The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday struck down a City of Redondo Beach anti-day laborer ordinance as an unconstitutional restriction on speech. The ordinance prohibited individuals from standing on a street or highway to solicit “employment, business, or contributions” from passing motorists. The city argued that the purpose of the [...]

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the validity of the state’s newly passed Marriage Equality Act . The initial complaint , filed by New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) and other groups in the Seventh Judicial District of the New York State Supreme Court , [...]

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that the effects of global warming are not covered by a standard liability insurance policy. The AES Corporation , a power company, is facing a suit, Kivalina v. Exxon Mobil Corp., for its contributions to global warming. AES expected that its insurance company, Steadfast, would defend this suit as [...]

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Friday that the government will propose legislation to ban burqas and other face coverings. The proposal is being submitted in cooperation with conservative politician Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom . The government contends that the proposed legislation does not represent a restriction on religious freedom but [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday opened the confirmation of charges hearing against accused war criminal Callixte Mbarushimana . Mbarushimana, former leader of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) , is charged with 13 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [...]

US President Barack Obama signed the America Invents Act into law on Friday. The Senate approved the bill earlier this month , and the House of Representatives approved the bill in June . The act represents the first change to the American patent system since 1952 . Major differences include changing the patent system from [...]

The Spanish National Court on Thursday sentenced a former Basque separatist to 10 years in prison for terrorism and trying to resurrect a banned political wing of Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) . The court found that Arnaldo Otegi acted on orders from ETA to create an organization that would replace Batasuna and serve as a [...]

The UK Parliament on Thursday approved the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill , making it more difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain arrest warrants for suspected war criminals present in the UK. The controversial act removes the exclusive power of granting arrest warrants from local magistrates, requiring that all such warrants receive approval from [...]

Two Republican Congressmen have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asking to delay the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) , scheduled to go into effect next Tuesday. Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) , Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, [...]

An Egyptian criminal court on Thursday sentenced three associates of former president Hosni Mubarak to prison and ordered them to pay fines after they were found guilty on charges of corruption that occurred under the Mubarak regime. Ahmed Ezz, a steel tycoon and former ranking member of the now-dissolved National Democratic Party , was accused [...]