A California jury on Wednesday cleared Johnson & Johnson of charges that the company’s talcum powder gave a woman mesothelioma. The verdict was granted in a retrial of claims over which a mistrial was declared in September of 2018. 60-year-old Carolyn Weirick and her wife Elvira Escudero claimed that Weirick’s mesothelioma was caused by the [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Tuesday that prohibits law enforcement officers from using facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies in police-worn cameras. The bill outlines concerns related to the guaranteed right to privacy under the California Constitution. The bill equates facial recognition technologies as functionally equivalent to “requiring every person to [...]

Amnesty International called Wednesday for Turkish and Kurdish forces to respect international humanitarian law in Syria. The statement came after “ Turkish government spokesman said on Wednesday that the USA had given them the green light to carry out a military offensive against Kurdish forces.” Amnesty called for both Turkish and Kurdish forces to respect [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called Tuesday for changes to Australian migration and asylum laws. In a speech at the Australian Human Rights Commission conference, Bachelet called for a national conversation to develop a platform to be presented at Australia’s Universal Periodic Review in front of the UN Human Rights Council. The [...]

US airstrikes in Afghanistan last May resulted in civilian casualties and violated international humanitarian law, the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported Wednesday. On May 4 the US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) completed airstrikes on buildings located in the Bakwa district, Farah province and the Nimroz province in Afghanistan. The air strikes were aimed at potential [...]

US President Donald Trump’s legal counsel sent a letter to House Democrats Tuesday saying that the president will not participate in the ongoing impeachment inquiry. The letter states that the impeachment inquiry is “constitutionally invalid and a violation of due process.” The letter also states that the inquiry was started without a House vote and [...]

House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a new bill designed to detect and limit foreign interference in US elections. The SHIELD Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to clarify the obligation for campaigns to report acts of foreign “election influence” and require campaigns to adhere to a new implementation and reporting system [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two landmark cases concerning LGBTQ+ employment rights. The court first heard oral argument in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. This case was consolidated for oral argument with a similar case, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda. Both cases involved a gay male plaintiff who alleged that he [...]

The US Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge to Ohio’s electoral map on Monday, following their June decision that it is improper for courts to rule on political redistricting challenges. In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court remanded the case challenging Ohio’s electoral map back to the federal district court with instructions to [...]

The US Supreme Court began its first day of the fall term Monday with three oral arguments: two criminal cases concerning constitutional questions as well as a case concerning legal fees and the US Patent and Trademark Office. The court began with Kahler v. Kansas, in which the court will determine whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s [...]