The CIA obstructed the investigations of the 9/11 Commission by withholding videotapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects even though commission leaders had lawfully and repeatedly asked for information that would clearly be contained in the tapes, commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice-chairman Lee Hamilton wrote in an op-ed in Wednesday's New York Times. In [...]

New Hampshire became the fourth state in the United States to recognize same-sex civil unions Tuesday when its civil unions law took effect. The law allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions with the "same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married couples." New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed the legislation in May 2007. The [...]

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used his 2007 year-end report on the federal judiciary to urge Congress to increase the salaries of federal judges and to increase communication between all branches of government. In the report released Tuesday, Roberts repeated his call for judicial pay raises , saying Congress should act on legislation [...]

The Iraqi government sent a draft bill to the speaker of Iraq's parliament Tuesday which could allow for the pardon and release of around 5,000 detainees currently held in Iraqi prisons. The bill, approved by the Iraqi cabinet last week, would exclude prisoners held in US custody and others who are imprisoned for a number [...]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has signed a decree granting amnesty to anyone involved in an aborted 2002 coup against him, as well as other attempts to assassinate him or overthrow the government, Chavez said in a Monday phone call to state television. The law would grant amnesty to anyone who signed a declaration in support [...]

A US federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Belbacha to his home country of Algeria while it considers Belbacha's request for a permanent bar against the transfer. Belbacha has been cleared for release from Guantanamo Bay , but he argues that he will be tortured and perhaps [...]

Doctors at Rawalpindi General Hospital were prevented by police from carrying out an autopsy on former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto following her assassination last week, a hospital lawyer said Monday, according to CNN. Hospital manager Athar Minallah said that police violated Pakistani criminal law by preventing doctors from reaching a full medical conclusion about [...]

Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007, signed by President George W. Bush, December 31, 2007 . Read the full text of the act . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

At least 185 people were killed in Kenya as demonstrations against alleged election fraud continued Monday. Protests began Sunday when tens of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets, accusing Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki of electoral fraud and vote-rigging after Kibaki won a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential election. The controversial vote has sparked [...]

US President George W. Bush Monday signed a bill intended to pressure Sudan to stop the violence in Darfur by allowing US states and local governments to sever investment links to Sudan without penalty under federal or state law. Under the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 , state, county and municipal officials will [...]