New laws slated to take effect January 1 with the start of the New Year came into force in many jurisdictions across the United States Saturday, affecting areas from health insurance to gay rights. In Maine, the state-supported universal health care program began coverage for small businesses and the self-employed. In New York state, wild [...]

Ricardo Palmera, aka "Simon Trinidad", the most senior leader of the controversial Colombian rebel group FARC was extradited to the United States Friday to face drug smuggling and kidnapping charges. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe agreed to Palmera's release to US authorities after the rebel group failed to release any of the more than 60 hostages [...]

In what appears to be the first move of its kind by a western country, the government of Canada has announced that it will expedite immigration requests for victims of last Sunday's South Asian tsunami who have relatives in Canada. The move is expected to bring in some 5000 new immigrants, mostly from Sri Lanka. [...]

The government of Sudan (official website here) and anti-government rebels in the south of the country Friday signed the final parts of a peace deal ending some 21 years of war in the oil-rich region. The deal fulfills a commitment made to the UN Security Council to resolve the conflict by the end of 2004, [...]

Memorandum re: Legal Standards Applicable Under 18 USC ss.2340-2340A. United States Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Daniel Levin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, December 30, 2004 . Read the full text of the memorandum here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Justice Department late Thursday posted on its website a revised and expanded interpretation of criminal "torture" under the US Code (18 USC ss. 2340–2340A) a week before White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, who oversaw the development of a narrower interpretation articulated in a controversial August 2002 memo , is due to appear before the [...]

In a symbolic break with the Soviet past, Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday signed a new law scrapping the old October revolution holiday in November as a day off work, redesignating it a Day of Military Glory commemorating the November 7, 1941 military parade in Moscow's Red Square. The bill also extends the New Year [...]

HealthSouth and the US Department of Justice have reportedly reached a settlement agreement in the wake of allegations the company filed false Medicare reports with the US government, costing tax payers $2.7 billion. The settlement, worth $325 million, will help the company regain investor confidence. In addition to filing false Medicare claims, HealthSouth was charged [...]

In a departure from established law, the Massachusetts State Appellate Court has ruled a prenuptial agreement signed by a woman prior to marrying was invalid. The court held it was unreasonable to expect a woman to raise children and maintain a household without the expectation of future compensation, regardless of the status of the marital [...]

Paul Caron, University of Cincinnati College of Law: "The IRS has announced that donations made for the benefit of the victims of the devastating tsunami last weekend in Southeast Asia may be tax deductible: Contributions to domestic, tax-exempt, charitable organizations that provide assistance to individuals in foreign lands qualify as tax-deductible contributions for federal income [...]