Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an adoption bill into law on Thursday that allows adoption agencies receiving public funding to refuse to place children in adoptive families or foster homes that conflict with the agencies’ religious beliefs. The bill passed in the Senate in May. The law states , “A child welfare services provider may [...]
Six individuals joined with several civil rights groups, including Black Lives Matter Chicago , to file a federal lawsuit against Chicago, accusing the city police force of racial discrimination against African Americans and Latinos. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking “a city-wide, class action injunction prohibiting the abusive policies and practices undergirding the [...]
The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that the BitTorrent sharing site, The Pirate Bay (TPB) , is directly infringing on copyright laws. TPB allows users to share and download movies, television shows and audio files. Unlike earlier piracy websites, such as Napster , TPB does not host files or link to them. Instead, [...]
Three Kentuckians filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Governor Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear challenging the state’s criminal ban on medical marijuana. Dan Seum Jr., 59, Amy Stalker, 37, and Danny Belcher, 69, claim they rely on medical marijuana for relief of ailments such as chronic pain and irritable bowl syndrome. Stalker, who [...]
The attorneys general of 11 states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Trump administration for failing to finalize energy efficiency standards for portable air-conditioners, freezers and other products. The lawsuit concerns five final rules that the Obama administration issued shortly before he left office. The new requirements would potentially save consumers billions of dollars, [...]
The UK Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the government’s policy of deporting foreign nationals who have committed crimes before their appeals are heard is unlawful. Section 3(5)(a) of the 1971 Act provides that a person who is not a British citizen is liable for deportation from the UK if the Home Secretary deems their deportation [...]
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced charges Wednesday against five former Flint officials for their part in the Flint water crisis. Schuette charged Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft, as well as Michigan Department of Environmental [...]
The European Commission started infringement procedures against the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary on Tuesday for refusal to comply with the European Commission’s emergency relocation scheme. The emergency relocation scheme was passed in 2015 to help relocate asylum seekers in Italy and Greece. In total, more than 98,000 people are meant to be relocated through [...]
Australia’s Minister of Immigration and Border Protection on Wednesday announced a $90 million settlement in the Manus Island class action lawsuit. The settlement includes $70 million (USD $52.75 million) to be paid to the plaintiffs and $20 million in legal costs. Australia still refutes the claims in the lawsuit and states that the settlement is [...]
Sergio Cabral, former governor Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, was sentenced to 14 years and two months on Tuesday for corruption and money laundering. Cabral was governor from 2007 to 2014 and was instrumental in bringing the Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. Cabral was detained in November as part of a massive corruption investigation [...]
