The Georgia state Senate on Monday narrowly approved a bill aimed at repealing no-excuse absentee voting, over a decade after Senate Republicans first voted to enact it. The new legislation, SB 241, seeks to “comprehensively revise elections and voting” within the state. In a 29-20 vote, the Senate limited absentee voting exclusively to: (1) people [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Thursday repealed a lower court’s order certifying a class action lawsuit filed by nearly 2,000 female employees alleging an “epidemic” of sexual harassment while working at the Cook County Jail in Cook County, Illinois. In a 38-page opinion, the three-judge panel held that the lower [...]

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday announced the creation of a “Family Reunification Task Force” with plans to reunite hundreds of migrant children with their parents, separated under former president Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. “We are dedicating our resources throughout and the federal government, and bringing our full weight to [...]

The National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a countersuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday asserting that she lacks the authority to invoke New York state laws overseeing nonprofit organizations. The countersuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court, counters a lawsuit brought by James against the gun-rights group in August. James’ suit [...]

The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday upheld a new state law prohibiting high-capacity magazines, affirming the validity of the state’s first major gun-control law. The case is the court’s first since Governor Phil Scott signed the protection into law in April 2018, two months after authorities discovered alleged plans for a mass school shooting in [...]

Hong Kong’s High Court on Thursday denied another bail application made by Beijing critic and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, according to the South China Morning Post. Lai was arrested under national security law in August 2020 when authorities raided his newspaper’s headquarters. The decision comes just a week after the Court of Final Appeal overturned [...]

The US Supreme Court on Saturday cleared the way for the extradition of an American father and son accused of helping smuggle former automotive giant Carlos Ghosn out of Japan. The decision concludes the pair’s nearly year-long legal effort to avoid facing criminal charges in Japan. On behalf of the court, Justice Stephen Breyer denied [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday upheld New York’s newly enacted party-qualification requirements, citing the state’s interest in “decluttering its ballots, preventing voter confusion, and preserving the public fisc.” Only certain political parties qualify to have the names of their chosen candidates for public office on printed election ballots, despite [...]

A bipartisan group of senior US senators, led by Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), reintroduced legislation on Tuesday to help people from Hong Kong fearing persecution after the 2019-20 protests to gain refugee status in the US. The bill, entitled the “Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act,” aims to “ensure those Hong Kongers who [...]

The US State Department announced Monday that the US will “reengage immediately and robustly” with the UN Human Rights Council, citing direct instruction from President Joe Biden. The decision comes nearly three years after the Trump administration withdrew the US from the Council in 2018. “The Biden administration has recommitted the United States to a [...]