The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charged a leading figure in the Islamic State of Iraq and a former ISIS fighter on Saturday with conspiracy to provide material support resulting in death to ISIS, a designated terrorist organization. Mohammed Khalifa, also known as Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi or Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, is [...]
Steven Donziger, a former attorney who has spent decades battling Chevron Corp. over pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest, was sentenced on Friday to six months in prison for criminal contempt of court. The initial dispute originated in 2011 after an Ecuadorian court rendered a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron for allegedly dumping contaminated waste into the [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday struck down a portion of a Florida immigration law as unconstitutional and declared that the measures within the bill were racially motivated. Judge Beth Bloom released a 110-page ruling in which she rejected sections of the law that ban local [...]
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the third-degree murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor who fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk in 2017. On April 20, 2019, Mohamed Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Ruszczyk, a dual US-Austrialian citizen who had called 911 out of concern [...]
The ACLU of Iowa and 11 parents of minor children across the state with disabilities filed a federal lawsuit on Friday challenging an Iowa law that bans school districts from imposing mask mandates in schools. In the last few days of the 2021 legislative session, the Iowa Legislature passed House File 847. House File 847 prevents [...]
The Australian Senate on Wednesday passed the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill of 2021, which is designed to protect all Australians from workplace sexual harassment. The bill expands the scope of existing sexual harassment prohibitions in Australia, promotes clarity for employers and workers, and reduces procedural barriers for sexual harassment complaints. In [...]
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order maintaining the current policy prohibiting the mandating of any COVID-19 vaccinations by any government entity in the state. In the order, Abbott said, “vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of [...]
US Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Kristen Clarke, on Monday submitted a 20-page statement urging the House Judiciary Committee to implement, enforce, revitalize, and restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“the Act”). The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson to confront the fact that nearly a century after [...]
The European Council (“the Council”) on Monday imposed sanctions on eight Nicaraguan individuals, including Vice President Rosario Murillo, for serious human rights violations and actions that “undermined democracy or the rule of law.” Murillo also happens to be Nicaragua’s First Lady. Noting that its previous calls to the Nicaraguan government to abide by its own Constitution [...]
The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Monday that all medical facility employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming the first federal agency to issue a mandate. VA Secretary Denis McDonough stated, “We’re mandating vaccines for Title 38 employees because it’s the best way to keep Veterans safe, especially as the [...]
