In an exclusive interview with JURIST Friday, VOA Chief National Correspondent and JURIST Journalist in Residence Steve Herman, banned from Twitter in mid-December, said it is important that people not self-censor amid the turmoil surrounding Elon Musk’s newly-acquired social media platform. Herman remains suspended from Twitter for posts pertaining to Musk, but recognized that Twitter [...]

The Memphis Police Department Saturday issued a statement immediately deactivating the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) unit. All five officers involved in Tyre Nichols death are former members of the SCORPION unit. On Friday, the department released four separate videos of body cam and pole footage depicting Nichols’ death. All five [...]

In a sealed indictment, the US Attorney General Friday charged three men in connection with an alleged assassination attempt of a well-known critic of Iran’s government on US soil. Rafat Amirov, Polad Omarov and Khalid Mehdiyev face three federal charges: murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire and money laundering conspiracy. The charges [...]

The State Bar of California Thursday filed a notice of disciplinary charges against attorney John Eastman for his involvement with former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. In the notice, Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona stated that Eastman violated his obligation under section 6068 of the state bar’s Business and Profession Code, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Thursday issued an opinion holding that the US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must consider whether non-US citizens who are perceived in their home countries to be LGBT and persecuted for being considered part of that group can be granted asylum in the US. The decision came [...]

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Thursday announced sanctions against eight individuals, 16 entities and four aircraft affiliated with “transnational criminal organization” the Wagner Group (PMC Wagner). In order to undermine Russia’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine, the sanctions target entities that support PMC Wagner and the production [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that it has been conducting a disruption campaign against a ransomware group known as Hive spanning several months. Ransomware is a kind of malicious software that makes it impossible to access a computer’s files unless a ransom is paid. Hive’s ransomware attacks focused on victims in critical [...]

The Colorado Court of Appeals Thursday denied a baker’s appeal over his refusal to bake a transgender birthday cake. Masterpiece Cakeshop, run by Jack Phillips, was denied an appeal following the trial court’s ruling that the shop discriminated against Autumn Scardina when they refused to bake and sell her a blue and pink birthday cake. [...]

The leader of one of the largest cocaine distributors in the world Wednesday pleaded guilty to running a criminal enterprise and drug trafficking charges. Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, also known as “Otoniel,” pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise under 21 USC §848. While the charge carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, as [...]

A Tennessee grand jury Thursday indicted five former Memphis Police Officers for their involvement in the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith stopped Nichols on January 7 in a traffic stop. Nichols died in the hospital three days after the interaction. The officers [...]