In brief: Union dues bill signed into law in Wisconsin

BROWN DEER, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday signed into law a measure that prohibits requiring a worker to pay union dues, striking another blow against organized labor four years after the state effectively ended collective bargaining for public-sector employees.

The bill makes it a misdemeanor to require workers to pay unions dues.

Judge orders hearing on immigration suit

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The judge who blocked President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration has ordered the Justice Department to answer allegations that the government misled him about part of the plan.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered Monday that the lawyers for the federal government appear in his court March 19 in Brownsville. The hearing is in response to a filing last week in which the government acknowledged three-year deportation reprieves were granted before Hanen’s Feb. 16 injunction, which temporarily halted Obama’s action, sparing from deportation as many as 5 million people in the U.S. illegally.

Court: Judge erred on archdiocese fund

MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge made a mistake when he ruled a $55 million cemetery trust fund off-limits in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s bankruptcy case, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects religious organizations from government interference, doesn’t protect the money because creditors seeking a share of the fund aren’t the government.

The appeals court decision is likely to be appealed.

Tourists charged in Colosseum damage

ROME – Two American tourists face charges for carving their names into the Colosseum, the latest act of vandalism sustained by the ancient monument at the hands of tourists, police said Monday.

The tourists from California, aged 21 and 25, were cited Saturday for carving their first names three inches high into an upper level of the Colosseum, said Carabinieri Capt. Lorenzo Iacobone.

The two were freed on their own recognizance but will face charges for aggravated damage to a monument. Their names or hometowns were not released by police.