Iraqi government spokesman Laith Kubba said Thursday that a final version of the Iraqi constitution has been completed and that the document will be approved later today. A National Assembly spokesman said earlier Thursday that the parliament had cancelled the scheduled vote on the constitution set for today, but Kubba said that parliament did not [...]

Nine northeastern US states are working on a plan to cap and then reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions from power facilities, an agreement which would see the states breaking with President Bush, who earlier this summer rejected the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Each state legislature in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, [...]

The US Department of Justice said Wednesday that tobacco companies should be responsible for more than $140 million in US government costs associated with bringing a racketeering lawsuit against the industry for misleading the public about the health effects of smoking. In a filing in federal court the government called the companies' tactics throughout the [...]

US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has continued to candidly voice his opinions by calling the outcomes of two prominent cases decided by the Supreme Court this term "unwise" while speaking at a bar association meeting in Las Vegas. Justice Stevens wrote the majority opinions in the Kelo v. New London , which allowed [...]

AP is reporting that a parliamentary spokesman has said that the National Assembly will not meet as planned on Thursday to consider Iraq's draft constitution . The spokesman also said that no date for a new session has been set. Earlier this week, in the face of Sunni objections to proposed terms, the Assembly decided [...]

Sunni Arabs are demanding that new elections be held to settle remaining disputes in the Iraqi draft constitution as the document is anticipated to be approved by parliament Thursday. Hussein Al Falluji vowed that if the draft constitution is approved, Sunnis on the drafting committee will argue before an Iraqi court that the constitution deadline [...]

The Washington State Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed a judge's ruling that a recall petition against Spokane Mayor Jim West can proceed. Shannon Sullivan filed the petition in May, alleging that West used his elected office for personal gain by writing a letter of recommendation to assist someone he believed to be an 18-year-old man [...]

US soldier Glendale Wells was sentenced Wednesday to two months in prison by a military court for his role in abusing an Afghan detainee known as Dilawar , who died in December 2002 at Bagram Control Point near Kabul. Wells earlier pleaded guilty to slamming Dilawar against a wall and failing to intervene as other [...]

Complete text of the draft Iraqi constitution, as translated from the Arabic by the Associated Press : PREAMBLE CHAPTER ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES CHAPTER TWO: RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS PART ONE: RIGHTS PART TWO: FREEDOMS CHAPTER THREE: THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES PART ONE: THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY PART TWO: THE EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY PART THREE: THE JUDICIARY PART FOUR: INDEPENDENT [...]

Means v. Navajo Nation, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, August 24, 2005 . Excerpt: The Navajo Nation is empowered, under the 1990 Amendments, to prosecute and punish Indians for misdemeanors, despite their status as nonmembers of the tribe. The denial of Means's petition for a writ of habeas corpus is AFFIRMED. [...]