Representing the Biden administration, the US Justice Department Monday formally requested that the Supreme Court vacate the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ stay of a preliminary injunction of the controversial Texas abortion law SB 8. The DOJ’s application to the Supreme Court calls the Fifth Circuit’s decision to stay the injunction “unjustified” and decries “Texas’s [...]

The Joint Standing Committee on Nothern Australia Monday published its final report on the destruction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural sites. The nearly 350-page report, titled A Way Forward, calls for a new legislative framwork to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage. The Australian Senate ordered the inquiry on June 11, [...]

A Georgia Superior Court chief judge on Wednesday dismissed a case alleging election fraud against Georgia election officials. Supporters of former US President Donald Trump initiated legal action on December 23, 2020, against individual defendants and Fulton County alleging “violations of their state constitutional equal protection and due process rights.” The plaintiffs specifically alleged that [...]

Judge Royce Lamberth from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held on Wednesday Wanda Patten, warden of the District of Columbia Jail, and Quincy Booth, director of the DC Department of Corrections, in civil contempt of court for failing to produce medical documents for Christopher Worrell, a member of far-right Proud [...]

The Supreme Court of Norway unanimously ruled Monday that the license for a Storheia and Roan wind power plant is invalid. The court determined that Sámi reindeer herders on the Fosen peninsula have a right to enjoy their own culture under Article 27 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and [...]

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 to pass a new ordinance that will require “proof of full vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine to enter recreational locations and events within the City.” The Council expressed concern over unimpressive vaccination rates around the city. In some areas of Los Angeles, like Hancock Park, 76 [...]

A judge from the US District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin on Wednesday temporarily blocked Texas’ restrictive abortion ban, which took effect in September. Judge Robert Pitman granted an injunction to block the bill in response to a complaint filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). In a statement, Attorney [...]

The United Nations announced Monday that a fact-finding mission in Libya revealed likely crimes against humanity and war crimes. The UN Human Rights Council ordered the investigation in June 2020 in response to “chaos and conflict” after 2011 ousting of President Muammar Gaddafi. Libya is now controlled by the warring Government of National Accord (GNA) and [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a number of bills on Tuesday to ease the state’s housing shortage. These bills, combined with four signed earlier in September, form a 31-bill housing agenda to address housing costs, homelessness, and climate change. Newsom’s administration has already attempted to tackle these issues, even investing $22 billion to create more [...]

The US District Court for the District of Arizona on Tuesday blocked provisions of a restrictive Arizona abortion bill from taking effect. The Arizona legislature enacted SB 1457 in April 2021. The section of the bill at issue recognizes the “rights, privileges and immunities” of unborn children “at every stage of development” and bans abortions [...]