Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Paul Cote Jr. has said that church-run and other private hospitals will be able to opt out from a new state law requiring emergency room doctors to offer emergency contraception to rape...

European officials have said they are satisfied with assurances by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that US policies on the treatment of terror detainees fall within the bounds of international law. Rice is currently in Europe...

Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer said Thursday that he was threatened by three men when boarding a flight from Baghdad to Jordan, and that the three individuals were escorted from the plane by security personnel. Khalil Dulaimi said he knows...

The Chinese government said Thursday that it will make court proceedings on death penalty appeals open to the public to "improve human rights protection" following a notice from the Supreme Court of China [official website,...

House and Senate negotiators are continuing talks to reconcile versions of a defense appropriation bill, with both sides largely agreeing to a torture ban proposed by Sen. John McCain , but with other provisions remaining in...

The Congressional Black Caucus is expected to announce Thursday its opposition to the confirmation of US Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. . The Caucus is made of 42 Democratic House members...

A former Rwandan mayor on Wednesday pleaded guilty to aiding the 1994 genocide as part of a plea deal with prosecutors for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) . Under the plea deal, Paul...

US House Rep. Tom DeLay has asked the judge in his case to split the remaining two charges against him and move forward with a trial on one of them. After the judge in...

The US House has voted to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 , under which the federal government guarantees insurance coverage for catastrophic losses caused by terror attacks. The House approved H.R. 4314 [bill...

The UK House of Lords , the country's highest judicial body, ruled against the government Thursday in a case involving the use of evidence that may have been obtained through torture. The ruling prohibits the UK courts,...