A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled  Wednesday that the Department of Education unlawfully delayed the implementation of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The loan program (otherwise referred to as “Borrower Defense Regulations”) was created in November 2016. The purpose was to help protect students from predatory lending practices. The California Association of [...]

A federal judge in California on Tuesday blocked  the state from enforcing a law that bans gun vendors from displaying imagery and/or advertisements depicting or resembling guns. Plaintiffs consisted of firearm vendors who were issued citations by law enforcement for displaying images, signs and advertisements of guns outside their establishments. The store owners filed suit [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday reinstated  Michigan’s ban on straight ticket voting by granting the Secretary of State’s motion to stay a lower court ruling enjoining the law’s enforcement. Public Act 268 banned straight ticket voting, referring to the practice in which voters select a single political party for [...]

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals on Tuesday replaced  three out of five judges presiding over the appeal of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic . The original panel comprised Judges Theodor Meron, Carmel Agius, Liu Daqun, Prisca Matimba Nyambe and Seymour Panton. Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti granted the defendant’s request to replace the judges, citing bias against [...]

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled  Thursday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can stop paying for emergency relief housing for Puerto Rican civilians. After Hurricane Maria stuck the US island territory nearly a year ago, FEMA has provided temporary housing assistance for victims. The program is known as “Transitional Shelter Assistance” (TSA). On [...]

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday found former Bosnian Serb senior official Jovan Tintor guilty of crimes against civilians and sentenced him to 11 years in prison . Tintor was indicted by the court in 2016 on counts of crimes against humanity under Bosnian law. The indictment alleged that Tintor played a role in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit  ruled  Tuesday that the motto, “In God We Trust,” as printed on US currency notes and coins, does not violate the US Constitution. Plaintiffs brought suit against the US and officials from the US Mint, Treasury, and Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In their complaint, plaintiffs alleged the [...]

A federal judge in New York ruled  on Tuesday that Puerto Rico will not have full control of its financial management under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act of 2016 (PROMESA) . Instead, the court ruled that oversight of financial management shall be handled by the PROMESA—created Financial Oversight and Management Board for [...]

New York Congressman Christopher Collins was charged  Wednesday with insider trading, as well as lying to the FBI . The indictment alleges that Collins received inside information pertaining to the effectiveness of a medical vaccine from the drug manufacturer, Innate, before the information was made public in 2017. Collins was a member of Innate’s Board of [...]

UN human rights experts on Tuesday marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples by urging  all nations to consider and protect the rights and interests of indigenous peoples living under within their respective borders. It is estimated there are 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries. Indigenous people account for [...]