The US Supreme Court of granted certiorari Monday in Brownback v. Douglas, a case concerning excessive force by police. James King was stopped by two undercover officers from a federal-state joint task force in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2014. The officers, one an FBI agent and one a local police officer, attempted to arrest King, [...]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday announced a proposal to lift Venezuelan sanctions if the country adopts a new transitional government. According to Pompeo, “his framework calls for the establishment of broadly acceptable transitional government to administer free and fair presidential elections and a pathway to lifting Venezuela-related sanctions.” The plan requires Nicolás [...]
Federal judges on Monday temporarily blocked Texas, Alabama and Ohio from enforcing COVID-19 abortion bans for the duration of the lawsuits. On March 22, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order that: applies throughout the State and to all surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary, including routine dermatological, ophthalmological, and dental [...]
The National Election Board of Ethiopia announced Tuesday that it would postpone Ethiopia’s upcoming general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The board had planned to conduct the election in August. The planned elections marked a transition towards democratic stability in Ethiopia. Ethiopia experienced a period of ethnic tension and unrest throughout 2016 and 2017. The [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Micheal Horowitz announced on Tuesday that his office has uncovered pervasive problems in FBI wiretap applications. The Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report comes out of an investigation into the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications, which was sparked after a report last year found inconsistencies [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld its own decision Tuesday to allow Florida ex-convicts to vote despite lingering financial and legal obligations. The court refused to reconsider en banc its original decision, effectively cementing its earlier decision on the case. In February, the court issued its original opinion on this case [...]
The Trump administration on Tuesday weakened the fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, previously one of the nation’s most aggressive policies against climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, amended carbon dioxide and fuel economy standards for model years 2021 [...]
Thirteen detainees of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency won a temporary restraining order from a Pennsylvania federal court Tuesday after complaining of the poor conditions in the facilities where they were held and their risk of contracting COVID-19. Judge John E. Jones III described the unique and fraught circumstances of the response [...]
Idaho Governor Brad Little signed two bills into law Monday that limit transgender individuals’ rights. House bill 509 prohibits transgender people from making changes to the biological sex recorded on their birth certificates. Under the law, an amendment can be made to the biological sex within one year of filing the certificate only if the [...]
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, issued a statement on Tuesday in response to recent measures Hungary has taken to further consolidate power in the hands of its prime minister, Viktor Orbán. While not calling out Hungary by name, the statement from the EU leader condemns exploiting emergency situations to undermine democratic [...]
