SEATTLE — Federal District Judge James Robart said he would decide before Christmas whether to stop a Trump administration ban on certain refugees after hearing arguments Thursday that the ban is separating families and putting some refugees in danger.

Lawyers from the ACLU and Jewish Family Service asked Robart for an injunction on a ban the administration has placed on refugees from some mostly Muslim countries.

The ban went into effect in October after President Donald Trump issued an executive order resuming the refugee program “with enhanced vetting capabilities.”

The day before that order, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats sent a memo to Trump saying certain refugees must be banned unless additional measures are implemented.

The banned refugees include the spouses and minor children of refugees who have settled in the country. The action also suspended the refugee program for people coming from 11 countries.

The ACLU argued the memo provided no evidence for why additional security was needed and didn’t specify a timeframe for implementing the changes.

Robart questioned whether Trump administration policies were trampling the Administrative Procedures Act, which says a process must be followed before shutting down a program. Robart also questioned whether the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to stop the refugee program, when the Immigration and Nationality Act, passed by Congress, mandates the reunification of the families of refugees settled in this country.

Jurors acquit 6 nabbed during D.C. Inauguration Day protests

WASHINGTON — The first six people to face trial in Inauguration Day protests were acquitted, a victory for not only the defendants but also for advocates who argued the government overreached in its effort to prosecute more than 200 people arrested in the rioting.

Following a nearly four-week trial, a jury delivered not guilty verdicts Thursday on multiple charges of rioting and destruction of property.

The six joined protesters Jan. 20 to protest President Donald Trump’s election. Authorities tallied riot damages at more than $100,000.

Acquitted were Jennifer Armento, 38, of Philadelphia; Oliver Harris, 28, of Philadelphia; Brittne Lawson, 27, of Pittsburgh; Michelle Macchio, 26, of Naples, Fla; Christina Simmons, 20, of Cockeysville, Md.; and Alexei Wood, 37, of San Antonio, Texas.

Wis. girl sentenced to 25 years in Slender Man stabbing case

WAUKESHA, Wis. — One of two girls who tried to kill a classmate to win favor with a fictional horror character named Slender Man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in a mental hospital.

Anissa Weier, 16, pleaded guilty in August to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, but she claimed she wasn’t responsible because she was mentally ill. In September, a jury agreed.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren sentenced Weier to 25 years in a psychiatric institution, retroactive to the date of the crime. That means she would be institutionalized until age 37.

Weier and Morgan Geyser lured Payton Leutner into a park in a Milwaukee suburb in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on. Leutner survived.

Papa John’s founder to exit as CEO in wake of NFL remarks

NEW YORK — Papa John’s founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO on Jan. 1, about two months after he criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by players — comments for which the company later apologized.

Schnatter will be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie, the company said. Schnatter, who appears in the chain’s commercials, remains chairman of the board.

Schnatter blamed slowing sales growth at Papa John’s, an NFL sponsor and advertiser, on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had kneeled during the anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black men.

Administration halts offshore oil inspection study

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has halted an independent scientific study of offshore oil inspections by the federal safety agency created after the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine was told to cease review of the inspection program conducted by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Established following the massive BP spill, the bureau was assigned the role of improving offshore safety inspections and federal oversight.

The order marks the second time in four months that the Trump administration has halted a study by the National Academies. In August, the Interior Department suspended a National Academies study of potential health risks for people living near Appalachian surface coal mines.

Aussie driver with history of mental illness injures 19

SYDNEY — The driver of an SUV that rammed into a crowd in central Melbourne on Thursday, injuring 19 people, is an Australian citizen of Afghan descent with a history of drug use and mental illness, police said.

Police said the driver, 32, was arrested and had been known to police for minor assault and traffic offenses. The motive for the attack was not known.

The streets outside the city’s iconic Flinders Street railway station were crowded with Christmas shoppers when a white Suzuki SUV ran a red light and slammed into pedestrians. Bystanders dragged the driver out of the vehicle.

In January, six people were killed and more than 30 injured when a car was driven up a footpath near Thursday’s incident. The driver had a history of mental health problems.

Sen. Al Franken bade farewell to Capitol Hill on Thursday with a broadside against the policies of the Trump administration and a call for politicians to commit themselves to “honesty in public discourse.” Franken, D-Minn., stepped down over allegations he had touched women inappropriately. His last day is Jan. 2.

Pope Francis prayed Thursday for a merciful judgment for Cardinal Bernard Law at a funeral Mass at the Vatican. Law died Wednesday at 86. He left Boston in 2002 after revelations that he covered up for priests who raped and molested children, moving them to different parishes without telling parents or police.