Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced Tuesday that his office is preparing the first state-sponsored federal lawsuit against the US Department of Education for imposing millions of dollars worth of illegal unfunded mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act . In order to comply with NCLB testing mandates, Connecticut will be required to spend [...]

Voters in Kansas overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment Tuesday that will ban same-sex couples from marrying or entering into civil unions. Kansas law already prohibits same-sex marriage, but supporters of the constitutional amendment have said the ban must be included in the Kansas Constitution in order to insulate it from legal challenge. Over 70% [...]

As expected , Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was elected by the 275-member Iraqi National Assembly Wednesday to serve as president of Iraq's transitional government. In the same vote, Shiite Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Sunni current interim President Ghazi al-Yawer were chosen as vice presidents. Talabani and his vice presidents received 227 votes, with thirty ballots left [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Wednesday, April 6. The US Senate convenes at Noon ET today. Watch a live webcast of proceedings. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing to consider several Environmental Protection Agency nominations, including Stephen L. Johnson as [...]

The death penalty worldwide: developments in 2004, Amnesty International, April 5, 2005 . Excerpt: At least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries in 2004, and at least 7,395 people were sentenced to death in 64 countries, according to Amnesty International. The true figures were certainly higher…. As in previous years, the vast majority of [...]

In Tuesday's environmental law news, as part of a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice , the Taiwanese container shipping company Evergreen International S.A. has agreed to a $25 million fine and pleaded guilty to 24 felony charges for concealing the deliberate, illegal discharge of waste oil into the ocean. In May 2001, [...]

Members of Iraq's National Assembly Tuesday reached agreement on a president and vice presidents for the transitional government. Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani will be named president Wednesday, while Shiite Adel Abdul Mahdi and Sunni Ghazi Yawar will serve as vice presidents, lawmakers said. The agreement signals progress in what has been a politically charged and [...]

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that the US will be cautious in deciding on the release of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay on terror suspicions. Rice said the decisions were a "delicate balance" between ensuring US security and avoiding wrongly imprisoning any detainees. Rice said that at least 12 detainees of the [...]

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Tuesday that the refusal of federal judges to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case will not influence an ongoing struggle between Republicans and Democrats over judicial nominations by President Bush. Frist said that the two issues were not associated and that he felt the judiciary was fair and independent. [...]

The US will phase in by 2008 tighter border controls requiring US citizens re-entering the country from Canada, Mexico, Panama and Bermuda to have passports, US officials announced Tuesday. Under the new rules made public by the State Department , Canadians will also have to show passports to enter the US. Currently, US citizens returning [...]