With Democratic Senators divided on Chief Justice nominee Judge John Roberts , it appeared all but certain Wednesday that he would be confirmed as early as Thursday by a solidly bipartisan Senate vote. At least 76 senators – including 21 Democrats – have thusfar indicated they will support the 50-year-old Roberts, set to be the [...]

A federal district judge Wednesday rejected a claim by former US Attorney General John Ashcroft that the government should be exempt from certain regulations during national emergencies and allowed the continuation of a lawsuit by two Muslim men who said they were abused after being arrested after the Sept. 11 attacks. In a 70-page opinion, [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an official investigation into the finances of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist . Sources close to Frist said the SEC had authorized an investigation into Frist's sale of HCA Inc. stock in June, although the SEC has not yet publicly announced the investigation. A formal investigation gives [...]

Two class action lawsuits accusing major US investment banks of price-fixing practices during initial public offerings of technology stocks during the late 1990s were reinstated Wednesday by the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals . The court wrote that the plaintiffs had alleged an "epic Wall Street conspiracy" on the part of Bear Stearns, Credit [...]

Many Iraqis on Wednesday expressed outrage after Pfc. Lynndie England , notorious for her role in abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday. Some accused the US of having a double standard, arguing that the sentence would have been more severe if England had been accused [...]

US Army investigators have not found sufficient evidence to charge any one for the release of graphic photos of Iraqi war casualties on the Internet, an Army spokesman said Wednesday. Although the Army Criminal Investigation Division is unlikely to file criminal charges, spokesman Paul Boyce said disciplinary action was possible under Article 134 of the [...]

The European Parliament Wednesday postponed a key vote on Turkey's potential membership in the bloc and also approved a resolution calling for Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide . EU legislators agreed by a 311-285 margin to delay ratification of a expanded Turkey-EU customs union out of frustration with Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus, part [...]

In Wednesday's environmental law news, the Swiss delegation at the Conference of the Parties of the Rotterdam Convention, currently meeting in Rome, has called for the Secretariats of three international environmental conventions to be combined into one headquarters. The Rotterdam Convention is aimed at regulating the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals, the Stockholm Convention [...]

Four Iraq war protesters have claimed victory after they were acquitted on federal conspiracy charges and convicted on lesser trespassing charges in the first federal conspiracy trial of anti-war protestors since the Vietnam War. The group, known as the St. Patrick's Four , were arrested after throwing blood on the walls of a Army recruitment [...]

A federal judge has ruled that a decision by the Arizona License Plate Commission to reject "choose life" license plates supported by pro-life groups in the state did not violate the constitutional rights of the groups. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt held that the Commission's decision did not violate the free speech and equal protection [...]