US District Judge Nelva G. Ramos found Monday that a controversial Texas voter ID law was passed in part with discriminatory intent. The plaintiffs argued that the law burdened minority voters who are more likely to not carry identification. They say such a burden was intended by Texas Republicans to suppress voters who tend to [...]

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley on Monday afternoon resigned from his office after impeachment proceedings were initiated against him by lawmakers that morning. Bentley was under investigation for misuse of state resources to pursue and cover up an affair with one of his former staff members, Rebekah Caldwell. Bentley has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, [...]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a press release on Monday that all transfers of asylum-seekers from other EU states to Hungary should be suspended under the Dublin Regulation . The Dublin Regulation is how the EU determines which state should review an asylum-seeker’s application. High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said Given [...]

New York became the first state to offer free college tuition to residents on Monday when governor Andrew Cuomo approved the 2018 State Budget . The budget, unanimously passed by the Senate, invests $163 million in the Excelsior Scholarship program, making tuition free for middle class and low-income students attending 2 and 4-year SUNY and [...]

Judge Neil Gorsuch was sworn in Monday, becoming the 113th person to serve on the US Supreme Court . Gorsuch’s confirmation will return the court to a balance of four conservatives, four liberals and Justice Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote. In accepting the post, Gorsuch stated , “To my new colleagues and the staff [...]

A Pakistani military court on Monday sentenced Kulbushan Jadhav , an Indian naval officer who was detained in Pakistan for the past year, to death. The court handed down the death sentence after finding Jadhav guilty of espionage and sabotage. The sentence was subsequently approved by Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa . The [...]

The anti-corruption group Global Witness (GW) said Monday that recently leaked emails reveal that Shell knowingly briber Nigerian officials so the company could access a Nigerian offshore oilfield. GW alleges Shell and its Italian business parter Eni paid $1.1 billion to the Nigerian government, knowing that the money would go to former oil Minister Dan [...]

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi announced a national state of emergency following two terror attacks on Coptic Christian churches on Sunday. The attacks killed at least 44 people and injured 100 others after suicide bombers in two different cities tried to enter the churches while services were underway. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks. [...]

Numerous African and international nongovernmental organizations urged Zambia to reaffirm its membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday. The calls come in response to the African Union’s (AU) decision to adopt an “ICC withdrawal strategy” back in February. Zambia, as a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) , was a vocal [...]

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions will not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) , according to a statement released Monday. The NCFS is a 30-member group of scientists, academics, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges originally commissioned in 2013 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Obama’s administration. The commission [...]