The administration told a federal appeals court in Washington on Wednesday that the order by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth stops "funding for embryonic stem cell research in its tracks."

Lamberth rejected the administration's request to let funding continue while it pursues an appeal of his order.

Medical researchers value stem cells because they are master cells that can turn into any tissue of the body. Research eventually could lead to cures for spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments.

Georgia's top court is considering the legality of the state's oft-challenged law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast their ballots.

The Georgia Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday on a new type of legal challenge brought by the law's opponents.

Earlier efforts to block the law were filed in federal court and contended it violated voters' rights under the U.S. Constitution. But the latest case brought by the Democratic Party of Georgia claims the requirement violates the Georgia Constitution.

Critics have long tried to block the law, claiming it places an undue burden on poor, disabled people and minorities. But supporters say it's needed to combat voter fraud.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says television has profoundly changed confirmation hearings but declined to say whether she'd oppose televising arguments.

Ginsburg told a Colorado judicial conference Friday that TV has made Supreme Court confirmation hearings much longer because senators posture for cameras.

"The people on the Senate Judiciary Committee have all that free time" to stump for the audience, Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg demurred, however, on the question of televising arguments before the high court. She talked about former justices who opposed cameras.

Without naming anyone currently on the court, Ginsburg said, "When you're sitting on a collegial bench, if there is any of you who would be extremely discomforted ... you would defer to that colleague."

Ginsburg talked to several hundred judges gathered for a judicial conference of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court. The justice delivered a speech written by her recently deceased husband, Martin Ginsburg. Martin Ginsburg, a prominent lawyer in his own right, was originally scheduled to address the gathering and prepared the remarks before his death from cancer in June.

After reading the speech, she Ginsburg joined the chief jurist of Canada's Supreme Court, Beverly McLachlin, in a question-and-answer session.

When U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's Proposition 8—the 2008 ballot initiative to outlaw gay marriage—he said the motivation for the majority of voters was clear.

"The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples," Walker wrote in his sweeping, 136-page decision announced August 4 in San Francisco. "These interests do not provide a rational basis for supporting Proposition 8."

In Walker's reasoning, religion amounts to a "private moral view," which should not infringe upon the constitutional rights of others. While some legal scholars say Walker's decision lands on firm legal ground—a law must advance a secular purpose to pass constitutional muster—some religious leaders accuse the judge of trying to scrub faith from the public square.

On August 5, Prop 8's supporters filed an appeal of Walker's decision. Jim Campbell, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian law firm involved in the litigation, said the religious freedom argument will play an important role as the case moves up the federal judicial ladder—including, potentially, the U.S. Supreme Court.

The California Supreme Court says furloughs of state workers can resume while it reviews whether governors have the authority to mandate unpaid days off.

The announcement Wednesday was a victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has sought to save the state money by imposing another round of furloughs.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear says furloughs for about 150,000 state workers will begin Friday.

The Republican governor recently ordered workers to be furloughed three days a month, following a previous round that ended in June. McLear says the furloughs are estimated to save the state $150 million a month.

A founding member of a terrorist group has pleaded guilty in the kidnapping of 16 people, including four Americans, at a Philippine resort 15 years ago.

During an appearance in federal court Wednesday, Madhatta Haipe admitted that he and several armed members of the Abu Sayyaf (AH'-boo SEYE'-yahf) Group kidnapped the vacationers for ransom.

Haipe was extradited from the Philippines to the U.S., and at his sentencing Dec. 14 he will face up to life in prison on each of four counts of hostage taking.

Abu Sayyaf is suspected of having received funds and training from al-Qaida and is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

Its bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings of hostages have made it the Philippines' most brutal rebel group.