A federal jury Wednesday convicted five East St. Louis (Illinois) Democratic Party officials on charges of felony conspiracy to commit vote fraud, and election fraud in the November 2004 election. Charles Powell Jr., the local Democratic Party chairman, and four party employees were found guilty of misappropriating $76,150 to buy votes for cash, cigarettes and [...]

The US Justice Department Wednesday called a city invocation of the Patriot Act as a defense in a suit by a homeless man an "overreaching application of the law." Summit, New Jersey cited the act in response to a lawsuit by Richard Kreimer , alleging that the it violated his and other homeless persons' constitutional [...]

Leading Wednesday's states brief, the California Supreme Court has let stand a new law granting registered domestic partners many of the same rights and protections of heterosexual marriages. Without comment, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of a California court of appeals which ruled that the law did not conflict with voter initiative Proposition 22 [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, on the day before SEC Chairman William Donaldson steps down, the Commission has voted 3-2 to keep a rule forcing mutual funds to be overseen by an independent chairman. The vote was a result of a federal appeals court ruling last week that the SEC had not adequately [...]

As anticipated , President Bush Wednesday announced the creation of a new intelligence service within the FBI, endorsing 70 of 74 recommendations presented by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the US Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction . Bush also adopted changes that will consolidate US Justice Department counterterrorism, espionage, and intelligence units and [...]

The Russian parliament on Wednesday gave second reading approval to amendments to the country's election law that could further strengthen President Vladimir Putin's government. The proposals would ban the formation of blocs by political parties and block the use of "against all" protest votes on ballots. The changes come after Putin previously abolished gubernatorial elections [...]

A group of Iraqi women attending an international meeting of women's rights activists in Amman, Jordan, called Wednesday for a 40 percent representation quota in the Iraqi National Assembly. The two-day event, hosted by Women for Women International was attended by 12 current members of the National Assembly. Currently, Iraqi law requires that women make [...]

According to a report in Malaysia's News Straits Times , government and opposition politicians in Malaysia are pushing for the release of dozens of terror suspects, many suspected of ties to al-Qaeda, held without trial for the past two years. The report says that over 100 detainees are being held at a prison camp in [...]

Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced plans on Wednesday for Canada to ban the bulk export of prescription medicines under certain circumstances and conditions. Legislation to change the Canadian Food and Drugs Act to allow the government to ban the export of drugs as necessary will be introduced in the fall. Dosanjh said the proposed [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia announced Wednesday that it has ordered the release of former Bosnian Serb police chief Stevan Todorovic after only two-thirds of his ten year sentence had been served. Todorovic had been serving his sentence in Spain since 2001, when he struck a deal with prosecutors by pleading guilty [...]