBI’s surveillance authority.”

And Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has a blog post titled “Court hears fight over secret Justice Department legal opinion.”

“Infamous Reporter Stephen Glass Vies For Bar Admission”: This audio segment appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Supreme Court contraception mandate case sparks fierce debate; Women’s rights advocates worry that the Supreme Court will lift the mandate on employers to provide workers with a government-set level of health insurance; Religious rights activists want that mandate gone”: Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “High court to hear appeal of birth control ruling.”

And on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Nina Totenberg had an audio segment titled “Supreme Court Takes Challenge To Obamacare Contraceptive Rule.”

“Corporations Are People, the Biblical Sequel: The Supreme Court will decide whether companies don’t have to cover contraception because they have religious beliefs.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

And law professors Micah Schwartzman and Nelson Tebbe have a jurisprudence essay titled “Obamacare and Religion and Arguing off the Wall: What the New York Times and the courts are missing in the birth control mandate fight.”

“Indiana Abortion Law Affecting One Clinic Is Blocked”: Bloomberg News has this report.

And The Indianapolis Star reports that “Federal judge blocks Indiana chemical abortion law.”

“The Indiana Law Blog” has this post linking to today’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

“U.S. trial ends over Ecuador pollution judgment against Chevron”: Reuters has this report.

“D.C. Circuit knows satire when it sees it, tosses ‘birther’ case vs Esquire”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

“U.S. high court to chart fate of inherited IRAs in bankruptcy”: Reuters has this report.

“The Judge Who Shaped Our Law”: Lincoln Caplan has this review (pass-through link) of “Reason and Imagination: The Selected Correspondence of Learned Hand: 1897-1961” in the December 5, 2013 issue of The New York Review of Books.

“U.S. Appeals Court upholds Marion County smoking ban”: The Indianapolis Star has this article reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued yesterday.

“Chevron Claims Trial Showed Proof of Fraud in Ecuador”: Bloomberg News has this report on the start of closing arguments in the case.

Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted the Order List at this link. The Court granted review in four cases, two of which will were combined into a single oral argument.

In early news coverage, Adam Liptak of The New York Times reports that “Justices Take Companies’ Cases Challenging Contraception Rule.”

Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court to review contraceptive coverage mandate.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court to hear Obamacare challenge over birth control drugs.”

Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that “Justices will hear contraception challenge to Obamacare; Religious cases are among dozens challenging the health care law’s mandate that insurance plans offer free coverage of contraceptives.”

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “High Court to Review Health Law’s Contraception Mandate.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Washington Bureau reports that “Supreme Court to hear ‘Obamacare’ contraceptive mandate challenge.”

The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court to decide Obamacare birth control mandate.”

Chris Casteel of The Oklahoman reports that “U.S. Supreme Court takes Hobby Lobby Case.”

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “Supreme Court will take up new health law dispute.” The AP also reports that “Justices to look at claims over Bush-era protest.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Health Law’s Birth-Control Rule Gets Supreme Court Review” and “Secret Service Case Gets Top Court Review in Speech Clash.”

Lawrence Hurley of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court agrees to hear Obamacare contraception cases” and “Supreme Court agrees to review presidential protest case.”

Politico.com reports that “Supreme Court agrees to hear cases on contraceptive mandate.” And Josh Gerstein has a blog post titled “SCOTUS to weigh presidential visit protests.”

Sahil Kapur of TPM DC reports that “Liberals Worry As Supreme Court Takes Up Birth Control Mandate.”

The Hill has a blog post titled “High court takes up challenge to O-Care birth control mandate.”

At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Supreme Court Will Review Contraceptive Coverage in Health Care Law.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court to rule on birth-control mandate.”

“SCOTUSblog on camera: J. Harvie Wilkinson, III — Part four.” “SCOTUSblog” has posted this video online today, part four of an eight-part interview. Presumably in part eight, if not sooner, the interview’s relevance to the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court will be revealed.

“Supreme Court poised to take up Obamacare contraception case”: Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report.

And at “The Note” blog of ABC News, Ariane de Vogue has a post titled “Supreme Court May Review Obamacare Contraception Mandate.”

“Julian Assange unlikely to face U.S. charges over publishing classified documents”: The Washington Post has an article that begins, “The Justice Department has all but concluded it will not bring charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing classified documents because government lawyers said they could not do so without also prosecuting U.S. news organizations and journalists, according to U.S. officials.”

“US courts’ domestic partners get spousal benefits”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “The rights of gay and lesbian spouses to the same federal benefits as other married couples also extend to federal court employees’ same-sex domestic partners, a federal appeals court’s administrative tribunal said Monday in the first known ruling of its kind.”

You can access at this link today’s order of the Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council.

“Much of Alabama’s far-reaching immigration law permanently blocked in final settlement of lawsuits”: The Huntsville Times has this news update.

In connection with the settlement, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release titled “Alabama’s Immigration Law Permanently Blocked In Justice Department Lawsuit.”

“Should the Supreme Court Have Unpaid Interns?” Bloomberg News columnist Jonathan Weil has this essay today.

“A caution light for Missouri’s red-light cameras”: This article appeared in yesterday’s edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Maine AG files brief with Supreme Court defending health clinic buffers; The court is expected to take up a Mass. case on abortion-protest buffer zones in January, which could affect Portland’s new rules”: The Portland Press Herald has this news update. You can access the amicus brief at this link.

“The Case of the Errant Hot-Dog Toss: Baseball fans should be protected from getting injured by the antics of team mascots.” Law professor John Culhane has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Mt. Holly Gardens residents welcome long case’s end”: The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

In the December 2013 issue of ABA Journal magazine: This month’s issue contains the “7th Annual Blawg 100.” This blog did not qualify for inclusion on this year’s list, because it was one of last year’s ten inductees in the “Blawg 100 Hall of Fame.”

Mark Walsh has an article headlined “Did town show disparate-impact bias in taking over buildings?” Yes, the case has settled, but the article lives on!

Lorelei Laird has an article headlined “California begins to release prisoners after reforming its three-strikes law.”

Kevin Davis has an article headlined “Judy Clarke has a knack for keeping her notorious clients off death row.”

L. Jay Jackson has articles headlined “‘Link rot’ is degrading legal research and case cites” and “Opera based on Justices Ginsburg and Scalia is written by attorney.”

And this month’s installment of Bryan A. Garner’s “On Words” column is titled “David Foster Wallace’s advice on arguing persuasively.”

“Gun advocates appeal ‘Firearms Freedom Act’ ruling”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Gun advocates are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling against state laws designed to buck federal gun rules.”

“Supreme Court weighs new health law dispute”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“1993 religious freedom act is at heart of contraception case; A 1993 religious freedom act at the heart of a possible Supreme Court contraception case may come back to haunt Democrats”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

And online at msnbc.com, Irin Carmon has an essay titled “Birth Control, the Supreme Court and me.”

“U.S. justices to weigh corporate religious rights”: Lawrence Hurley of Reuters has this report.

“SCOTUSblog on camera: J. Harvie Wilkinson, III — Part three.” “SCOTUSblog” has posted this video online today, part three of an eight-part interview.

“Bipartisan approval lends a sense of balance to the judiciary”: Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III has this op-ed today in The Washington Post.

“NYC driver whose bikini top was untied cleared in fatal Thruway crash”: This article appears today in The New York Daily News.

You can access last Wednesday’s ruling of a divided panel of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department, at this link.