French building materials manufacturer Lafarge and its Syrian subsidiary Tuesday pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to conspiring to provide material in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front (ANF). Both ISIS and ANF are designated foreign terrorist organizations in the US. Lafarge must pay a [...]

Two US congressional committees Monday launched investigations into Mississippi’s handling of the Jackson water crisis. In August, torrential rain and flooding in the Jackson, Mississippi area left approximately 180,000 people without water for days. The Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Homeland Security are requesting information from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on [...]

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol Thursday held its first hearing since July and voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump to sit for testimony and produce documents. The committee recognized that issuing a subpoena to a former president of the US is an extraordinary step. Members believe [...]

Conspiracy theorist radio show host Alex Jones Wednesday was ordered to pay families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and a first responder approximately $965 million in compensatory damages. A Connecticut court issued the verdict after four weeks of trial. Family members of five children and three educators killed in the shooting, as well [...]

The US Department of Labor (DOL) Tuesday published a proposed rule clarifying when workers should be classified as independent contractors or employees entitled to minimum wage, over time and other Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protections. The rule rescinds a January 2021 rule, which inquired into whether the worker was dependent on a particular individual, [...]

New Zealand Tuesday proposed plans to price agricultural emissions in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the country. According to the plan, over half of New Zealand’s total emissions stem from the agricultural sector. The plan would establish a legal responsibility for qualified farmers and growers to pay an annual emissions fee. Under [...]

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, an Iranian human rights group, Saturday said Iranian security forces shot at protesters in at least three cities. The group’s Twitter page follows on-the-ground progress of protests in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini. According to Iran Human Rights, the nationwide protests have resulted in the death of [...]

An Arizona state appeals court Friday blocked enforcement of a 1901 abortion ban, which bans all abortions unless the procedure is necessary to save a pregnant person’s life. Planned Parenthood filed an emergency stay of enforcement of the ban following a September 23 ruling which would have allowed the ban to go into effect. Planned [...]

The US Supreme Court Tuesday heard oral arguments in Merrill v. Milligan to determine whether Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for the US House of Representatives violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The lawsuit first arose back in November 2021 when Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the congressional plan allowing one majority Black [...]

The US Supreme Court Monday granted certiorari in nine new cases, including two cases on liability shields for online platforms. In Gonzalez v. Google, the court is asked to consider the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which broadly shields online platforms from liability for content posted by the platforms’ users. Reynaldo [...]