Federal authorities filed suit Friday against Utah and Utah officials for fraudulently using federal grant money. The US is suing Utah officials working in criminal justice, juvenile services, internet crimes investigations and public safety. The federal government claims breach of contract and that Utah violated the False Claims Act. The US Attorney alleges that Utah [...]

The UN released a summary Monday of an inquiry into 2019 attacks and bombings on Syrian hospitals, schools and refugee camps, stopping short of blaming Russia. Many of the attacks were targeted airstrikes on locations providing humanitarian aid to those affected by the Syria conflict. The report heavily implicated the government of Syria and its [...]

Australia’s High Court overturned Catholic Cardinal George Pell’s sexual abuse convictions Tuesday. Australian authorities have released Pell from custody. In March 2019 a unanimous jury convicted Pell of abusing two choir boys in the 1990s. The Australian trial court sentenced Pell to six years in prison. Pell maintained an innocent plea throughout the trial. After [...]

China released Wang Quanzhang, a human rights lawyer, from jail Sunday according to BBC reports. Wang defended political activists, religious minorities, and victims of land seizure from Chinese prosecution. Though authorities released Wang from jail, he is placed on a mandatory quarantine in the city of Jinan for fourteen days. Chinese officials contend that the [...]

New York passed its 2020-2021 budget Thursday despite COVID-19 uncertainties. The New York State Assembly enacted legislative reforms alongside the budget. The most notable of these reforms include legalizing commercial surrogacy and outlawing the “pink tax.” In legalizing commercial surrogacy, the state created a Surrogates’ Bill of Rights that ensures comprehensive health insurance and pregnancy [...]

The National Election Board of Ethiopia announced Tuesday that it would postpone Ethiopia’s upcoming general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The board had planned to conduct the election in August. The planned elections marked a transition towards democratic stability in Ethiopia. Ethiopia experienced a period of ethnic tension and unrest throughout 2016 and 2017. The [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld its own decision Tuesday to allow Florida ex-convicts to vote despite lingering financial and legal obligations. The court refused to reconsider en banc its original decision, effectively cementing its earlier decision on the case. In February, the court issued its original opinion on this case [...]

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a travel advisory Saturday for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents amid COVID-19 spread concerns. The CDC recommends that residents of these states refrain from domestic travel for the next 14 days. However, the agency advises critical infrastructure industry employees to continue travel. The CDC explained [...]

The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it would loosen bank regulations to support lending during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Board specifically modified two previous regulations: the standardized approach for measuring counterparty credit risk rule (SA-CRR) and the current expected credit loss rule (CECL). The SA-CRR modification will apply to the reporting period that [...]

The EU agreed Tuesday that it would begin membership negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The European Affairs Ministers met via video conference led by the Croatian European Affairs Minister, Andreja Metelko-Zgombic. During the conference, the Affairs Ministers agreed to pursue the membership negotiations with the two countries. Metelko-Zgombic stated, “It was my great pleasure [...]