A group of US senators wrote to the US Secretary of Defense Wednesday expressing concern about the potential for a “significant outbreak” of COVID-19 at the Pentagon prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The letter seeks to determine how the military is safeguarding the 40 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay and the American forces responsible for [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that state courts should be the forum for hearing public nuisance lawsuits against petroleum producers. These lawsuits allege that the producers were promoting petroleum even though they knew that it was causing environmental harms such as drought, rising sea-levels and wildfires. The case comes [...]
Members of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls said Wednesday that certain US states are exploiting the COVID–19 pandemic to restrict abortion rights. The Working Group accused Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Iowa, Ohio, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee of committing human rights violations by infringing on reproductive rights and endangering women’s health. “We [...]
US House Republicans sued Tuesday evening over a remote voting rule change, set to be used in the House for the first time Wednesday. This move underscore the continuing divide between Democrats and Republicans over whether it is safe to return to work amid the coronavirus pandemic. The complaint states: Over the course of 231 [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday dismissed 2019 San Francisco mayoral candidate Ellen Lee Zhou’s case against media companies that removed her campaign billboards. The billboards depicted Mayor London Breed and she and her supporters identified them as “disrespectful and decisive” and called for their removal. [...]
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Oklahoma Secretary of State Michael Rogers must accept signatures collected by the Yes on 805 campaign to reform the state’s sentencing practices. Chief Justice Noma Gurich wrote the order, which references Oklahoma Constitution Article 5 Sections 3 and 4: “nitiative petitions ‘shall be filed with the Secretary of [...]
The US Supreme Court issued an Tuesday today denying the federal government’s request to block a plan to release elderly and low-risk prisoners of the Elkton Federal Correctional Institute (FCI-Elkton) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was ordered by a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on April [...]
The California Department of Public Health, along with the State Department of Industrial Relations, released industry guidance on Monday for the reopening of places of worship and providers of religious services and cultural ceremonies. The 13-page document outlines protections that places of worship should implement if they choose to resume in-person activity. Attendance at places [...]
The CyberPeace Institute worked with leaders from around the world to send a letter to the UN on Tuesday calling for greater prevention efforts against cyberattacks that have been plaguing the healthcare industry during the COVID-19 outbreak. The letter was signed by more than 40 individuals such as former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected an appeal brought by US servicemembers seeking damages for alleged radiation exposure from the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in California, aims to hold both Tokyo Electric Power [...]
