NATION IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Subway Begging Ban Overturned

In an unprecedented ruling, a federal judge overturned a ban on begging in the New York City subway system, saying panhandling was a form of free speech protected by the Constitution. “While often disturbing and sometimes alarmingly graphic, begging is unmistakenly informative and persuasive speech,” U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand wrote in his 42-page ruling. The ruling was hailed by lawyers for two homeless men who brought the class-action suit against the Transit Authority, the agency that operates the city’s subways. A spokesman for the Transit Authority’s parent agency said it was “obviously upset with the decision.”