The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal has affirmed a lower court's decision to uphold the suspension of a Florida woman's drivers license after she refused to remove a religious veil for her license photo. The ACLU filed the original complaint in 2002 on behalf of Sultaana Freeman, an American Muslim who converted from Christianity [...]

Iraqi-born US resident Numan Adnan Al-Kaby was released from a US prison in Baghdad Tuesday, after attorneys from the ACLU filed a lawsuit calling for his release last week. The US government continued to detain Al-Kaby despite a July US military tribunal determination that he was not involved in the mortar attack that led to [...]

Egyptians voted in the country's first multi-candidate presidential election Wednesday amid demonstrations and allegations of fraud. Longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak , who is expected to win easily, has touted the election as signaling a move towards democracy in the country where he previously retained his position by referendum vote. Thus far, citizens have alleged [...]

Suspected looters and others accused of committing crimes in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are now being held at the city's Greyhound bus station, which has been turned into a makeshift jail. Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti told reporters late last week that a temporary detention facilty was being set up after [...]

AP is reporting that the California Assembly has narrowly passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. AB 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act was approved by the state Senate last Thursday, and now goes to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his signature, although it's not yet clear whether he will [...]

Declaration of Emergency Order for the City of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin, September 6, 2005 : Whereas, the presence of individuals not specifically engaged by the City, State or U.S. Government to assist in the remediation and recovery effort would distract, impede, or divert essential resources from the recover effort. Now, therefore, I as [...]

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a new emergency order Tuesday evening authorizing public safety officers in the city – including police, firemen, and members of the US military – to force the removal of anyone not engaged in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. This latest evacuation order supercedes the mandatory evacuation order Nagin issued [...]

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani said in an interview on al-Iraqiya state TV broadcast late Tuesday that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein , now in custody pending trials for crimes again humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal , had confessed before an investigating judge to crimes "such as executions." The confession, Talabani said, had come "from [...]

Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, executives at DaimlerChrysler have denied that they were involved in insider trading. German media are reporting that DaimlerChrysler's chief spokesman Hartmut Schick and executive board member Ruediger Grube are under investigation for insider trading relating to the surprise resignation of CEO Juergen Schrempp in July . German media [...]

In Tuesday's environmental law news, an Indonesian court heard arguments Tuesday on whether it should proceed with a criminal trial of US-based Newmont Mining Corp. for alleged pollution in Buyat Bay. The hearing had been postponed in August when the country's Supreme Court ordered two of the judges back to Jakarta for training on environmental [...]