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VICTORY: Federal appeals court decisively rejects Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act'
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, July 7 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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VICTORY: Federal appeals court decisively rejects Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act'
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* Court rules that Florida professors are not mouthpieces for the government and that the 'Stop WOKE Act' violates the First Amendment.
* Ruling rejects Florida's attempt to enact a "speech ban on all public college and university professors," protects academic freedom and free inquiry on campus.
* Court: "The ideas Florida targets may well be noxious. Or maybe not. Either way,
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, July 7 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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VICTORY: Federal appeals court decisively rejects Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act'
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* Court rules that Florida professors are not mouthpieces for the government and that the 'Stop WOKE Act' violates the First Amendment.
* Ruling rejects Florida's attempt to enact a "speech ban on all public college and university professors," protects academic freedom and free inquiry on campus.
* Court: "The ideas Florida targets may well be noxious. Or maybe not. Either way,in this context the First Amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves."
ATLANTA, July 7, 2026 -Following a First Amendment lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a federal appeals court ruled today that Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" -a broad ban on what faculty at public universities may discuss in the classroom -violates the First Amendment rights of Florida university faculty and students. The ruling affirms a previous court decision that blocked the legislation from taking effect.
"Though the government has plenty of ways to promote its own viewpoint, puppeteering every university professor in the state is not one of them," wrote Judge Britt C. Grant of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the decision. "Forcing an official government line-in a college classroom of all places-is exactly the 'pall of orthodoxy' that the First Amendment will not tolerate."
In September 2022, the FIRE filed a lawsuit challenging Florida's "Individual Freedom" law (dubbed the "Stop WOKE Act" by its proponents). FIRE's lawsuit -on behalf of a professor, student, and a student group -argued that the higher education provisions of the act unconstitutionally chill free expression and mandate faculty censorship on the state's college campuses. In today's ruling, a majority of the Eleventh Circuit panel agreed.
"Today's important decision means that college remains a place where professors and students are allowed to debate controversial topics -even if politicians disagree with them," said FIRE senior attorney Greg H. Greubel. "Today's ruling makes clear something we've known for a long time: Governments cannot censor their way to freedom."
The ruling by the Eleventh Circuit (which covers Florida, Alabama, and Georgia) is a crucial victory for academic freedom and free inquiry on our public campuses. The court joins the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in holding that the First Amendment protects public university faculty's academic freedom when they engage in teaching and scholarship. No appellate court has come to a different conclusion.
"As a professor, I shouldn't have to choose between teaching to the best of my ability or facing punishment," said Professor Adriana Novoa, who teaches Latin American history at the University of South Florida. "This decision is such a relief to professors who care about their students and want them to become well-rounded and informed. It will allow me and countless other professors to teach our classes without government interference."
COURTESY PHOTOS FOR MEDIA
The appeals court held that Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" violates the First Amendment because it "bars Florida's educators from promoting or endorsing" disfavored ideas about "race, color, sex, and national origin" while allowing criticism of those same ideas. As the court explained, the law targets eight concepts, including whether a person is inherently biased based on race or sex, whether privilege or oppression is determined by race or sex, and whether virtues such as "merit, excellence, hard work, fairness, neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindness" are racist.
The court emphasized that "the First Amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves" and rejected Florida's claim that it may control professors' speech because it pays their salaries. "Florida's restrictions are, as the State admits, an attempt to force uniformity of thought on students by curtailing the free exchange of ideas in universities-the very environments traditionally regarded as laboratories for expression and truth seeking," wrote Judge Grant.
The Eleventh Circuit's ruling means that the district court's November 2022 injunction halting enforcement of key parts of the act in Florida's public universities remains in place. In its injunction, the district court called the act "positively dystopian."
FIRE represents Professor Novoa, former student Sam Rechek, and the First Amendment Forum student organization in the suit, with Florida attorney and FIRE Legal Network member Gary Edinger serving as local counsel.
FIRE's challenge to the Stop WOKE Act was heard alongside a related challenge filed by the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, and NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Amicus support from across the ideological spectrum included briefs from the Academic Freedom Alliance, American Association of University Professors, Cato Institute, First Amendment Lawyers Association, Profs. Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder, LatinoJustice, Learning for Justice and the Florida Freedom to Read Project, The New Press, policing scholars and organizations led by Law Enforcement Action Partnership, the National Education Association, United Faculty of Florida, National Black Law Students Association, Stand for Freedom, and PEN America.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ( FIRE ) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought -the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation's campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.
CONTACT
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
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Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/victory-federal-appeals-court-decisively-rejects-floridas-stop-woke-act
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Uncovering the True Origins of Small Cell Lung Cancer
NEW YORK, July 7 (TNSjou) -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release:
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Uncovering the true origins of small cell lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a rare but aggressive form of lung cancer that, for years, scientists believed arose from specialized lung cells called neuroendocrine cells. But new research from former Damon Runyon Innovators Trudy G. Oliver, PhD, and Elvin Wagenblast, PhD, and their colleagues overturns this long-standing assumption, revealing how SCLC tumors are able to "shapeshift" in order to evade treatment.
Using genetically
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NEW YORK, July 7 (TNSjou) -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release:
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Uncovering the true origins of small cell lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a rare but aggressive form of lung cancer that, for years, scientists believed arose from specialized lung cells called neuroendocrine cells. But new research from former Damon Runyon Innovators Trudy G. Oliver, PhD, and Elvin Wagenblast, PhD, and their colleagues overturns this long-standing assumption, revealing how SCLC tumors are able to "shapeshift" in order to evade treatment.
Using geneticallyengineered models of SCLC, the team found that the fast-growing tumors do not arise from mature neuroendocrine cells, as previously thought, but from basal stem cells, the progenitors of all lung cells. Single-cell analyses revealed that these basal-derived tumors are remarkably plastic, moving through multiple cellular identities as they grow.
Together, these findings reshape our understanding of how SCLC tumors arise and evolve. By illuminating the roots of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity, this work opens new avenues for therapies aimed at stopping cancer cells from changing identity to evade treatment. The work also has implications for other types of cancer, including multiple gastrointestinal cancers, that are characterized by high degrees of plasticity.
This research was published in Nature.
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Original text here: https://www.damonrunyon.org/discovery/uncovering-true-origins-small-cell-lung-cancer
Central New York Community Foundation Launching Participatory Budgeting in Cortland County for Centennial Celebration
SYRACUSE, New York, July 7 -- The Central New York Community Foundation issued the following news release:
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CNYCF Launching Participatory Budgeting in Cortland County for Centennial Celebration
Community members invited to help decide how $75,000 will be invested locally
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The Central New York Community Foundation will launch the third of five participatory budgeting initiatives across its service area this August, inviting Cortland County residents to help decide how $75,000 will be invested in their community.
The initiative marks the beginning of the Community Foundation's two-year
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SYRACUSE, New York, July 7 -- The Central New York Community Foundation issued the following news release:
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CNYCF Launching Participatory Budgeting in Cortland County for Centennial Celebration
Community members invited to help decide how $75,000 will be invested locally
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The Central New York Community Foundation will launch the third of five participatory budgeting initiatives across its service area this August, inviting Cortland County residents to help decide how $75,000 will be invested in their community.
The initiative marks the beginning of the Community Foundation's two-yearcelebration of its 100th anniversary in 2027. As part of the centennial effort, the Community Foundation is hosting participatory budgeting projects in each of the five counties it serves, awarding a total of $500,000 in funding determined directly by residents.
Participatory budgeting is a community engagement process in which residents work together to identify local needs, develop project ideas and vote on how funding should be allocated. Throughout the month of August, Cortland County residents will meet to brainstorm ideas, hear from county and city officials and collaborate to turn community priorities into feasible project proposals. At the end of the process, residents will vote online for the proposal they believe will best serve their community.
"This initiative reflects our commitment to listening to residents and investing in ideas that come directly from the communities we serve," said Melanie Littlejohn, president & CEO of the Community Foundation. "As we approach our centennial, participatory budgeting is one way we are celebrating our history while empowering residents to help shape the future of Central New York."
The Cortland County process will take place over four sessions during August. The first two sessions will be held Wednesday, August 5 and Thursday, August 6, 2026 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Truxton Academy located at 6337 Academy Street, Truxton. During these sessions, residents will learn about the participatory budgeting process, share ideas and begin developing project proposals. Residents can register to attend the sessions at cnycf.org/CortlandPB.
A proposal presentation night will be held Wednesday, August 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Community members are encouraged to attend to learn about the proposals before voting begins.
Voting will take place Thursday, August 20, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may vote online for the project they believe best serves the community's needs. An in-person gathering will also take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Center for the Arts, Homer at 72 South Main Street, Homer.
The participatory budgeting initiative is designed to ensure that funding priorities are determined by residents themselves. Participants will work with nonprofit organizations, grassroots groups and local leaders to identify a priority need, co-design potential solutions and develop proposals that address community needs. Residents will ultimately decide which project receives funding.
Participatory projects were completed this spring in Oswego and Madison counties; the Community Foundation will host them in Cayuga County in September and Onondaga County in 2027.
Residents who need transportation assistance may reach out mobility@cortlandcountyny.gov or 607-756-3416.
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Original text here: https://cnycf.org/cnycf-launching-participatory-budgeting-in-cortland-county-for-centennial-celebration/
WLF Urges Fourth Circuit to Reject Antitrust End-Run Around Prior Patent Judgment
WASHINGTON, July 6 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Washington Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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WLF Urges Fourth Circuit to Reject Antitrust End-Run Around Prior Patent Judgment
"Antitrust law does not allow one district court to sit in review of another, nor does it permit parties to relitigate old theories under new labels." -Jay DeSanto, WLF Senior Litigation Counsel
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Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm the dismissal of antitrust claims against pharmaceutical company Amgen over patents for "etanercept,"
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WASHINGTON, July 6 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Washington Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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WLF Urges Fourth Circuit to Reject Antitrust End-Run Around Prior Patent Judgment
"Antitrust law does not allow one district court to sit in review of another, nor does it permit parties to relitigate old theories under new labels." -Jay DeSanto, WLF Senior Litigation Counsel
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Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm the dismissal of antitrust claims against pharmaceutical company Amgen over patents for "etanercept,"a molecule used to treat arthritis. In an amicus brief supporting Amgen, WLF contends that the lower court correctly rejected Sandoz's attempt to relitigate issues already resolved in prior litigation over those patents.
The case concerns a long-running dispute over patents covering etanercept, the active ingredient in the arthritis drug Enbrel. In prior litigation, Sandoz challenged the validity of Amgen's etanercept patents, but those challenges were rejected, and the patents were upheld through final judgment and appeal. In this action, Sandoz brings a Sherman Act Section 2 claim alleging that Amgen's acquisition and enforcement of those same patents unlawfully extended its exclusivity over the etanercept molecule.
WLF's brief contends that Sandoz's claims are barred by claim-preclusion principles. It explains that Rule 13(a) and res judicata prohibit parties from repackaging previously litigated patent-validity theories in follow-on suits, and that antitrust claims are not exempt from those rules. WLF warns that accepting Sandoz's theory would invite collateral attacks on final judgments, encourage duplicative litigation, and undermine the certainty essential to the patent system.
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Click HERE (https://www.wlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FILED-Sandoz_Amgen-WLF-AMICUS-BRIEF.pdf) to read amicus brief.
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Original text here: https://www.wlf.org/2026/07/06/communicating/wlf-urges-fourth-circuit-to-reject-antitrust-end-run-around-prior-patent-judgment/
Phoenix Logistics Workers Send Teamsters Bosses Packing With Successful Petition for Decertification
SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, July 6 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release:
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Phoenix Logistics Workers Send Teamsters Bosses Packing With Successful Petition for Decertification
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Medical equipment operators supporting Fort Dix overwhelmingly vote out Teamsters Local 35 after being ignored for years
Fort Dix, NJ (July 6, 2026) - Employees at Phoenix Logistics, LLC in Fort Dix have successfully regained their independence from International Brotherhood of Teamsters union bosses. This came as a result of employee Nicholas Rapa filing a petition
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SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, July 6 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release:
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Phoenix Logistics Workers Send Teamsters Bosses Packing With Successful Petition for Decertification
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Medical equipment operators supporting Fort Dix overwhelmingly vote out Teamsters Local 35 after being ignored for years
Fort Dix, NJ (July 6, 2026) - Employees at Phoenix Logistics, LLC in Fort Dix have successfully regained their independence from International Brotherhood of Teamsters union bosses. This came as a result of employee Nicholas Rapa filing a petitionwith the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which called for a "decertification" election to remove Teamsters Local 35 as the exclusive bargaining "representative" of Rapa and his coworkers, medical equipment operators assigned to Fort Dix for training.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or "certify") and remove (or "decertify") unions. The petition, which Rapa filed with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, surpassed the threshold of signatures necessary to trigger a decertification vote.
The election was administered on June 17, and the vast majority of workers voted to remove Teamsters bosses from power. New Jersey does not have state Right to Work protections, which means the union bosses at Phoenix Logistics were able to exercise both of their government-granted forced unionism powers: the ability to force workers into a contract they may not want (monopoly bargaining), and the ability to force workers to pay dues or fees to the union in order to keep their jobs (forced dues).
Successful Decertification Latest Blow to Teamsters Power
The election was certified by the NLRB on June 26, meaning that Rapa and his coworkers are now officially free from both of these abuses by Teamsters union officials. This comes after officials from Teamsters Local 35 had neglected these employees, despite supposedly "representing" the workers for over five years.
In the last few years, decertification efforts have been on the rise. This successful petition was the latest in a long line of decertification efforts specifically against Teamsters officials. Recent NLRB statistics suggest no union faces more decertification petitions than the Teamsters.
"Around the country, workers are questioning union bosses' priorities, as those officials demonstrate that they are out of step with the needs of the workers they supposedly 'represent,'" said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "We are proud to have supported Mr. Rapa and his coworkers as they exercise their individual right to refuse union power."
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The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
Posted on Jul 6, 2026 in News Releases
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Original text here: https://www.nrtw.org/news/new-jersey-phoenix-decert-win-07062026/
New Getty Volume Charts Evolution of Mexican Artifacts from Curiosity to Art Collector's Dream
LOS ANGELES, California, July 6 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust posted the following news release:
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New Getty Volume Charts Evolution of Mexican Artifacts from Curiosity to Art Collector's Dream
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In midcentury Los Angeles, a curious transformation was underway, helmed by Earl Leopold Stendahl, the founder of the Stendahl Art Galleries of Los Angeles and an influential art dealer among a circle of Hollywood art collectors.
Ancient, pre-Hispanic, Mexican artifacts, once dismissed as anthropological curiosities, had become prized artworks that were now being prominently displayed in major US
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, July 6 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust posted the following news release:
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New Getty Volume Charts Evolution of Mexican Artifacts from Curiosity to Art Collector's Dream
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In midcentury Los Angeles, a curious transformation was underway, helmed by Earl Leopold Stendahl, the founder of the Stendahl Art Galleries of Los Angeles and an influential art dealer among a circle of Hollywood art collectors.
Ancient, pre-Hispanic, Mexican artifacts, once dismissed as anthropological curiosities, had become prized artworks that were now being prominently displayed in major USmuseums, featured in advertisements and Hollywood films, and shown adorning the homes of celebrities. The conceptual transformation of pre-Hispanic objects from anthropological artifacts to ancient works of art was implemented via strategic marketing and Stendahl's keen eye for opportunity, as he repositioned these artifacts to define a new canon of "ancient American art."
Artifacts to Art: Collecting Ancient America in Midcentury L.A. (Getty Research Institute, $30) goes beyond this glamorous facade, however, to explore the darker narrative of the looting, smuggling, and forgery that fueled this midcentury craze. Throughout the volume, the authors expose how the desire for authenticity and prestige often came at the expense of ethical collecting practices and cultural heritage, bringing together art history, museum studies, and the politics of the antiquities trade, offering both a social history and a critical examination of how ancient Mexico's past was sold in twentieth-century America.
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Original text here: https://www.getty.edu/news/new-getty-volume-charts-evolution-mexican-artifacts-curiosity-to-art-collectors-dream
New Book Spotlights Transformative Nature of Black Curatorial History
LOS ANGELES, California, July 6 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust posted the following news release:
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New Book Spotlights Transformative Nature of Black Curatorial History
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The relationship between Black Americans and American art museums has historically been both fraught and hard-won.
Fifty years after Black artists protested their exclusion from exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, and MoMA, among others, there was a call for museums to hire Black curatorial talent. As a result, the Black curator made significant inroads into the U.S. art world. Such advocacy led
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, July 6 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust posted the following news release:
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New Book Spotlights Transformative Nature of Black Curatorial History
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The relationship between Black Americans and American art museums has historically been both fraught and hard-won.
Fifty years after Black artists protested their exclusion from exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, and MoMA, among others, there was a call for museums to hire Black curatorial talent. As a result, the Black curator made significant inroads into the U.S. art world. Such advocacy ledto acquisitions and exhibitions by Black artists at important institutions and spurred the establishment of museums and cultural organizations promoting Black art and culture. Today, Black curators hold significant positions at institutions nationwide. In this context, the Black curator becomes essential to broadening the discourse around the endeavors of Black artists, and for providing the frameworks by which depictions of the Black experience are perceived and historicized.
Black Curators Matter: Conversations on Art and Change (Getty Research Institute, $30) illuminates this critical history by spotlighting figures who have transformed the art world since the 1970s. This book presents illuminating conversations between six pioneering curators-Lowery Stokes Sims, Deborah Willis, Richard J. Powell, Kellie Jones, Thelma Golden, and Franklin Sirmans-and a new generation of professionals, including Ashley James, Kalia Brooks, Aaron Bryant, Thomas Jean Lax, Rujeko Hockley, and LeRonn P. Brooks. The oral histories presented fill a gap in the existing scholarship on Black arts production, circulation, and institutionalization. It incorporates, directly from the sources, the experiences and voices of Black curators who have transformed the art world since the 1970s, a history frequently mentioned in scholarship but not explicitly addressed at length. By showcasing their stories, Black Curators Matter brings new perspectives to curatorial and museum history and reveals how these pioneering figures reshaped American art museums toward greater inclusivity and innovation.
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Original text here: https://www.getty.edu/news/new-book-spotlights-transformative-nature-of-black-curatorial-history
