Your Daily Digest for Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010:

 Rescuers have been bringing 33 Chilean miners trapped in a San Jose mine up to the surface one-by-one over the night after the group was trapped underground since a collapse Aug. 5, according to CNN. The process of getting the miners up — by using a capsule that travels through a thin tunnel down to the mine — is going better than expected. The rescue is not complete, however. Experts anticipate mental and physical issues once the miners reach the surface, including anxiety and dizziness.

14 miners had been rescued as of 9:30 a.m. today. As each came up through the tube, family members rejoiced and cheered traditional patriotic Chilean chants. Chilean president Sebastian Pinera was also present to welcome the miners back to the surface.

 A federal judge issued an injunction on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Tuesday, which immediately bans both the enforcement of the law as well as immediately ending any ongoing investigations into individual service members, according to the New York Times.  Federal judge for the Central District of California Virginia A. Phillips said the law “infringes the fundamental rights” of homosexual U.S. service workers, including those of speech and due process.  A Justice Department spokeswoman said the ruling is being reviewed, but would not confirm whether it would be appealed.

 Minnesota is facing a public defender shortage, MinnPost reports in the first story of a series on the issue.  Since 2008, the number of defenders in the state has fallen from 423 to 350. Budget cuts are the main cause for the sharp decline, and the loss of some federal grant funding next year could mean the figure will get even lower.  “Qualified is sacrificed for efficiency,” said one judge.