The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether Indian Health Services (IHS) should be reimbursed for “contract support costs” associated with third parties, such as Medicare and Medicaid. In a US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision, the court found that third-party reimbursements could not be excluded under its statute. In contrast, [...]
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New York court issues gag order against Trump in hush money case
New York’s supreme court on Tuesday issued an order restricting former US president Donald Trump from making extrajudicial statements that could sway jurors and witnesses ahead of his upcoming trial for alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Set to commence on April 15, 2024, the trial will center on 34 counts [...]
Explainer: Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments in Latest Reproductive Rights Case
The US Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case concerning the authorization and regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone at a time when reproductive rights are at the heart of political division and changing policies across the nation. At the center of the case is the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine’s lawsuit against the Food [...]
Peru’s Attorney General’s Office filed a constitutional complaint Friday against Jorge Luis Salas Arenas, the current president of the National Electoral Tribunal (JNE), for the alleged crime of incompatible negotiation or improper use of office to the detriment of the Peruvian state. The complaint follows a preliminary investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into events [...]
Biden signs $1.2T US government appropriations bill that includes UNRWA funding ban
US President Joe Biden signed HB 2882, called the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” on Saturday. This act provides federal government funding through September 2024 and includes a provision that prohibits funds from being used for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The act also cuts funding to the UN International [...]
India's largest opposition party claims government froze bank accounts ahead of general elections
India’s largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), claimed on Thursday that the Indian Income Tax (IT) Department froze their bank accounts over alleged discrepancies from assessment years as early as 1994-95. Assessment years refer to the period in which taxpayers assess and report their income to the tax authorities for tax calculation purposes. [...]
US federal appeals court rejects First Amendment challenge to tobacco advertising law
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a challenge Thursday from tobacco companies that alleged a bill requiring graphic imagery on cigarette packaging and advertisements was a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) was enacted by [...]
Explainer: Unpacking SB 4, Texas's Controversial Border Security Legislation
In recent days, an unusual state border-security law has ricocheted back and forth between US federal courts, introducing novel questions of state and federal supremacy. Long disgruntled over the federal government’s perceived inadequate efforts to curb illegal immigration along its southern border, Texas enacted a state law that would enable it to take action in [...]
Georgia to go forward with first execution in more than 4 years after parole board denies clemency
The Georgia Parole Board denied clemency for inmate Willie James Pye on Tuesday, making him soon to be the first inmate executed in the state since 2020. Pye was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 after the murder of Alicia Lynn Yarbough, with whom he was involved in a relationship. During the clemency meeting [...]
Brazil police accuse former President Jair Bolsonaro of falsifying COVID-19 vaccination data
The Federal Police of Brazil accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination record following investigations that began in January 2023. The Brazilian president was accused alongside 16 other people of forging his vaccination record and his daughter’s by inserting false information in the public health database in order to get false vaccination [...]