A delegation of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for an 11-day visit. The SPT will examine the treatment meted out to people deprived of their liberty in the Indian Ocean island nation and the safeguards in place for their protection from torture. It will hold meetings [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Tuesday against the growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, less than one month ago. He also referred to the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh last year, calling it “the worst anti-Semitic terrorist attack in United States history.” Guterres [...]

The co-founder of ride-sharing company Uber, Travis Kalanick, and the company’s directors on Monday won a dismissal of a lawsuit brought by major investors who sought to hold the company liable for a delay in the company’s push into autonomous vehicles caused by a fight over trade secrets. The lawsuit, brought by investor Lenza McElrath, [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case from Georgia over whether holding an accused man in prison because he could not afford bail was a violation of his equal protections rights. Maurice Walker was arrested in Calhoun, Georgia, and accused of being a pedestrian under the influence of alcohol in September [...]

The US Senate on Monday voted down a disaster aid bill that sought to provide additional funding to areas of the US struck by natural disasters over the last two years. Senate Democrats voted against the Republican-sponsored bill, saying that the proposal does too little to aid Puerto Rico. The island was devastated by Hurricane [...]

US District Court Judge Roger Benitez ruled Friday that California’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds imposes a burden on the constitutional rights of its citizens. The high-capacity ban provision is included in Prop. 63, which was approved by California voters in 2016 in reaction to the killing of 14 people and [...]

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG must face a US government lawsuit accusing it of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to doctors in exchange for its drugs being prescribed, according to a ruling released Monday. A federal judge in Manhattan denied a motion for summary judgment by Novartis, holding that the US government provided enough evidence of [...]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Monday that the US government will increase by 2.53 percent on average 2020 payments to health insurers that manage Medicare Advantage insurance plans for seniors and chronically ill beneficiaries. The changes reflect an increase cost in medical care and align with the Trump administration’s efforts to increase competition [...]

The Colorado House of Representatives approved a “red flag” gun law Monday that will heighten safety measures for high-risk individuals thought to be a threat to themselves or others. The bill passed in the house by a 38-25 vote and in the Senate last Thursday by a 18-17 vote. Democratic Senate President Leroy Garcia opposed [...]

The District Attorneys Association of New York (DAASNY) filed a motion for preliminary injunction on Monday against a prosecutorial oversight committee—another step in the group’s fight against the legislation that creates it, signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo last Wednesday. The DAASNY has been staunchly opposed to the parameters of the commission, arguing it interferes with the discretion of [...]