FALLS CHURCH, Va.

Judge rules for government in WikiLeaks investigation

A federal judge Thursday sided with government attorneys investigating the disclosure of classified documents on WikiLeaks, and upheld a ruling that the website Twitter must turn over certain account information to prosecutors.

Attorneys for three Twitter account holders, all of whom have some connection to WikiLeaks, had argued that forcing Twitter to cooperate with the investigation by turning over the data amounts to an invasion of privacy and chills Twitter users’ free speech rights.

But in a 60-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady in Alexandria, Va., affirmed an opinion issued in March by a federal magistrate that the government’s tactics were permissible.

Prosecutors have said federal law specifically allows them to seek account information and say it is a routine investigative tool.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Tea party coalition begins right-to-work campaign

Just two days after Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a state law curbing collective bargaining rights, a tea party coalition said it will push an amendment to the state’s constitution that would prevent workers covered by union contracts from being required to join unions or pay dues.

Chris Littleton, co-founder of the Ohio Liberty Council, told reporters Thursday the group has submitted an initial 1,000 signatures and the proposed wording for its right-to-work amendment to the state’s attorney general.

The group needs state officials’ approval of the phrasing and signatures before it can start collecting the roughly 386,000 valid signatures needed by July to get the question on 2012 ballots.

If the group fails to get the question before voters during next year’s presidential election, it would continue its push in 2013, Littleton said. “We’re in this for the long haul,” he said.

The proposed amendment comes in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, when more than 61 percent of voters rejected a law that restricted the collective bargaining rights of Ohio’s more than 350,000 public workers.

DALLAS

Guidelines urge screening more kids for cholesterol

More children should be screened for high cholesterol before puberty, beyond those with a family history of problems, according to wide-ranging new guidelines expected from government-appointed experts who are trying to prevent heart disease later in life.

The new advice will be presented Sunday at an American Heart Association conference by members of a panel for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Any call for wider screening is likely to raise concern about overdiagnosing a condition that may not cause problems for decades, if ever. Yet studies suggest that half of children with high cholesterol will also have it as adults, and it’s one of the best-known causes of clogged arteries that can lead to heart attacks.