The UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonović, said Thursday that she is “gravely concerned” about the number of cases related to sexual violence against women and girls in Nepal. She cited the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta as an example of a case that was “referred to the police or [...]
Michigan’s Senate on Thursday voted to extend the ban on obtaining abortion medication via telemedicine. The bill aims to amend Michigan’s current abortion law in which the prohibition on prescribing is set to last only until December 31, 2018. Currently, Michigan physicians are not able to “diagnose and prescribe a medical abortion” without performing a [...]
The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Hopi Tribe does not have a claim against the Arizona Snowbowl Resort for the resort’s use of artificial snow on public land sacred to the tribe. “Today we hold, as a matter of law, that environmental damage to public land with religious, cultural, or emotional significance to the [...]
Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana said in a hearing on Wednesday that pre-construction activities may continue for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Morris originally ruled this month that construction on Keystone XL must be halted to allow for further studies to ensure environmental safety. Construction of the Keystone [...]
Leaders of the Mexican, Canadian and US governments signed a new trade deal on Friday that affects more than $1.2 trillion in regional commerce and is set to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). From the G20 Summit in Argentina, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ended lawsuits brought by college athletes against fantasy sports websites FanDuel and DraftKings with a ruling on Thursday. The suit was originally brought by three former college football athletes alleging that fantasy sports sites like the defendants infringe on their right to publicity under the law of [...]
The French National Assembly voted on Friday in favor of a ban on smacking children, bringing them in line with other European countries. The change in their civil code was approved 51-1 and will now go to the Senate for approval. The ban states: parental authority must be imposed without physical, verbal, or psychological violence. [...]
The Supreme Court Rhode Island ruled on Thursday that the parental rights of a convicted murderer serving two consecutive life sentences were correctly limited by the lower state courts. Tony Gonzalez was convicted of two counts of murder in July 2012 and sentenced to serve two consecutive life imprisonment terms. While serving his sentence, his [...]
A Turkish court ruled Friday that the former leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party will remain in prison, despite calls from top EU officials for the politician’s swift release. Selahattin Demirtaş is the former co-chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and one of Turkey’s best-known politicians. He was detained two years ago on terrorism-related [...]
US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to making false representations to Congress about Trump’s business dealings in Russia. According to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s court filing, Cohen made several false statements in a letter to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Both committees [...]
