Leading Wednesday's states brief, the California Supreme Court today overturned a lower court and ordered that state voters will be given the opportunity to vote on Proposition 80 during a November 8th special election to decide whether California should reregulate its power market. The Independent Energy Producers Association had filed a lawsuit seeking to remove [...]

Police in Britain have confirmed that Yasin Hassan Omar, a Somali citizen with British residency, was among four men arrested when he was subdued with a stun gun after officers raided a home in Birmingham early Wednesday morning. Authorities said the 24-year-old Omar, a suspect in the failed July 21 bombing attacks , was being [...]

US Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has hinted that he might not support Timothy Flanigan, President Bush's pick for Deputy Attorney General, if Flanigan is not willing to allow proper Congressional oversight of his role. Flanigan, formerly Deputy Counsel to the President and Alberto Gonzales' number two when he was at the White House, [...]

A French court Wednesday found 13 individuals and companies in the Mont Blanc tunnel disaster trial guilty of manslaughter, with former French head of tunnel security Gerard Roncoli receiving a six month prison sentence. Gilbert Degrave, the driver whose truck ignited the deadly March 1999 fire that killed 39 people, received a four month suspended [...]

The former warden of Abu Ghraib prison , Maj. David Dinenna, testified at a preliminary hearing on Wednesday for two Army dog handlers accused of using the animals to abuse detainees that the US Department of Defense sent trainers to the prison to teach soldiers how to use dogs in interrogations. His testimony bolstered defense [...]

Five people were sentenced on Wednesday by a French court for their role in a child sex ring after one of the biggest criminal trials in the country's history . Since March, 66 defendants have been on trial on charges of abusing 45 children. A man, his son, and his son's ex-girlfriend accused of hosting [...]

Ahmed Ressam , known as the "millennium bomber" for plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999 , was sentenced to 22 years in prison by federal judge John Coughenour Wednesday. US border officials caught the 38-year-old Algerian with nitroglycerin in the trunk of his rented car after he arrived [...]

US-based rights group Human Rights Watch has issued a new report detailing accusations of police torture in Nigeria . Nigeria responded with a sharp denial, saying in a statement that " can say without fear of contradiction that torture is not routinely practiced in Nigeria". Nigerian officials further said that any reported abuse is investigated [...]

An energy bill likely to pass the US House and Senate this week with the support of President Bush includes over $8.5 billion in tax incentives, loan guarantees, and other subsidies for energy companies. Conservation and efficiency groups are slated to receive $1.3 billion in benefits with another $3 billion earmarked for renewable resources. The [...]

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that a company of the California Army National Guard was placed on restricted duty over allegations that members of the unit abused prisoners in Iraq, possibly with a stun gun. Col. David Baldwin, a California National Guard spokesman told the newspaper that investigations have commenced into allegations of mistreatment [...]