The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Concepcion v. United States that judges should have sentencing discretion under the 2018 First Step Act and 2010 Fair Sentencing act in crack-cocaine cases. The 2010 Fair Sentencing Act brought crack-cocaine sentencing more in-line with cocaine sentencing. Prior to the act, crack-cocaine sentences were far harsher than cocaine [...]

Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso issued a temporary order Monday blocking Louisiana’s abortion ban trigger laws from going into effect. The decision comes as a result of the US Supreme Court’s controversial Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center, which held that abortion is not a constitutional right. The order came in response [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Monday that Joseph Kennedy, a high school football coach, was wrongfully terminated by the Bremerton School District. Kennedy had been holding prayers with students for eight years when the school asked him to refrain from continuing the practice due to Establishment Clause concerns. Kennedy briefly stopped and then resumed [...]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) early Friday agreed to the first changes to global trade regulations in many years, following contentious round-the-clock negotiations. Seven decisions and declarations were agreed upon by day six of the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was originally planned for four days. Much of the contention came from negotiations around an intellectual [...]

Bayer subsidiary Monsanto announced Saturday that an Oregon jury had sided with it in a claim that glyphosate, the active chemical in its Roundup herbicide, caused a person’s cancer. According to the company, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. Bayer said in a statement: The jury’s unanimous verdict in favor of the company brings this trial [...]

The Dutch intelligence service (AIVD) Thursday announced it uncovered a Russian spy attempting to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) through an internship program. AIVD released a partially-redacted document explaining the man’s extensive cover story, in which he claimed to be Brazilian. According to AIVD: The Russian intelligence officer purported to be Brazilian citizen Viktor [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thursday urged members of the African Union (AU) to take drastic steps to protect young girls and women. The report was released on the AU’s the Day of the African Child. Among the concerns raised by HRW are child marriage, free education for children, and allowing pregnant girls and young women [...]

Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan visited Kharkiv Thursday with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to document evidence of war crimes. During his visit Khan called the area a “crime scene,” touring the places hardest hit by Russian bombings. Khan went on to tell reporters that, “we must make sure that the whole world sees that the [...]

Turkish officials arrested and jailed 16 Kurdish journalists Thursday after detaining 21 journalists for eight days without charges. Five of the original 21 were released according to reports from the Mesopotamia News Agency (MNA). According to the Turkish Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) the 21 journalists were originally detained on suspicion of “terrorism.” Mehmet [...]

The Special Tribunal of Lebanon (STL) sentenced Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi to life in prison Thursday for their part in a bombing that killed Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafic Hariri. Merhi and Oneissi committed a bombing that killed 22, including Hariri, and injured 226. They were previously found guilty of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, [...]