The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety announcement on Friday warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or clinic trials. “Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19,” said the FDA in its statement [...]

The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) called Friday for nations to lift trade restrictions on medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The heads of the international agencies said that the trade restrictions on supplies used to fight COVID-19 could be “dangerously counterproductive,” adding, “what makes sense in [...]

The US Supreme Court denied requests Friday from New York, Connecticut, and Vermont to temporarily lift or modify the controversial “public charge” immigration rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. The “public charge” rule allows the Department of Homeland Security to refuse citizenship for immigrants who rely on monetary or nonmonetary government assistance. The US Supreme Court [...]

Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear on Friday vetoed Senate Bill 9, which would have allowed the state’s Attorney General to restrict abortion access during the COVID-19 outbreak.  The bill also would have required doctors to try to preserve the lives of any infants born alive in attempted abortions. For failing to provide “medically appropriate and reasonable [...]

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced on Saturday that it was abolishing flogging as a form of punishment, as part of reforms aimed to advance human rights in Saudi Arabia. These reforms follow “unprecedented international criticism” that Saudi Arabia received in 2019 for its human rights record, which included 184 executions, 84 of which were for [...]

The US Department of the Treasury granted airlines an additional $9.5 billion Saturday for payroll during the COVID-19 crisis. The Treasury has disbursed a total of $12.4 billion in aid to airlines for economic relief associated with COVID-19 loses. The Department of the Treasury announced the disbursements on Saturday: Since announcing the first Payroll Support [...]

President Trump signed a fourth coronavirus relief bill on Friday following its passage by the House of Representatives. The bill, H.R. 266, The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, provides an additional $484 billion in emergency supplemental funding for programs aimed at buoying up businesses hit by the pandemic, as well as money [...]

The parliament of Scotland introduced a bill on Friday to modernize hate crimes laws, including a section that would abolish the crime of blasphemy. The purpose of the proposed legislation is “to modernise, consolidate and extend existing hate crime law,” updating the list of protected characteristics, including for the first time adding age to the [...]

The First Circuit ruled on Friday that “women unable to leave a domestic relationship” are a group eligible for asylum applications and cancellation of removal proceedings. The court’s opinion overturned a rule finalized under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018 that required the category of membership to be defined in separate terms from the [...]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on Thursday that Detroit students at under-performing schools have the fundamental right to a basic minimum education. Students from five of the city’s lowest-performing public schools brought the suit against Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth [...]