Federal appeals court judges in New York may limit the amount of raw footage that a filmmaker must turn over from his documentary about a legal dispute between Chevron and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday after lawyers for filmmaker Joseph Berlinger appealed a judge's order requiring the materials to be provided to Chevron.

The judges showed little sympathy for Berlinger's claims that he should not have to turn over any raw footage.

The judges say they could order that the outtakes be limited to materials essential to Chevron's effort to prove it is being unfairly treated by the courts in Ecuador.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, saying it is unconstitutionally vague and threatens speech "at the heart of the First Amendment."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan threw out the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.

"By prohibiting all `patently offensive' references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive' means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive," the court wrote.

"To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster's peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment," it added.

The court said the FCC might be able to craft a policy that does not violate the First Amendment.

It cited several examples of chilled speech, including a Vermont station's refusal to air a political debate because one local politician previously had used expletives on the air and a Moosic, Pa., station's decision to no longer provide live coverage of news events unless they affect matters of public safety or convenience.

Rebuffed twice by the courts, the Obama administration is taking another crack at a moratorium on deep-water drilling, stressing new evidence of safety concerns and no longer basing the moratorium on water depth. But those who challenge the latest ban question whether it complies with a judge's ruling tossing out the first one.

The new order does not appear to deviate much from the original moratorium, as it still targets deep-water drilling operators but defines them in a different way.

Last week, a federal appeals court rejected the government's effort to restore its initial offshore deep-water drilling moratorium, which was issued following the catastrophic Gulf oil spill in April. The moratorium was first blocked last month by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman.

The Justice Department said Monday it will file a motion with the U.S. District Court seeking a dismissal of that case, because the old moratorium is no longer operative, making the challenge moot. The department also will ask the appeals court to set aside Feldman's order of last month.

Carl Rosenblum, a lawyer for the plaintiffs who sued to block the moratorium, said they are reviewing the new moratorium and "we have substantial concerns about its consistency with Judge Feldman's order." He wouldn't elaborate or say if they planned to challenge it in court.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he decided to put in place a new moratorium because of "evidence that grows every day of the industry's inability in the deep water to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill and to operate safely."

A new gun ordinance in Chicago that officials say is the strictest of its kind in the country went into effect on Monday.

The ordinance was pushed through quickly by Mayor Richard Daley and the City Council after the U.S. Supreme Court last month made the city's 28-year-old handgun ban unenforceable. The high court ruled that Americans have the right to have guns in their homes for protection.

The ordinance permits residents to have only one working gun at a time in their homes and prohibits them from stepping outside, even onto their porches or in their garages, with a handgun.

Following the lead of Washington, D.C., which enacted a strict ordinance after the Supreme Court struck down its gun ban two years ago, Chicago also requires prospective gun owners to take a class and receive firearms training.

Chicago's ordinance also bans gun shops from setting up shop in the city and bars anyone convicted of a violent crime, domestic violence or two or more convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs from owning a handgun.

Also starting Monday is a 90-day grace period in which residents who owned handguns illegally during the ban can register them without penalty.

Chicago's ordinance was widely criticized by gun rights advocates, who have said the city is simply trying to make it as difficult as it can for people to own guns and putting up unconstitutional roadblocks in their way. They promised lawsuits and last week, even before the ordinance went into effect, at least two lawsuits were filed challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance.

The U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division will investigate a white Oakland police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man on a crowded train platform, a case reminiscent of the racially charged 1992 police beating of Rodney King.

The federal government said it will step in after officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted Thursday of a lesser involuntary manslaughter charge, touching off angry protests that damaged stores and netted dozens of arrests.

The justice department's civil rights division will conduct the review along with the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco and the FBI, said spokesman Alejandro Miyar, who declined further comment. The investigation will determine whether the case warrants federal prosecution

Federal officials planned to begin their review at the conclusion of the state's case against Mehserle, who still faces sentencing. The next hearing was set for Aug. 6.

The Los Angeles jury's verdict raised concerns of a repeat of the rioting that followed the shooting on New Year's Day in 2009 on an Oakland train platform. The trial was moved to Los Angeles following the riots.

A federal appeals court is set to hear the Justice Department's bid to delay a judge's decision to overturn a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday from lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit filed by companies that oppose the Obama administration's temporary drilling ban.

The Interior Department says it halted new permits for deepwater projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells to protect the Gulf of Mexico from another environmental disaster while it studies the risks of deepwater drilling.

The government is asking the 5th Circuit panel for an order that would keep the moratorium in place while they appeal last month's ruling.

A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to writing and posting on a white supremacist website a poem threatening the assassination of President Barack Obama.

Johnny Logan Spencer Jr. of Louisville entered an open plea — admitting guilt without a deal with prosecutors — Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville.

The 28-year-old Spencer's sentencing is set for Nov. 2. The charge carries a maximum of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Stephan M. Pazenzia said in an affidavit that Spencer wrote and posted the poem, titled "The Sniper," on a page called NewSaxon.org.

The poem describes a gunman shooting and killing a "tyrant" later identified as the president, setting off panic.