US troops detained the leader of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party in a house raid in western Baghdad early Monday, confiscating several items including a computer. Mohsen Abdul Hamid is head of the Iraqi Islamic Party , which called for his immediate release. The Sunni Muslims lost power after Saddam Hussein's downfall, allowing Iraq’s [...]

The US Justice Department said Sunday that two US citizens have been arrested and charged with conspiring to provide support to al Qaeda in several meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda recruiter and a confidential source. Tarik Ibn Osman Shah allegedly offered to train al Qaeda members in martial arts [...]

US Air Force General Richard Myers , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has criticized an Amnesty International report comparing American treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to the Soviet gulag where millions died. Interviewed on Fox News Sunday , Gen. Myers called the report "absolutely irresponsible" and noted that 100 detainees abused out [...]

Political leaders and observers across Europe were staggered late Sunday by the apparently-massive French rejection of the proposed European Constitution . The document, drafted by a European constitutional commission headed by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and strongly endorsed by current President Jacques Chirac and most of the French political and media establishment, went [...]

Exit polls are reporting that French voters have rejected the EU constitution by 54.5% to 45.5%. The last official polls closed in Paris and Lyons at 10 PM local time Sunday (4 PM ET). From Paris, Le Monde provides continuing local coverage. 4:13 PM ET – French opposition leaders are already calling on French President [...]

French voters Sunday went to the polls in a referendum on France's ratification of the proposed European constitution. Recent polls suggest a likely win for the "no" side in a vigorous national debate that has been clouded by the domestic unpopularity of the current French government. Early turnout appears to be fairly high on the [...]

Following a series of delays, Israel's Cabinet Sunday approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners. Cabinet members voted 18-3 to approve the release, which is the second phase of the 900 Palestinian prisoners negotiated as part of February 8 truce . A panel will now meet to compile a list of those eligible to be [...]

The Illinois Senate voted Saturday to ban the sale of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors. The Safe Games Act , would punish sales clerks who knowingly sell adult video games to minors. A seller could defend itselfs by showing it did not know the buyer was a minor or that it followed [...]

An Act relating to the representation of certain defendants in capital cases and to the punishment for a capital felony or other felony punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding 99 years, Texas Senate; SB 60 passed May 28, 2005 . Read the full text of the bill. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Texas Senate Saturday approved Senate Bill 60 , which would give jurors in capital murder cases the option of sentencing a defendant to life in prison without parole instead of death. Currently, Texas leads US states in the number of annual executions (24 in 2004); Texas juries can only sentence people convicted of capital [...]