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The Obama administration opposes a bipartisan Senate compromise — to the frustration of some of its usual allies. The White House says provisions in the defense bill would tie its hands when it comes to handling some terrorism cases.

But the Justice Department's Inspector General says officials still need to watch how they spend taxpayers' money at conferences. And it hasn't changed its findings about $5 sodas, $32 snack breaks and $8 cups of coffee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony Wednesday on a bill that would repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act and, for the first time, give federal benefits to same-sex couples who marry. Even in states where gay marriage is legal, federal benefits are denied.

Public support for the medical use of marijuana is rising, but the Obama administration has begun lashing out against the drug. The Justice Department has warned that dispensaries aren't immune from prosecution, even in states where medical use is legal.

Attorney General Eric Holder told relatives of people who died in the Sept. 11 attacks that a preliminary criminal investigation into the allegations had been opened. But even if the hacking took place on U.S. soil, investigators could run into trouble with the statute of limitations.

Days after the Supreme Court's landmark decision on the health care law, lawyers say they're still teasing out the consequences in other areas of the law — including civil rights. That's because the ruling involves two federal powers that happen to be the backbone of most civil rights legislation.

A scandal over the botched gun-trafficking operation intensified on Capitol Hill this week. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has called for an independent investigation into whether Attorney General Eric Holder misled Congress. Another Republican has called on Holder to resign.

A Somali terrorist suspect's civilian trial has upset Republican leaders, who argue that suspects should be sent to Guantanamo before facing a military tribunal. What the Ahmed Warsame case tells us about Obama and the politics of national security.

The Obama Justice Department has been taking a more aggressive approach against people who block access to abortion clinics, using a 1994 law to bring cases in greater numbers than George W. Bush did. Some believe the stepped-up enforcement has put a damper on clinic violence.

In a speech at Northwestern University Law School, the attorney general said the president "may use force abroad against a senior operational leader of a foreign terrorist organization with which the United States is at war — even if that individual happens to be a U.S. citizen." That position bothers civil libertarians.