The state of Washington emerged as another opponent to the REAL ID act Thursday, with Governor Chris Gregoire signing state legislation rejecting the controversial federal law. Washington is now the fifth state to pass such a measure, joining Maine , Arkansas, Idaho, and Montana. Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer just signed anti-REAL ID legislation into law [...]
Two former administrators at a Texas juvenile prison pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of improper sexual conduct with six students. Former West Texas State School principal John Paul Hernandez and former assistant superintendent Ray E. Brookins, who were arrested last week , each resigned in 2005 after an investigation by the Texas Rangers uncovered [...]
Cuban anti-Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles posted bond and was released from a New Mexico jail on Thursday after ongoing debate about his release. Carriles, 79, a former CIA operative trained by the US for the failed anti-Castro Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, was arrested in 2005 for illegally entering the United States and [...]
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Thursday rejected a call for his resignation made by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the US Attorney firing scandal . Gonzales faced hours of tough questioning from senators during the hearing, but maintained that "nothing improper occurred." In his prepared remarks , he expressed [...]
US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and other leading members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on Wednesday introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2007 , which would overhaul current US patent laws in three major ways. First, it would change the current system of granting patent rights to the first inventor and instead adopt [...]
A spokesperson for New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) said Thursday that the governor would sign a same-sex civil union bill if it is passed by the New Hampshire Senate next Thursday. HB 905 , passed by the state House of Representatives earlier this month, would authorize same-sex couples to enter into civil unions entailing [...]
The European Union Thursday approved a framework decision aimed at criminalizing denial of the Holocaust and other genocides following six years of intense debate. The end product was described as a carefully-balanced compromise by EU diplomats, which allows EU countries to opt out of enforcing the law if national laws do not prohibit similar conduct. [...]
The Bangladesh High Court Thursday received a petition from a supporter of former Bangladesh prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia Thursday to halt Khaleda's exile, arguing that the forced expulsion was a violation of her human rights. Government sources said Khaleda had agreed to be exiled from Bangladesh in exchange for leniency for her sons Tareque [...]
An incarcerated Chinese activist filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Yahoo! Inc. , alleging that the Internet giant aided and abetted human rights violations committed by the Chinese government by providing Chinese officials with information, including e-mail records and user ID numbers, that helped them to identify pro-democracy activists. Imprisoned Internet activist Wang Xiaoning brought [...]
The Romanian Parliament voted Thursday to suspend Romanian President Traian Basescu for allegedly violating the constitution . Members of parliament voted 322-108 in favor of the suspension. According to the constitution, Romania must hold a national referendum on Basescu's impeachment within 30 days. The parliamentary vote was brought by the leftist opposition party PSD and [...]
