A federal jury in Vermont Thursday recommended the death penalty for Donald Fell, convicted in June of kidnapping and murdering a supermarket worker in 2000. Vermont hasn't executed a convict since 1954, and the last death sentence given in 1957 was later commuted. The state formally abolished the death penalty in 1987. The federal government [...]

New York Gov. George Pataki Wednesday signed a bill allowing the direct shipment of wines into and out of New York, ending limitations that have hampered wine sales since the repeal of Prohibition more than 70 years ago and allowing New York wine enthusiasts to receive wine by mail from wineries all over the US. [...]

The UN's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has joined Amnesty International in asking Colombian President Alvaro Uribe not to ratify the Justice and Peace Law, which was recently approved by the legislature . The bill is designed to encourage former paramilitary soldiers and warlords to disarm, but rights groups are concerned that the [...]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs , said Wednesday he expects a settlement in the Corbell v. Norton lawsuit brought by American Indians for back trust royalties owed to them by the US government. But he said the $27.5 billion figure sought is too high, doubting Congress would authorize [...]

While amended measures to extend the Patriot Act were approved Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee , Senators introduced their own bipartisan bill setting restrictions and time limits. SB 1389, introduced by Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would provide for increased reporting of how the act is used, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Wednesday upheld a lower court decision that Microsoft Corp. was liable for infringing on an AT&T Corp. patent for converting speech into computer code in copies of Windows operating system sold abroad. The Court said that the software giant had distributed codec technology, used to compress [...]

As UN General Assembly debate continued Wednesday on a proposed expansion of the UN Security Council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan weighed in on the general proposition, telling reporters, "The council can be more democratic and more representative." The US supports expansion in principle , but is opposed the so-called G-4 plan , which would [...]

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke on Thursday ordered an immediate review of his exclusion and deportation powers. The move in the wake of the London bombings comes after British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that his government would tighten border controls to keep out individuals preaching religious hatred and would take steps to deport [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday signed a decree handing control of the country's prisons over to the Russian Ministry of Justice . The move comes in response to pressure from the Council of Europe , which made such prison reforms a condition of Russian membership in the group in 1996. The country's security services previously [...]

Chile's Senate on Wednesday passed reforms to the country's constitution put in place by former dictator Augusto Pinochet that reduce the presidential term to four years from six and limit military build-up. Sen. Sergio Fernandez, who worked as a co-author to the 25-year-old Constitution, called the changes "an important step that will allow for . [...]