A federal appeals court has sided with the former Massey Energy in a dispute over the company's investigation of last year's deadly Upper Big Branch mine explosion.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Friday that Massey is entitled to appeal restrictions placed on its investigation by federal investigators.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission had rebuffed Virginia-based Massey's request to appeal the restrictions last year.

Massey wanted the commission to set aside restrictions barring it from taking photos and collecting dust samples from the southern West Virginia mine, among other things.

The appellate court set aside the commission's decision rejecting Massey's appeal.

New Massey owner Alpha Natural Resources declined comment. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration had no immediate comment.

The New Jersey Supreme Court says people posting in online message boards don't have the same protections for sources as mainstream journalists.

The court ruled Tuesday that New Jersey's shield law for journalists does not apply to such message boards.

The case involved a New Jersey-based software company named Too Much Media. It sued a Washington state blogger for defamation and wanted her to reveal sources she cited on message board posts.

Shellee Hale claimed customer information was compromised and that she should be protected from revealing her sources.

New Jersey's highest court says online message boards are little more than forums for discussion and don't fit the definition of news media as described by the law.

The Supreme Court has ruled that former Attorney General John Ashcroft cannot be sued over his role in the post-9/11 arrest of an American Muslim who was never charged with a crime.

By a 5-3 vote Tuesday, the court said Ashcroft did not violate the constitutional rights of Abdullah al-Kidd, who was arrested in 2003 under a federal law intended to make sure witnesses testify in criminal proceedings.

But even the justices who disagreed about the constitutional issue agreed that Ashcroft could not be personally sued for his role in al-Kidd's arrest. The court reversed a federal appeals court ruling that denied Ashcroft immunity from liability in this case.