More than 200 people were arrested and one person was killed Sunday in clashes between government supporters and supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood during the second round of Egypt's parliamentary elections. The Brotherhood has been outlawed for more than 50 years but did very well in the first round of voting earlier this month, [...]

Iran's parliament voted Sunday to require the government to block International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from its nuclear facilities if Iran is referred to the UN Security Council for regulatory violations. This is the second time Iranian deputies have attempted to force the government into a position concerning the nuclear inspectors; in September, parliamentarians [...]

Former Romanian defense minister Ioan Mihai Pascu has acknowledged that US planes carrying detainees may have refueled in the country, but has denied the existence of a secret CIA-run prison there.  His comments, published Saturday in Evenimentul Zileli are the first by a senior Romanian official with access to military information that appear to confirm press [...]

A small minority of southern Republicans have announced their intention to challenge the renewal of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act , currently being evaluated by Congress for a 25-year renewal on the grounds that it is unfair to southern states and no longer necessary. Though the White House, Congressional leaders of both parties, [...]

Lobbyist Michael Scanlon is scheduled for a federal court appearance Monday on a single count alleged in a criminal information released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Friday. The information alleges that Scanlon provided "things of value" to a member of Congress, later identified as Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) by his lawyer, in exchange [...]

US Senator Brian Dorgan (D-ND) released a letter Friday confirming that allegations raised by an ex-Defense Department contractor regarding no-bid contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary for work in Iraq have been turned over to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible investigation. The letter, from Defense Department Assistant Inspector General John R. Crane, [...]

US Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) Friday voiced objections to a legislative deal that extend the USA Patriot Act , siding with a bipartisan group of senators threatening to filibuster the bill unless it is rewritten to provide increased privacy protections. The White House had previously pushed Congress to vote on the extension before [...]

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit announced Friday that it will return to its New Orleans headquarters in January. Following Hurricane Katrina in September, the appeals court temporarily moved to Houston, Texas and has operated from the Bob Casey United States Courthouse. The court will shut down Houston operations around December [...]

US DOJ Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicated in court documents Friday that his investigation into the CIA leak case will return to a grand jury. Three weeks ago, a previous grand jury indicted former Vice President Dick Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice . In [...]

The US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicated Friday that all 125 workers arrested at a Wal-Mart distribution center construction site in Pennsylvania Thursday will be deported. Some of the workers, mostly from Mexico and Central America, used false documents to get jobs with a Wal-Mart subcontractor. Federal officials said the arrests should [...]