The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to weigh in on a debate over a federal law that governs the Renewable Fuel Standard Program. In HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association, the court will examine whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its authority when it exempted three small oil refineries from obligations under the statute. [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill recognizing the role of jail and prison firefighting crews in the state’s ongoing battle against wildfires and facilitating access to future employment in the public sector for people who have served on those crews. The state of California, as well as several of its counties, relies [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected an appeal brought by US servicemembers seeking damages for alleged radiation exposure from the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in California, aims to hold both Tokyo Electric Power [...]

The US Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a case that sparked nationwide debate between local governments and advocates for the homeless. In the certiorari petition denied Monday, counsel for the city of Boise, Idaho, had called on the high court to strike down a Ninth Circuit ruling that restricted the city’s authority to [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday affirmed a lower court decision to strike down a Maryland law regulating the publication of online political ads. Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III described the law as a “compendium of traditional First Amendment infirmities.” The statute at [...]

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday requested authorization to conduct a formal investigation into alleged crimes against ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The request marks the end of the OTP’s preliminary examination, which was opened in September 2018 following the court’s review of communications from alleged [...]

Immigrants’ rights advocates have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to migrant deaths along the southern US border. In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Friday, advocacy groups No More Deaths and the Center for Constitutional Rights expressed particular concern about the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held on Wednesday that a rule limiting participation in competitive dance programs to female students likely violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Pursuant to Bylaw 412 of the Minnesota State High School League, male students are not permitted to [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which involved a football coach at a public high school who claimed that school officials retaliated against him for engaging in prayer on the field. The case raised the question of how public-sector employers must balance their dual obligations under the [...]

An independent monitor has found that despite the adoption of improved policies and new training material, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is still not performing as it should to reduce the incidence of unconstitutional stops and arrests. In a status report filed in federal district court on Friday, Peter Zimroth discussed the department’s [...]