The US Supreme Court held Wednesday in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassaid that a California regulation granting labor organizations a “right to take access” to an agricultural employer’s property to solicit support for unionization constitutes a per se taking. The case stems from a decades-old California regulation that allows union organizers to meet with farmworkers [...]

US Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland on Tuesday announced a Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, seeking to provide a “comprehensive renew of the troubled legacy of federal boarding school policies.” The announcement came during Haaland’s remarks at the National Congress of American Indians 2021 Mid Year Conference. Through the 1960s, the US enacted [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition for certiorari to review a ruling from the Ninth Circuit that ordered the Union Pacific Railroad and others to pay part of a $16.5 million cleanup of a California Superfund site. The case revolves around differing interpretations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [...]

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday granted a 30-day stay of a California judge’s ruling to overturn the state’s ban on assault weapons. The order comes just over two weeks after US District Judge Roger Benitez declared California’s 32-year-old Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) an unconstitutional [...]

A group of Norwegian climate activists on Tuesday formally requested that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) review Norway’s plans for expanded Arctic oil and gas extraction, arguing that their “rights to life and private and family life are directly affected by climate change.” Environmental groups Greenpeace and Young Friends of the Earth, along with [...]

An American father and son duo pleaded guilty on Monday to aiding former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan, while he faced charges of financial misconduct. Japanese authorities indicted Michael Taylor, a US Army Special Forces veteran, and his son Peter Taylor on charges of harboring or enabling the escape of a criminal. They [...]

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Wednesday issued an executive order highlighting the state’s “commitment to creating clean energy jobs increasing economic opportunities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the expansion of offshore wind power.” Executive Order 218, “Advancing North Carolina’s Economic and Clean Energy Future with Offshore Wind,” formally introduces North Carolina’s first-ever targets [...]

Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) signed a bill Monday expanding universal mail-in voting to the state’s general elections. Vermont Sen. Cheryl Hooker (D) initially introduced the bill, S. 15, after the state opted to automatically send voters ballots in fall 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at polling places. The move proved effective with 75 [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that it seized 63.7 Bitcoins—currently valued at roughly $2.3 million—in ransom payments made to the hacking group Darkside, following the targeted cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline in May. According to an anonymous FBI agent’s affidavit, law enforcement tracked several transfers of Bitcoin and ultimately found that 63.7 [...]

The Louisiana Senate voted 20-17 Monday to lift certain penalties for people charged with possessing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, specifically noting that they should not be jailed. Originally introduced by Rep. Cedric Glover (D), House Bill 652 “amends the penalty for distribution or possession with intent to distribute narcotic drugs,” including marijuana and [...]