One Christian ministry has had enough of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s disparaging “hate group” characterization. D. James Kennedy Ministries filed a lawsuit Aug. 23 in an Alabama federal court alleging the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) “trafficked in false and misleading descriptions” of the ministry and that other entities also named in the suit perpetuated the libel.

Former Bremerton, Wash., high school football coach Joe Kennedy lost his appeal today at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled he did not have a right to pray at the 50-yard line after games. A three-judge panel of the court, known for liberal rulings, said Kennedy’s prayers did not amount to constitutionally protected free speech because he was acting as a public employee when he offered them.

WASHINGTON—Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released the U.S. State Department’s annual report on international religious freedom Tuesday, highlighting the Islamic State as one of the biggest threats to liberty around the globe. “ISIS has and continues to target members of multiple religions and ethnicities for rape, kidnapping, enslavement, and death,” Tillerson wrote.

CHARLOTTE, Mich.—The day before Steve Tennes was born, his father, siblings, and grandmother planted more than 3,000 apple trees on the family’s newly acquired 120-acre Charlotte, Mich., farm, earning him an orchard in his name.

A Wisconsin photographer and blogger won her fight last week against city and state laws forcing her to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies. Amy Lawson’s saving grace did not come from the First Amendment but from her lack of a brick-and-mortar location.

Could Congress punish colleges for blocking free speech? Not now, but maybe someday.

Last week, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, held a joint hearing with two House Oversight subcommittees to highlight the issue.

President Donald Trump has announced he will appoint Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as the next ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The Wednesday evening statement caps weeks of hopeful speculation by advocates who said Brownback would bring unprecedented political muscle to the position.