The US Federal Trade Commission announced Wesdnesday that five companies will pay a total of $1.16 million in fines to settle civil charges that they violated FTC anti-spam rules . The companies were targeted for sending unsolicited emails advertising pornography that didn't include the phrase "sexually explicit" in the subject line to facilitate users blocking [...]

Leading Wednesday's states brief, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed legislation today that increases school funding by $148.4 million for the upcoming school year and prohibits any state court handling a lawsuit over school funding from enforcing any order that would close schools or prevent the distribution of funds for public education . The legislation is [...]

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) said Wednesday he preferred waiting until September to begin hearings for US Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, creating a tight timetable for Roberts to be approved by the full Senate in time for the court's new term starting October 3. No Senate Democrats have publicly voiced opposition to [...]

Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday that the United States has returned three Saudi detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Government television said that "legal measures concerning them will be completed" but gave no other details. The US last returned Saudi detainees in May 2003, when five men were sent home , where they were then [...]

Leading Wednesday's international brief, in the strongest statement so far by a European governmental body, the German Bundestag has called on the German government to take several strong steps against the administration of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe , including measures to ensure that the relevant "masterminds" behind Operation Murambatsvina are referred to the International Criminal [...]

In the wake of the US Supreme Court's June decision in Kelo v. New London allowing a local government authority to expropriate private property for private redevelopment that confers economic benefits on the community, legislators in at least 25 states are working to limit the scope of the controversial ruling. In Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley [...]

Under pressure from the US government, Unocal late Tuesday accepted an increased $17.1 billion buyout bid from Chevron, turning down an $18.5 billion offer from the China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) . Unocal had made an earlier merger deal with Chevron when the CNOOC offer was made. US legislators had objected to the [...]

Several Sunni Arab members of the 71-member team drafting the new Iraq constitution have halted their participation in the process following the assassination of two colleagues Tuesday. Differing reports say that between 4 and 15 Sunni members have stopped working on the drafting committee because "the environment in Iraq isn't right for anyone to get [...]

A federal shield law for reporters introduced by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Rep. Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) was called "bad public policy" by US Deputy Attorney General James Comey in written remarks submitted at a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on reporters' privilege legislation . Comey was scheduled to testify in person but was [...]

The commissioner of Israel's prison service Ya'akov Ganot told a Knesset committee on Wednesday that Israeli detention facilities were equipped to hold as many as 2,300 anti-pullout activists predicted to take part in illegal protests against the pullout from Gaza now slated to begin in August. Ganot added that the prison service had set up [...]