US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said Thursday that they have sent a letter to President Bush asking if he knew when he signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that it suffered from a "fundamental constitutional problem." Due to a clerical error, identical versions of the legislation were not [...]

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Thursday urged the Iraqi government to take steps to "assert control over the security forces and all armed groups" in the country, noting that there has been an increase in allegations of "death squads," summary executions and torture during the first two months of 2006. In its [...]

President Bush Thursday called for policymakers considering the incendiary issue of immigration reform to conduct themselves "in a civil way…that brings dignity to the process" and hammer out legislation that is "comprehensive and rational and achieves important objectives." While several bills have been proposed , the Senate is about to take up draft legislation by [...]

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday released an advisory opinion to the state Attorney General that permits the 2008 ballot to contain a citizen initiative banning gay marriages, even though the initiative failed to collect enough petition signatures to place the constitutional amendment on the 2006 ballot. According to the ACLU, which brought the initiative [...]

Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla Martin has been subpoenaed to testify in federal court next Monday regarding her conduct in the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trial , sources close to the case said Thursday. Martin has been accused of coaching witnesses and disclosing the government's case to witnesses in violation of a sequestration order , for [...]

Leading Thursday's environmental law news, Judge William M. Hoeveler of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers and the US Fish and Wildlife Service failed to adequately study the environmental impacts before issuing mining permits in 2002. The permits allowed for a 10 year [...]

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Thursday announced a lawsuit against Gratis Internet that alleges the company illegally sold the personal information – including e-mail addresses – of between one and seven million survey participants who were promised confidentiality. Gratis induced consumers to provide the information by offering free DVDs, iPods, and video games [...]

The Belarus Central Election Commission has dismissed a complaint contesting the results of Sunday's election, which provided a landslide victory for Alexander Lukashenko , who garnered over 82 percent of the vote. The complaint, filed by presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin, who received less than 3 percent of the vote, alleged rigged results and other monitoring [...]

Kizza Besigye , the recently defeated presidential candidate in Uganda , has asked the Ugandan Supreme Court to order a new presidential election, saying results from the February 23 election were unreliable due to fraud, violence and bribery. Besigye blamed the Ugandan Electoral Commission for fraudulent vote tallies in his petition to the court Wednesday, [...]

The Philippines Army said Thursday that it would recommend court-martial for 20 soldiers in connection with last month's failed coup attempt against Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo , including Brigadier General Danilo Lim. The army is continuing to investigate the actions of more than 100 other soldiers who may have been part of the plan. The [...]