A jury found ten Muslim students from the University of California, Irvine, guilty of disrupting a February 2010 speech at the university's campus by Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the United States. Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson sentenced each student to three years of probation, 56 hours of community service, and ordered each to pay $270 in fines. The case brings national attention to first amendment rights regarding freedom of speech.

Veterans Day 2011, observed on November 11th, marks the eight anniversary of the anti-war memorial known as Arlington West that is setup every Sunday as well as on special dates next to the Santa Monica Pier. Each white cross represents one US serviceperson killed in action either in Iraq or Afghanistan, while each red cross represents ten. The coffins and blue crosses represent US members of the armed forces killed this week.