The UN released a summary Monday of an inquiry into 2019 attacks and bombings on Syrian hospitals, schools and refugee camps, stopping short of blaming Russia. Many of the attacks were targeted airstrikes on locations providing humanitarian aid to those affected by the Syria conflict. The report heavily implicated the government of Syria and its [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Sunday for a “ceasefire” in domestic violence, after a recent surge following global COVID-19 lockdowns. “Peace is not just the absence of war. Many women under lockdown for COVID-19 face violence where they should be safest: in their own homes,” Guterres tweeted. “I urge all governments to put women’s safety [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Babb v. Wilkie that the federal-sector provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) “demands that personnel actions be untainted by any consideration of age.” The Court heard oral arguments in January and had to decide whether the ADEA prohibitS age from being the “but-for [...]
Australia’s High Court overturned Catholic Cardinal George Pell’s sexual abuse convictions Tuesday. Australian authorities have released Pell from custody. In March 2019 a unanimous jury convicted Pell of abusing two choir boys in the 1990s. The Australian trial court sentenced Pell to six years in prison. Pell maintained an innocent plea throughout the trial. After [...]
A federal judge in California ruled Monday against numerous Los Angeles-area gun stores and the National Rifle Association in their case challenging local and statewide orders to close shop during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs, citing the Second Amendment, sought to enjoin the enforcement of various business closure orders in Los Angeles that Mayor Eric [...]
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday regarding the public and private exploitation of resources such as water and other minerals in outer space. The substance of the order, labeled “Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources,” directs the Secretary of State to initiate conversations with foreign nations about [...]
The US Department of State on Monday designated the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) as global terrorists, the first time that the department has designated a racially or ethnically motivated terrorist group. RIM is a terrorist group that provides paramilitary-style training to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and it plays a prominent role in trying to rally [...]
The Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the California courts, approved 11 temporary emergency rules on Monday to ensure California courts can meet the state’s health directives while also providing the public with due process and access to justice. The rules that were adopted include “setting bail statewide at $0 for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies to [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma issued a temporary restraining order Monday against the state’s ban on abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The request for a temporary restraining order was brought to the court by abortion rights advocates against Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt after he issued an executive [...]
The US Supreme Court denied a petition Monday to consider whether the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can continue investigations and request broad employment information after a worker has filed a lawsuit. As is customary, the court did not provide their rationale for denying the petition. However, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissent to the denial [...]
