The US Supreme Court held Tuesday in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that the “no aid” provision of the Montana Constitution violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, allowing some state funding to go to religious schools. In 2015, the Montana Legislature created a dollar-for-dollar tax credit program for taxpayers who donated [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday that the addition of “.com” to a generic term can create a protectable mark, handing a win to hotel reservation site Booking.com. In United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV, the court upheld a Fourth Circuit decision stating that simply adding a top-level domain to a [...]
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Monday signed into law a 24-hour waiting period for abortions. The law has already been challenged by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa. The law, House File 594, created a section limiting the court’s ability to order the withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures for a minor child [...]
The Mississippi state legislature voted to change its flag on Sunday, removing the Confederate emblem from its state flag. The bill passed by a 91-23 House vote and a 37-14 Senate vote. “I would guess a lot of you don’t even see that flag in the corner right there,” said Mississippi state Representative Ed Blackmon [...]
The US Supreme Court denied certiorari Monday in the case of Bourgeois v. Barr, refusing to block the execution of four federal death row inmates. While federal executions have been sparse in the last three decades, Attorney General William Barr announced last year that executions would resume, scheduling of five executions set to be carried [...]
Judge Muhammad Mazieh issued an order in Tyre, Lebanon, on Saturday, banning Lebanese media from reporting on criticism of Hezbollah supporters by US ambassador Dorothy Shea. Shea has continued to appear on television since the ruling, and Lebanon’s government has criticized the judge’s decision. Shea reportedly stated in an interview on the Saudi-owned news channel Al-Hadath that [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Seila Law LLC. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) violates the separation of powers. The case began when the CFPB ordered Seila Law to disclose business practices with a civil investigative demand in 2017. Seila Law refused to comply [...]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new voting bill on Saturday allowing county canvassing boards and election supervisors to use automated equipment for machine and manual recounts. The bill controls the procedure for conducting a manual recount as well as when the ballots have to be processed through the automated equipment during a recount. The [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal by the Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Defense Legal Defense Fund and others challenging the constitutionality of the Department of Homeland Security’s waiver of federal, state and local laws in construction of a southern border wall. The Center for Biological Diversity challenged six [...]
Tehran Prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr announced Monday that Iran has ordered through Interpol the arrests of 36 US political and military officials, including President Donald Trump, who were allegedly involved in the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in January. Interpol responded in a statement that they “would not consider requests of this nature.” Trump and the [...]
