Missouri voters Tuesday narrowly approved Constitutional Amendment #2 , a stem cell initiative that would prevent Missouri from criminalizing the use of stem cells in certain techniques such as therapeutic cloning. With 3572 of 3734 precincts reporting early Wednesday afternoon, the unofficial count provided by the Missouri Secretary of State's office was: Yes votes 1,024,824 [...]

Arizona became the first US state to reject an amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman after voters Tuesday narrowly rejected Proposition 107 , which would have amended the Arizona Constitution to effectively ban gay marriage as well as civil unions and domestic partnerships. The measure was sponsored by Protect [...]

A Chilean appeals court Wednesday again stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of immunity, this time in a case involving the 1974 disappearance of a Spanish priest. The priest, Antonio Llido, was arrested by the Chilean DINA after expressing opposition to Pinochet. The court will determine whether Pinochet is eligible for bail this week. Pinochet, 90, [...]

South Dakota voters roundly rejected the so-called Jail 4 Judges ballot initiative Tuesday, meaning the state will not establish a 13-person oversight committee with the power to sanction judges, prosecutors, and other decision makers who make judicial decisions that break certain rules to be established by the panel at a later date. The panel would [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld a lower court order vacating the criminal conviction of the former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay . Lay died of a heart attack in July, six weeks after being convicted on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy . Russell P. Butler, a former Enron shareholder [...]

A British immigration judge Wednesday adjourned a hearing after a lawyer in his courtroom refused to remove her Muslim niqab despite being ordered to by the judge because he claimed he could not hear her speak. Shabnam Mughal refused to take off the black veil covering all but her eyes, telling the judge it would [...]

South Dakota voters Tuesday rejected a controversial law banning most abortions passed by the state legislature earlier this year. With 818 out of 818 precincts reporting Wednesday, the final unofficial results for Referred Law 6 were: NO 185948 56% YES 148666 44% The abortion ban, seen as a direct challenge to the US Supreme Court’s [...]

Five senior judges from Shenzhen, China have been arrested and 20 other judges implicated in a crackdown on corruption during the months of June to October, the China Daily reported Wednesday. The raids begun after prosecutors arrested retired judge Liao Zhaohui and the head of a Shenzhen auction house, accusing Liao of accepting bribes from [...]

Rhode Island on Tuesday granted some convicted felons the right to vote, according to the latest unofficial count of ballots on the state's Question 2 . Question 2 would amend the Rhode Island constitution to grant the voting franchise to those felons who are currently serving parole or a probation sentence. Here are the latest [...]

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that it would review a lower court decision allowing a class action lawsuit filed against the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program to proceed to trial. The lawsuit, brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation , alleges that AT&T violated US citizens' rights to privacy and several federal [...]