The European Parliament and Council agreed to changes to the Digital Markets Act Thursday, ending anti-competitive behavior of big tech companies. The agreement introduced gatekeeper platforms, which would function as sanctions on the digital economy from market dominance constituting EU competition law breaches. These so-called platforms would prohibit bundling services and self-preferencing practices of tech companies. The [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday filed a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act against Galveston County, Texas, challenging a redistricting plan that allegedly discriminates against Black and Hispanic voters. The redistricting plan was adopted by the county on November 12, 2021 after the data from the 2020 Census was released. In the complaint, [...]
A federal jury Thursday convicted US Representative Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska on one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. On October 19, 2021, a federal jury charged Fortenberry with concealing information and making false statement to investigators regarding illegal contributions from a [...]
The US and its allies imposed new rounds of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine following a series of meetings on Thursday between NATO allies and the G7. The US announced additional sanctions on Russia defense-industrial bases, the Russian Duma and its members, as well as the chief executive of Russia’s largest bank [...]
The Myanmar junta is responsible for crimes against humanity, murder, torture, and forced displacement of civilians and political leaders, according to a report by human rights agencies released Thursday. The report, co-authored by Fortify Rights and the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, is focused primarily on the six months following [...]
The Biden administration Thursday issued a new asylum processing regulation in efforts to accelerate the asylum and deportation process at the US-Mexico border. This regulation is in response to the record influx of migrants seeking entrance to the US. The final asylum rule, still unpublished, will go into effect in late May or early June [...]
The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled in a unanimous opinion that a member of an elected body does not have a viable First Amendment claim arising from verbal censure. The case Houston Community College System v. Wilson involved David Wilson, a former elected trustee of the Houston Community College System. Shortly after being elected to [...]
The US Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday concluded the four-day hearings regarding the Supreme Court nomination for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by President Biden to replace Associate Justice Steven Breyer. The final day of the hearings began with Senate Chair Richard Durbin swearing in witness evaluation testimony from the American Bar Association (ABA). This [...]
The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled 8-1 that a Texas death row inmate may have his pastor touch him and pray out loud during his execution. Petitioner John Henry Ramirez argued that Texas’ refusal to allow a spiritual advisor to lay hands on him or recite prayers and scripture as he is executed substantially burdens [...]
The US Department of State Wednesday formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Department of State’s assessment was based on “a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources.” Specifically, the statement affirmed that “any of the sites Russia’s [...]
