The US House of Representatives Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which sets appropriations for the defense budget for fiscal year 2023. In total, the 3,854-page NDAA authorizes $857.9 billion in expenditures. Controversially, the bill would lift the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed services. The Biden administration implemented the mandate [...]
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Thursday filed a class action lawsuit to challenge Section 510(3) of the New York Judiciary Law, which disqualifies people convicted of felonies from serving on juries, no matter the nature of the offense or how long ago the convictions occurred. The civil rights action challenges what the NYCLU [...]
The US House of Representatives Thursday issued final approval to the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to federally recognize same-sex marriages, in a vote of 258 to 169. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for approval. The Respect for Marriage Act formally repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 bill which [...]
US President Joe Biden announced early Thursday morning that detained WNBA player Brittney Griner was released from Russian detention as part of a prisoner exchange. Griner was imprisoned for 10 months following her arrest in Russia on drug trafficking charges. Despite multiple attempts by White House officials to negotiate Griner’s release, she was transferred to [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Moore v. Harper, a case concerning the “independent state legislature” theory in redistricting cases. The case concerns North Carolina’s congressional district map, created by the Republican-controlled legislature last year. North Carolina’s Supreme Court struck down the map as an unconstitutional gerrymander, and Republican lawmakers appealed to [...]
A New York jury Tuesday found the Trump Organization guilty on all charges in a criminal fraud case initiated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Former President Trump’s company, charged as both the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation, was charged with scheming to defraud federal, state and local authorities to avoid taxes spanning [...]
A Colorado court Tuesday formally charged the suspect accused of killing five and injuring 19 in Club Q, a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on November 19. Anderson Lee Aldrich was formally charged with murder, hate crimes and assault. Aldrich also faces five counts of bias-motivated crime resulting in injury and five counts of [...]
The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol Tuesday said it has decided to make criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the committee, told Axios, “We have made decisions on criminal referrals.” The committee has yet to issue a formal announcement. [...]
Amid ongoing dangerous conditions in Haiti, the Biden Administration Monday extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the United States as of November 6. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced the extension, which will allow Haitians who already have TPS to stay in the US for an additional 18 months, from February [...]
The White House Monday criticized Donald Trump’s recent remarks calling for the “termination” of constitutional rules in response to allegations by Elon Musk that Twitter favored the Democratic party and actively suppressed speech during the 2020 US presidential election. Trump called the information a “revelation of massive and widespread fraud and deception” and asserted that [...]