US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promised Senators Tuesday that he would no longer allow non-Mexican immigrants who have entered the United States illegally to be released back into the US if they are apprehended. This so-called "catch and release" policy has allowed tens of thousands of non-Mexican illegal immigrants to remain within the United [...]

Though the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is disappointed with Monday's denial of certiorari by the US Supreme Court in the damages aspect of its suit against the tobacco industry , US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says that the administration "continue to believe very strongly in case." The high court refused the government's appeal of [...]

A tax panel commissioned by President Bush endorsed on Tuesday an income tax system that would drastically simplify the way Americans file their taxes. However, the amount taxpayers pay under the proposed system would not significantly change from the current tax system. Members of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform say the plan [...]

A ten-day old California law barring the sale of violent video games to minors is being challenged by trade groups associated with the entertainment industry. The Entertainment Software Association and the Video Software Dealers Association filed suit Monday seeking to enjoin enforcement of the law. The state law bans the sale and rental to minors [...]

US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers Tuesday submitted her responses to written questions posed by the Senate Judiciary Committee , revealing past support for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother. Responding to a 1989 survey of Dallas city council candidates, Miers indicated that she would actively [...]

The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday shows more than two-thirds of the 159 countries surveyed scored less than 5 on a scale of zero to ten, indicating serious levels of corruption. The index is a survey of business people and analysts and is widely watched in the international community, especially in the context [...]

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed the largest criminal tax case ever Monday against 19 defendants formerly employed by accounting firm KPMG . The revised indictment replaces an indictment filed against 9 defendants in August and accuses 17 former KPMG executives, a lawyer, and an investment advisor, with attempting to defraud the IRS through fraudulent tax [...]

Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler presented a nine-member advisory committee Monday with the names of six potential candidates for the Supreme Court of Canada . Unlike the US system where politicians publicly question Supreme Court nominees, the Canadian candidates' names remain confidential to all except the nine members of the panel. The panel has until [...]

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari complained to reporters Monday about the delay in bringing Saddam Hussein to trial, but denied trying to encourage the Iraqi Special Tribunal JURIST to speed up its processes. Al-Jaafari said, "Any more delay will bring Iraq, the judiciary and the government into question. It's the right of every Iraqi citizen [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called on the government of Burundi to recognize more than 3,000 Rwandan refugees as asylum seekers, allowing them to stay in the country. Since March, nearly 8,000 Rwandans, primarily Hutus, have fled their homes in fear of prosecution by grassroots gacaca courts which are trying suspects for their [...]