The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Tuesday ruled that a lower court had erroneously dismissed a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit seeking to prevent Whole Foods Market from buying out competitor Wild Oats Markets. The FTC had been seeking a temporary injunction against the merger while it conducted an investigation [...]

The US House of Representatives late Tuesday approved by voice vote a resolution apologizing to African Americans for slavery and Jim Crow laws . The resolution declares: That the House of Representatives– (1) acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic founding principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal; [...]

The Massachusetts House of Representatives Tuesday voted 119-36 for a bill that would repeal a 1913 law barring people from marrying in Massachusetts if their own state would not recognize such a union. The state's Senate passed the bill earlier this month and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said he will sign it into law [...]

The Constitutional Court of Turkey Wednesday rejected a bid to ban the country's ruling Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) , which was accused of ignoring the secular principles of the country's constitution . Six of the 11 judges on the court favored dissolving the party, but seven would have been required to successfully pass [...]

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court Wednesday ruled that state laws banning smoking in bars are unconstitutional as they now stand. Smoking in public places is regulated on a state-by-state basis in Germany, and most states allow bars to designate a separate room for smokers. The court found that such laws unconstitutionally discriminate against one-room bars, and [...]

The Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina Tuesday delivered its first sentences of war crimes suspects from Yugoslavia's violent ethnic conflicts of the 1990s, convicting seven of genocide for their involvement in killings committed at the Srebrenica prison camp. Seven men convicted were given sentences ranging from 38 to 42 years; four others on trial were [...]

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has announced that health insurance company BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York has agreed to extend health-care benefits to spouses in validly married same-sex couples. In February, judges for a New York state appeals court unanimously ruled that the state must legally recognize valid out-of-state same-sex marriages. Following [...]

Officials from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed a motion with the US Supreme Court requesting permission to petition for rehearing in Kennedy v. Louisiana , in which the Court found that a death sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment when imposed for a crime of child rape in which the victim was [...]

UK House of Lords judges Wednesday denied the appeal of a man accused of hacking US government computers in 2001 and 2002 who had argued that his extradition to the US would violate his human rights. British police arrested systems analyst Gary McKinnon in 2002, and US authorities indicted him later that year on charges [...]

Council of Europe (COE) Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg Tuesday urged Italy to change immigration and preemptive crime policies that he says marginalize the country's Roma and Sinti minorities . Hammarberg memorandum was issued following visit to the country during which he reported harsh conditions in Roma camps and heard accounts of harsh treatment [...]