A unanimous Senate vote Wednesday approved a historic $2 trillion stimulus package to try to keep the US economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would provide direct payments of $1,200 to Americans earning up to $75,000, phasing out for higher earners and ending for those earning more than $99,000. It includes for families [...]
Texas abortion providers filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas Wednesday, challenging the legality of an executive order that they claim bans all abortions in the state. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the order on Sunday. It is designed to increase medical resources to combat the Covid-19 pandemic [...]
The president of Uzbekistan signed legislation on Friday granting citizenship to some stateless persons within its borders. There are over 97,000 stateless persons residing in Uzbekistan, the majority of whom were left stateless by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The new citizenship bill signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev would grant citizenship to [...]
Lawmakers in Chile on Thursday agreed to postpone a nationwide referendum on a new constitution amid concerns about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. President Sebastian Pinera signed a law last December scheduling a national referendum on a new constitution following months of protests. The vote was set for April 26, but the ministry of [...]
The Russian Constitutional Court released a 52-page decision Monday approving amendments to the constitution, including an amendment that would allow Vladimir Putin to serve up to two additional terms as president. The current constitution imposes a two-term limit to the presidency, and Putin has put forward a series of amendments, one of which would reset [...]
Iran has temporarily released about 85,000 prisoners from jail as part of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said about half of those released were political prisoners. Today’s mass release follows the release of some 70,000 prisoners on March 9, none of whom were political prisoners. In response to the earlier [...]
Dozens of large and small internet service providers have signed on to a pledge issued by the Federal Communications Commission to keep users connected during the coronavirus pandemic. FCC chairman Ajit Pai reached out to multiple broadband and telephone service companies on Thursday asking them to sign the pledge. The pledge requires companies to: (1) [...]
The US District Court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction late Friday blocking a rule change that would have cut food stamp benefits to nearly 700,000 people. The rule would have affected able-bodied adults without children who receive assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), requiring them to work a minimum of [...]
Both houses of the Russia Parliament on Wednesday approved a constitutional change that would allow President Vladimir Putin to run for reelection again. The current Russian constitution requires the president to step down after serving two consecutive terms. Putin is currently serving his second consecutive term and would have to leave office when his term [...]
The governor of Oregon signed an expansive executive order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state Tuesday, just days after a Republican walkout in the state senate scuttled legislative efforts to achieve the same ends. Republicans in the state senate and house staged walkouts to prevent a quorum, forcing the Oregon legislature to [...]
