The French National Assembly passed a bill on Thursday banning discrimination over the texture, length, color or style of a person’s hair on first reading. The bill will now go to the Senate for further approval. The proposed bill aims to amend the wording of existing anti-discrimination measures adopted in the labor code, penal code and [...]
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US federal judge dismisses Pennsylvania lawmakers' challenge to state automatic voter registration
US District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro challenging several actions to boost voter registration. The case is in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs, consisting of 27 Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers, challenged a 2021 Biden executive order and [...]
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a controversial Texas law, Senate Bill (SB) 4, will remain on hold as litigation continues. SB4, the controversial Texas law that is the subject of this continued litigation, was originally signed into law in December 2023. If enforced, it would [...]
Explainer: Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments in Latest Reproductive Rights Case
The US Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case concerning the authorization and regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone at a time when reproductive rights are at the heart of political division and changing policies across the nation. At the center of the case is the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine’s lawsuit against the Food [...]
Biden signs $1.2T US government appropriations bill that includes UNRWA funding ban
US President Joe Biden signed HB 2882, called the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” on Saturday. This act provides federal government funding through September 2024 and includes a provision that prohibits funds from being used for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The act also cuts funding to the UN International [...]
Explainer: Unpacking SB 4, Texas's Controversial Border Security Legislation
In recent days, an unusual state border-security law has ricocheted back and forth between US federal courts, introducing novel questions of state and federal supremacy. Long disgruntled over the federal government’s perceived inadequate efforts to curb illegal immigration along its southern border, Texas enacted a state law that would enable it to take action in [...]
Georgia House advances bill barring Chinese 'agents' from owning farm and military-adjacent land
A Republican-sponsored bill that banned any Chinese “agent” from purchasing farmland or land near military installations passed the Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday. The vote was 97-67 along party lines. Republican representatives have argued the bill will help further national security. They claimed that land owned by people affiliated with China could pose a [...]
The Cost of Revenge: A Cantor's Critique of Israel's Response to Hamas
In the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, many of Israel’s supporters, myself included, have succumbed to the understandable impulse for violent retribution. Israel is a land that I love, both culturally as a Jew — and third-generation Holocaust survivor — and spiritually as an ordained cantor. It follows that [...]
The Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday prohibiting companies that benefit from state economic development incentives from recognizing unions without first conducting formal secret-ballot elections. The bill, Senate Bill 362, now awaits Governor Brian Kemp’s signature to become law in the state. The bill has sparked debate regarding its compliance with federal [...]
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would make it a crime to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the US. The passage puts the midwestern state on track to join Texas in enforcing state immigration laws that operate independently of the federal immigration system, meaning they are not directly [...]