The Department of Justice announced Wednesday the completion of its two-year antitrust investigation into the GSMA, a global trade association for mobile network operators. The GSMA is comprised of around 1,200 companies worldwide, including AT&T and Verizon, and has been responsible for developing standards in mobile technology. The organization is headquartered in London, but has [...]

The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled Wednesday that the City of Birmingham (“City”) violated the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act (“Preservation Act”) by erecting a plywood barrier around a Confederate monument in August 2017. The order to erect the barrier came from then-Mayor William Bell and was intended to obscure inscriptions honoring Confederate veterans. The Confederate [...]

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday signed a new tobacco control law which substantially restricts the sale of e-cigarette and nicotine vaping products and flavored tobacco products. House Bill 4196, or “An Act Modernizing Tobacco Control,” will impose a 75% excise tax on e-cigarettes. It also will restrict the sale of all flavored nicotine vaping [...]

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019” (the “Act”), reaffirming and amending the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992. The Act allows sanctions to be imposed on individuals undermining fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong. The president is authorized under the [...]

The Ohio State House of Representatives on Friday introduced HB 413 that, if passed, would severely restrict abortion care and require unproven medical practices. HB 413 would outlaw abortion in almost all circumstances. A physician would be allowed to perform an abortion only if they: (A) Using reasonable medical judgment, believe[] it is highly probable [...]

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Tuesday signed a series of childhood sexual abuse protections into law, matching Grand Jury recommendations following investigations into clergy scandals. Central to these new laws is HB 962, which provides that victims under 18 will now be granted 37 years instead of 12 years to pursue civil actions, with the [...]

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered New Delhi governments to provide clean air and water to its residents or compensate them for unhealthy living conditions caused by the pollution. India’s Supreme Court has “treated the right to live in pollution free environment as a part of fundamental right to life under Article 21 [...]

Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson of the US District Court of the District of Columbia on Wednesday issued a stay of her ruling made earlier this week, which compels former White House counsel, Don McGahn, to testify before the House impeachment inquiry. In response to Jackson’s ruling, the Department of Justice requested the temporary stay on [...]

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia passed Bill 41 on Tuesday, which adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). British Columbia is the first Canadian province to adopt UNDRIP and is home to the second largest population of First Nations people. The new legislation will require that indigenous peoples contribute to [...]

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he will legally designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups, in his continued mission to “wage war on drug cartels.” In a televised interview with Fox News reporter Bill O’Reilly, Trump stated that those found to be a part or to assist these cartels will face the [...]