The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal of a decision that struck down an ATF final rule aimed at limiting ghost guns. Ghost guns are weapons parts kits that can be put together to create a firearm without having to register it. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit previously [...]
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Confronting Blind Spots: A Call for Constructive Dialogue on Israel's Response to Hamas
Constructive dialogue over complex issues seems increasingly difficult to find in these extremely polarizing times. For the Jewish community of which I am a part, the highly valued idea of any such “makhloket l’sheim shamayim” — the Talmudic notion of an argument for the sake of heaven — seems all the more elusive when attempting [...]
UK House of Commons passes amendment urging Gaza ceasefire after Conservative and SNP walkout
The UK House of Commons passed a Labour Party amendment calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday as Parliament erupted after Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle went against convention to select two amendments to a Scottish National Party (SNP) ceasefire motion for voting. The move has resulted in calls for Hoyle’s [...]
Observing Holocaust Remembrance Day on the Heels of Alabama’s Experimental Gassing Execution
I am an ordained Jewish cantor, a former Jewish prison chaplain, a third-generation Holocaust survivor, and co-founder of L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty. I write these words on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and on the morning after Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas — the first execution of this [...]
No sooner had the dust of 2023 settled than the leader of the executive arm of Kenya’s government launched missiles of subliminal jibes aimed at what he termed “a tyrannical and corrupt judiciary.” President William Ruto—a product of the Kenyan Supreme Court’s ruling on the 2022 Presidential Petition—averred that some judges were bent on sabotaging [...]
US Navy seizes Iran missile parts destined for Houthis, alleges violation of arms embargo
US Navy SEALs boarded a vessel and seized Iranian-manufactured missile components destined for Houthi rebel forces in Yemen during a flag verification mission in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Somalia, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Tuesday, claiming the components were being transported in violation of a UN Security Council arms embargo. The [...]
Alabama's Nitrogen Gas Execution Will Be Cruel and Unusual Punishment
On Jan. 25, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) plans to execute Kenneth Smith by forcing him to breathe pure nitrogen gas, an untested execution method with profound legal and ethical consequences. Death penalty abolitionists worldwide have railed against this form of capital punishment, but these efforts have thus far failed to alter the state’s [...]
Stephen Rapp, an American lawyer and diplomat, has been a leading figure in international criminal law and human rights. He was appointed as the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues in 2009, overseeing investigations and prosecutions of war criminals worldwide. Rapp’s commitment to justice and ending impunity was evident during his tenure, supporting [...]
US prosecutors connect Venezuela military and oil company to drug trafficking in federal trial
The federal trial of Carlos Orense Azocar (Orense) began this week, where he faces accusations of shipping tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States with suspected ties between Venezuelan oil and military leaders. With certain court documents sealed, Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press had access to the courtroom on Monday. [...]
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a request Tuesday for an emergency seal of evidence related to the Georgia election interference case against former US President Donald Trump and multiple former Trump attorneys and staff members. The filing comes amid major evidentiary leaks, published by ABC News and The Washington Post, of video interrogations [...]