The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a robbery conducted with the use of force sufficient to overcome a victim’s resistance, satisfies the “physical force” requirement of a violent felony and can trigger punishment via the Armed Career Criminal Act. The Armed Career Criminal Act is a federal law in which those convicted of possessing [...]
A federal judge in Pennsylvania issued a nationwide injunction on Monday preventing the enforcement of rules allowing employers to deny women health insurance including contraceptive coverage based on moral or religious reasons. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) currently has a requirement detailing that employers must provide their employees with birth control coverage in offered health insurance [...]
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced three pieces of legislation to the Senate on Thursday focused on regulating prescription drug prices. The three bills—the Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act and the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act—aim to lower prescription [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in Culbertson v. Berryhill that a federal law imposing 25 percent cap on attorney’s fees in Social Security cases applies only to fees relating to court proceedings rather than all fees incurred. The case questioned the interpretation of the 42 USC § 406, specifically Sections A and B, which [...]
The UN Committee against Torture posted a letter online, bearing Tuesday’s date, that calls on Saudi Arabia to release over a dozen imprisoned activists and cites credible claims of improper treatment, sexual assault and torture. The UN group charged with overseeing compliance with the Convention Against Torture claims that seven activists have been held without official [...]
A Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company, Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., settled with the US government for $360 million Thursday to resolve claims of illegally using a charity to receive kickbacks on Medicare patients. By donating to Caring Voice Coalition (CVC), the government alleges that Actelion induced patients to purchase company drugs and defrauded the Centers [...]
Ireland’s lower house of parliament, the Dáil Éireann, on Wednesday approved a bill legalizing abortion services. The bill, titled the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy, allows the elective termination of pregnancies before 12 weeks. Patients who elect for abortion services within their first 12 weeks of pregnancy, must receive two examinations from separate physicians certifying the [...]
A federal judge on Monday ruled that the Attorneys General of both Maryland and Washington, DC, can begin discovery as part of their suit against President Donald Trump regarding alleged unlawful profits from his DC hotel. The original complaint points to instances of foreign dignitaries staying at the Trump International Hotel while visiting the president in [...]
Michigan’s Senate on Thursday voted to extend the ban on obtaining abortion medication via telemedicine. The bill aims to amend Michigan’s current abortion law in which the prohibition on prescribing is set to last only until December 31, 2018. Currently, Michigan physicians are not able to “diagnose and prescribe a medical abortion” without performing a [...]
Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana said in a hearing on Wednesday that pre-construction activities may continue for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Morris originally ruled this month that construction on Keystone XL must be halted to allow for further studies to ensure environmental safety. Construction of the Keystone [...]
