The Utah House of Representatives passed an alcohol reform bill on Friday aimed at removing what is referred to as the “Zion Curtain,” a 7-foot-tall barrier, shielding children from watching drinks being mixed in restaurants. The bill, HB442 , which was passed by the House by a 58-10 vote and awaiting Utah Senate approval, aims [...]
Facebook settled a class-action lawsuit levied against it on Wednesday for its prior practice of scanning private messages to aid in ads. A motion was filed on Wednesday, subject to court approval, for declaratory and injunctive relief, though it does not discuss specific monetary awards. In pertinent part, the motion states “he settlement achieves significant [...]
The Kentucky House of Representatives on Friday voted 56-39 in favor of allowing charter schools in the state for the first time. House Bill 520, supported by Governor Matt Bevin and amended by Representative Phil Moffett , allows local school boards and the mayors of Lexington and Louisville to approve charter schools. The bill was [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Friday ruled in favor of the Secretary of the Interior in its efforts to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. Once nearly extinct, the gray wolf population has made a recovery such that it no longer meets the requirement to be [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday affirmed the dismissal of a case filed by the Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority against 97 defendants involved in the exploration and production of oil reserves, alleging their activities increased the risk of flooding in the region. The board [...]
The Minnesota House approved a bill on Thursday to prevent cities from implementing their own labor laws. HF 600 would ultimately prohibit local governments from regulating minimum wage, paid and unpaid leave, advance notice of work schedules, benefits, or other working conditions. The legislation, approved by a vote of 76-53, would apply retroactively, effectively repealing [...]
Eleven states, led by Texas, filed a document in federal court Thursday to withdraw a lawsuit against the US government, a week after a Dear Colleague letter from the Department of Justice overturned Obama-era guidance regarding bathroom use by transgender students. The lawsuit, which was first filed in the US District Court for the Northern [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonović, urged the government of Australia on Friday to include all women in the fight to stop violence against women. According to Šimonović, violence against women in Australia is at a pandemic level. Šimonović welcomed the implementation of some measures, such as the development of data collection [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported Friday that Sri Lanka has made slow progress towards establishing transitional justice. According to the report, while various ad hoc bodies of justice have been set up, these bodies have yet to present a sufficiently convincing or comprehensive transitional justice strategy to overcome [...]
Two UN rights experts called Friday for the Israeli government to discontinue policies that constrain human rights defenders. UN Special Rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Michel Forst say the increased restrictions, which primarily affect advocates in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, are related to three recent developments. First, they are concerned with the dispersal of a peaceful [...]
