The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Monday overturned a Texas District Court decision awarding Smartflash LLC a $533 million patent verdict against Apple . Smartflash asserted that Apple had infringed on media management patents held by Smartflash through Apple’s creation of the iTunes software. The appeals court found Smartflash’s claims to [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in Bethune Hill et al v. Virginia State Board of Education at al that Virginia’s redistricting scheme must be examined for racial bias. The case revolved around around the drawing of district lines in Virginia and whether race was a predominant consideration in the drawing of new districts after [...]
Around 330 individuals were put on trial Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the attempted coup in Turkey last July . The charges against the suspects range from murder to attempts to remove the government and prevent the parliament from conducting their work. If convicted, the individuals could face up to multiple life sentences. The [...]
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that St. Louis may raise its minimum wage in 2018. The court found that the city acted within its charter authority when it approved a wage increase to $11 an hour. The ruling by Missouri’s highest court reverses a circuit decision that struck down the increase in 2015 [...]
UN experts on Wednesday urged governments around the world to protect rare plants and animals. According to UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment John Knox, The rapid loss of biological diversity around the world should be setting off alarm bells. We are … on our way to the sixth global extinction of [...]
US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Tuesday that revokes gun restrictions on those with mental illnesses. During the Obama administration, individuals who received social security checks for mental illnesses and were deemed unfit to manage their own finances were added to the national background check database. HJ Res 40 was backed by the [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that law enforcement can take blood samples from unconscious drivers without a warrant in certain situations. The court stated that these circumstances include when delaying would lead to the destruction of evidence, such as blood alcohol levels. The case resulted from the case of David Howes, who crashed [...]
Italian President Sergio Mattarella granted a partial pardon Tuesday for ex-CIA officer Sabrina De Sousa related to the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric form a Milan street in 2003. The cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, “was taken to Egypt for questioning under the U.S. “extraordinary rendition” program.”De Sousa was one of 26 people who were [...]
A UN expert on Wednesday issued a report criticizing the “hyper-financialized” housing market. Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, addressed the issue to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. She said, “ousing has lost its social function and is seen instead as a vehicle for wealth and asset growth. It has [...]
Parties involved in the Syrian conflict committed war crimes against civilians as they fought for control of Aleppo between July and December 2016, according to a report released by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on Wednesday. The report states that Syrian forces repeatedly targeted hospitals, schools, orphanages, and [...]
