Los Angeles County on Friday filed suit against Vazquez & Company, LLP , a CPA firm, alleging that the firm defrauded the county by failing to detect the embezzlement of $9 million committed by the firm’s client, Chicana Service Action Center (CSAC). The complaint alleges that from 2009 to 2012, Vazquez & Co. audited CSAC [...]

Texas lawmakers on Saturday passed Senate Bill 1289 significantly expanding the scope of state laws requiring compliance with 23 CFR 635.410 , the federal “Buy America” provision that is already in effect for the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Water Development Board . The state’s “Buy American” bill, similar to its federal counterpart, [...]

John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security ,stated in an interview Sunday that the United States is considering banning laptops in aircraft cabins on all international flights. During the interview with Fox New Sunday, Kelly said the ban is part of a larger scheme to “raise the bar” on airline security. Other measures may include tighter [...]

According a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report , Chechen police have rounded up, beaten and humiliated dozens of men who are suspected of being gay or bisexual in an attempt to purge them from society. The report contains several interviews with victims who have been persecuted under a campaign against homosexuality that began in early [...]

Judge Raymond Jackson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday tossed out the life sentences imposed by Virginia courts for Lee Boyd Malvo , ruling that Malvo must be re-sentenced in light of a 2012 US Supreme Court decision banning life sentences for juveniles. In Miller v. Alabama and [...]

The government of France, under its newly elected president Emmanuel Macron , announced its intention on Friday to introduce a law ending prison terms for marijuana usage by the end of the year, although marijuana consumption will remain a criminal offense. Macron had promised during his campaign to reform cannabis laws upon becoming president. Under [...]

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper filed a new suit against Republican state legislators on Friday challenging laws, which allegedly unconstitutionally limit his power to appoint appeals court judges and members of board and commissions. Cooper argues that these laws prevent him from successfully performing his duties. The laws in question reduce the number of court [...]

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan vetoed a bill on Friday that would have barred colleges from inquiring about applicants criminal history. Senate Bill 543 , also called the Maryland Fair Access to Education Act, prohibited colleges from using applicant’s criminal history to automatically restricting their admission or limit certain collegiate activities. In his veto letter , [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein , on Friday urged warring parties in Syria to take any steps necessary in protecting the civilian population during armed conflict. Many innocent civilians have already been second-hand victims. Earlier in May airstrikes hit a rural farming area killing 23 farm workers. Airstrikes in [...]

The International Center for Transitional Justice released a 50-page report Thursday addressing the reluctance of politicians and security forces to bring justice to tens of thousands of families who were gravely affected by the country’s decade-long civil war. During the conflict more than 17,000 people were killed and more than 1,300 went missing. Although the [...]