The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday issued a rule supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium, and requiring debt collectors to provide written notice to tenants of their rights under the eviction moratorium. The rule further prohibits debt collectors, including attorneys, from misrepresenting tenants’ eligibility for protection from eviction under [...]
A jury on Tuesday found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Floyd’s death sparked widespread outrage and protests when a video was shared online showing Chauvin kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. Chauvin was charged in the Hennepin County District Court with [...]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed the “anti-riot” bill HB1 into law. The law, which goes into effect immediately, imposes more penalties on individuals participating in protests that turn violent. Violent protesters can now be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and loss of [...]
The US Supreme Court dismissed Bognet v. Degraffenreid, the final challenge to the 2020 presidential election from Pennsylvania, on Monday. In September the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted extraordinary relief in Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar by extending the receipt deadline for mail-in ballots from 8 PM on Election Day (Tuesday, November 3) to 5 PM [...]
Liberty University has sued its former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., for withholding information from school officials about alleged threats for extortion and undermining the university’s moral standards. Falwell is a prominent member of the Evangelical Christian community in the US and the son of the university’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell. He was one of the [...]
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday announced visa restrictions on Ugandan government officials accused of human rights violations and repressive acts during the January 14 general elections and campaign period. President Yoweri Museveni has been in power for 35 years. After the January 14 general election, he was declared the winner with 58 [...]
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on Friday announced changes to NIH requirements regarding proposed human fetal tissue research (HFT), reversing several restrictions put in place during the Trump administration. HFT research has historically led to important breakthroughs in medical science, such as [...]
Ten Democratic Senators have delivered a letter to US President Joe Biden urging him to support temporarily waiving intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines. The letter, delivered Thursday, claims that granting the temporary patent waiver would allow for countries to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines locally and increase vaccination rates in poorer nations, as well as [...]
A member of the Oath Keepers militia group and heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the US Capitol riot on January 6. Jon Ryan Schaffer, who originally faced six charges, entered into a plea deal where he agreed to fully cooperate with investigating, [...]
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill on Wednesday that bans for-profit detention centers, including immigration facilities, in the state of Washington. The only Washington facility impacted by the bill is the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The Northwest Detention Center is one of the United States’ largest, for-profit immigration jails. The GEO Group operates [...]
