© WikiMedia (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

The US Supreme Court  heard oral arguments in two cases on Monday, marking the beginning of its 2018 term. At issue in Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service  is whether the Endangered Species Act  forbids an agency to designate private property as an “unoccupied critical habitat” if the land is not essential to species conservation. There is [...]

READ MORE
© Wikimedia (The White House)

The Senate Judiciary Committee  voted  11-10 Friday to advance Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh  for a full vote on the Senate floor.  The vote was along party lines, with the 11 committee Republicans voting in favor of Kavanaugh’s advancement and the 10 committee Democrats voting against his advancement. However, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ)  said that he would only vote [...]

READ MORE

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement  on Wednesday calling for the US Senate to halt its confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh  to the US Supreme Court after a third accuser came forward, alleging Kavanaugh was present when she was sexually assaulted in 1982. “With so much uncertainty about these allegations, the Senate should not be scheduling even [...]

READ MORE

The Senate Judiciary Committee  announced  on Monday that it will postpone the vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee to the US Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh , and allow Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of attempted sexual assault, to speak at a public hearing next Monday.  Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley  said that the Committee will give “these recent allegations [...]

READ MORE
© Wikimedia (Social Justice - Bruce Emmerling)

The number of migrant children in federal detention centers has increased from 2,400 children in May 2017 to 12,800 children in September, according to data  from the Department of Health and Human Services  that Congress released to the New York Times. According to the data, the increase in detained children is due to fewer children being released to [...]

READ MORE
© WikiMedia Robert Mueller (The White House from Washington, DC)

Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for US President Donald Trump, pleaded  guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the US and conspiracy to obstruct justice through witness tampering.  Prosecutors originally brought seven charges against Manafort in the US District Court for the District of Columbia , but they reduced  the charges to only two. The charges allege that Manafort acted [...]

READ MORE
© WikiMedia Robert Mueller (The White House from Washington, DC)

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia  sentenced former Trump campaign aid George Papadopoulos to 14 days in prison on Friday. Judge Randolph Moss also sentenced  Papadopoulos to a year probation, community service and a $9,500 fine. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty  last October to lying to FBI officials during the course of the Mueller [...]

READ MORE

A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  expressed concern  Friday over the “violent suppression of peaceful protests” by opposing political parties and the police in anticipation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s upcoming election. The spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, cited two incidents within the past week of the police arresting political [...]

READ MORE

American lobbyist Samuel Patten pleaded  guilty on Friday of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act , which requires foreign agents to register with the US government. Patten formed  a political consulting company with an unidentified Russian agent. The company advised a Ukrainian political party, the Opposition Bloc, making Patten an agent for a foreign principal. Patten met with members of the [...]

READ MORE
© WikiMedia (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia , ruled  Saturday that portions of President Donald Trump’s May 25 executive orders making it easier to fire federal employees overstepped his authority as president. The first  amended collective bargaining procedures in federal employment. The second  limited the amount of time federal employees can engage in union activities at [...]

READ MORE