US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will open an investigation into the practices of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) following the death of Breonna Taylor. Garland noted his department’s unique awareness of the challenges faced by those serving as police officers. Despite their commitment to service, Garland [...]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed the “anti-riot” bill HB1 into law. The law, which goes into effect immediately, imposes more penalties on individuals participating in protests that turn violent. Violent protesters can now be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and loss of [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by New York state residents claiming that the World Health Organization (WHO) negligently responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the complaint filed last April, plaintiffs alleged that the WHO failed to “properly monitor the response [...]
The Arkansas Senate on Monday approved a bill that would ban access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Titled the “Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” the legislation specifically prohibits “gender transition procedures for minors.” The bill would make it unlawful for any physician or other healthcare professional to “provide gender transition procedures to [...]
The Arkansas House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill that prevents transgender women from competing in women’s sports at all levels of education. Titled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” the legislation applies to “a public elementary school or secondary school; an open enrollment public charter school; and a public two-year or four-year institution [...]
The US Supreme Court granted review Monday in one case involving the “favorable termination” rule associated with Section 1983 actions. The court also rejected a final challenge to the 2020 election. The court granted review in Thompson v. Clark, a Section 1983 case on appeal from the Second Circuit. In the 1994 case Heck v. [...]
A bipartisan letter addressed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and signed by more than 170 members of the US House of Representatives is pressuring the Biden Administration to “elevate human rights” in American policy toward Turkey. The letter, dated February 26 and made public Monday, acknowledges the longstanding political relationship the United States has [...]
In a one sentence, unsigned order the US Supreme Court on Monday denied former president Donald Trump’s request to shield his tax records from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. This decision is in line with the court’s July holding that Article II and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution do not categorically preclude, or require [...]
France’s National Assembly approved a controversial anti-radicalism bill on Tuesday in a vote of 347 to 151 with 65 abstentions. The bill would strengthen oversight of mosques and religious schools as part of a broader effort to counter extremism. The bill would also ban the issuance of virginity certificates. Virginity tests are usually demanded by [...]
In a 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court held that a refusal by the US Railroad Retirement Board to reopen a prior benefits determination is subject to judicial review. In 1992, the petitioner, Manfredo Salinas, began seeking disability benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) for [...]