The Texas House of Representatives backed a bill Friday that would prohibit election officials from sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications to voters. During the November 2020 general election, mail-in voting was very popular because of COVID-19. However, following the election, many states have considered imposing or have passed stricter restrictions, including Florida, Georgia and Iowa. On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron [...]
The Archdiocese of Wisconsin filed suit Friday against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC), alleging that the department’s COVID-19 policy restricting ministers’ access to prisoners violates state law. To address COVID-19 concerns, the Wisconsin DOC adopted a policy temporarily suspending all visits. This blanket ban also prevents all volunteer religious ministers from visiting inmates. There [...]
The Minnesota Senate approved a bill Monday that would require voters to present photo identification at the polls. In Minnesota, the issue of photo ID was previously addressed in 2012, when Minnesotans rejected a constitutional amendment that would have required photo ID for voting. However, following the November 2020 general election, many states have considered [...]
Nine major US sports unions on Monday announced their joint opposition to legislative efforts to impose new voting restrictions. Following the November 2020 election, many states have either considered or have passed legislation restricting the right to vote. In early March, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation that made early voting more difficult, in addition to [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Friday reinstated a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions in Tennessee. Tenn. Code § 39-15-202, enacted in 2015, mandated that women make two trips to an abortion client. On the first trip, women seeking abortions received mandatory counseling and information regarding abortion risks. Then, [...]
Turkish prosecutors ordered the arrests of 532 suspects with connections to a Muslim cleric allegedly behind a 2016 attempted coup, according to a report on Monday by state-owned Anadolu news agency. These 532 suspects include 459 on-duty military personnel. In 2016 there was a failed coup attempt by rogue soldiers to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. This [...]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided Wednesday to retain its longstanding contract-bar doctrine. In a unionized workplace, employees can file decertification petitions if they are dissatisfied with union representation and seek to no longer be represented by that specific union. However, under the NLRB’s current application of the contract-bar doctrine, a valid collective-bargaining agreement bars [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in a Confrontation Clause case involving a man convicted for the 2006 shooting death of a child. The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution gives a criminal defendant the right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” This is also known as the Confrontation Clause, and it [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that China’s actions against Uyghurs and other Turkish Muslims in Xinjiang could meet the criteria for crimes against humanity, calling for a UN investigation into the abuses. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is the only region in China with a majority Muslim population. In May 2014, the Chinese government [...]
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday announced visa restrictions on Ugandan government officials accused of human rights violations and repressive acts during the January 14 general elections and campaign period. President Yoweri Museveni has been in power for 35 years. After the January 14 general election, he was declared the winner with 58 [...]
