The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed on Wednesday that dinosaur fossils belong to a ranch’s surface estate and were not included in the mineral rights to the land. In Murray v. BEJ Minerals, BEJ Minerals sold the surface rights of a Montana ranch to the Murrays while retaining the mineral rights. [...]

During a UN Human Rights Council debate on Wednesday, Philonise Floyd joined by video to request that the UN establish an independent commission to review the police killings of black people in the US as well as the recent violence against protesters. Philonise Floyd is the brother of George Floyd, a black man who was [...]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s justice ministry opened a murder investigation on Tuesday for the judge overseeing the corruption trial for President Tshisekedi’s Chief of Staff. Judge Raphael Yanyi died on May 26, which police initially said was caused by a heart attack. However, the autopsy revealed that Yanyi died by multiple stab wounds [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a statement on Wednesday recommending reforms that would diminish the immunity that protects online platforms from liability for third party content. Currently, online platforms are protected from liability for third party content by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Protections were originally intended to aid [...]

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced on Wednesday that the Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks outside of a Wendy’s on Friday is being charged with felony murder and violating his oath of office. Howard revealed that police officer Garrett Rolfe shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back and kicked him in a [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on countries to confront the legacies of slavery and colonialism on Wednesday. In a statement following an urgent meeting of the UN Council on Human Rights, Bachelet called on countries to extend reforms beyond law enforcement and encompass every aspect of society. The statement singled out [...]

The US Supreme Court decided on Thursday that the current administration could not end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA). Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the court in the Department of Homeland Security v. Regents University of California, he was joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor. DACA has allowed certain [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) could issue permits for hunters to import elephant trophies from Zimbabwe. The FWS created a general ban on the importation of hunting trophies to the US. However, the agency does provide exception when the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit refused Tuesday to block enforcement of the Illinois COVID-19 order capping the number of individuals attending a religious service at 10. Two churches contended that Executive Order 2020-38 violates their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, as applied to the states by [...]

The US Supreme Court stayed the execution of Texas inmate Ruben Gutierrez Tuesday. The order came only an hour before the execution was scheduled to take place and was granted in response to Gutierrez’s argument that his First Amendment rights were violated by the state’s refusal to grant his request to have a Christian chaplain [...]