The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday over a challenge to Louisiana’s recently redrawn voting map and its two Black-majority districts. Plaintiffs claimed that the map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The civil rights era statute aimed to end voter suppression practices in southern states and specifically prohibits “the denial [...]

A US federal judge enjoined the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) shutdown of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Tuesday, ordering a halt to dismantling efforts, a reinstatement of employee electronic systems, and restored access to the agency’s headquarters. The District Court of Maryland ruled in an accompanying memorandum opinion that DOGE and director [...]

The US Department of Justice sued the state of Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and other state officials Thursday over state laws that limit local law enforcement from aiding federal immigration authorities. The suit claimed that the state’s Way Forward Act and TRUST Act, Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, and Cook County’s “Policy [...]

A federal judge temporarily blocked a presidential order that would halt gender-affirming care for a transgender woman inmate and force her transfer to a men’s prison, her lawyers said Thursday. The inmate — called Maria Moe — sued the Trump administration over its January 20 executive order that prohibits male-born individuals from being detained in [...]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a controversial bill into law Thursday that authorizes the government to expropriate private land without compensation in certain cases. The law, the product of a five-year project, repeals the pre-democractic-era Expropriation Act of 1975. In a presidential press release, Ramaphosa argued that Expropriation Act, 2020 aligns the law with [...]

Multiple groups brought lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hours after Monday’s inauguration, urging a federal court to enforce Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requirements on the newly formed administrative panel. Filed by the American Public Health Association, American Federation of Teachers, Minority Veterans of America, VoteVets Action Fund, the Center for [...]

Amnesty International condemned the violent clampdown on anti-government protesters by the Nigerian police, in a report released on Thursday. The report stated that the brutality, resulting in at least 24 deaths across the country, violates the protesters’ right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. The organization accused Nigerian authorities of threatening protestors, seeking court [...]

At the fifth review of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the international community raised concerns on Monday about the ongoing threats posed by the continued use of land mines. The treaty, commonly referred to as Ottawa Convention, was established in 1997 and sought to end global land mine production and deployment. [...]

The Texas Supreme Court held Friday that state Attorney General Ken Paxton can avoid deposition in a years-long lawsuit brought against him by former employees since his office no longer contests the factual allegations of the suit. The high court held that because the state attorney general no longer disputes the facts of the case, [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the Sangamon County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department on Thursday announcing an investigation into potential civil rights violations prompted by the July 6 police shooting of Sonya Massey. The letter stated that a review of department practices revealed potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights [...]