Tuesday's confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as the 110th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States has predictably prompted mixed reactions. President Bush congratulated Alito in a statement, once again calling him "a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench" and concluding [...]

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire on Tuesday signed into law the landmark gay civil rights act which expands the Washington Civil Rights Act to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing, lending and employment. Advocates of the bill, which was approved by the Washington House and Senate last Friday, have been pushing the legislation for [...]

Benjamin G. Davis : "Thank you Coretta for all of your good works helping humanity progress in the United States and around the world. You were a person of action and gentleness. Martin and you did YOUR work – not his or hers. You have raised children that show us all what a special place [...]

An former vice chair of Wal-Mart pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud and tax charges for stealing money, merchandise and gift cards from the store and filing a false tax report. Tom Coughlin was referred to federal prosecutors by Wal-Mart lawyers after they uncovered $500,000 in losses due to store vouchers that Coughlin used to purchase [...]

AP is reporting that Samuel Alito has been sworn in as the 110th US Supreme Court justice. The private ceremony at the Supreme Court building took place shortly after the US Senate voted to confirm his nomination Tuesday morning.

As many as 10 percent of prisoners executed in the US over the past 30 years suffered from some form of mental illness, according to a report issued Tuesday by Amnesty International . In a call for legal changes in the US that would prevent executions of mentally ill inmates, Amnesty noted that about 10 [...]

The Australian government said Tuesday that it is planning to review the country's Federal Privacy Act to assess current policies and also technological changes since the act was passed in 1988 that may impact the law's application. Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock announced the review by the Australian Law Reform Commission and said that situations [...]

Two of six men convicted in October 2004 for committing sex offenses on the small Pacific island of Pitcairn appeared in court Tuesday to appeal their sentences at the Pitcairn Court of Appeal in Auckland, New Zealand. Lawyers for the two men say they were unaware that they committed a crime because they did not [...]

The ruling military junta in Myanmar has closed constitutional talks until late 2006, delegates said Tuesday. The convention to draft a constitution has been held intermittently since 1993, and is the first step on a seven-stage road map aimed at unification, democracy, and free elections for the country. There has been speculation as to when [...]

The California Senate has approved legislation banning state agencies' production of news releases designed to look like objective reports. Senators approved SB 740 by a 21-11 vote. The legislation mirrors a court ruling made last month in which a Superior Court judge ruled that the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had to remove state-produced news [...]