The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the US government can continue to operate its domestic surveillance program pending appeal of US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's August 17 ruling that the government's program is unconstitutional. Taylor originally ordered the shutdown of the surveillance program, but held last Thursday that [...]
As the United States and European Union continue to negotiate a new joint airline passenger data-sharing agreement, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff reportedly reassured EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini via telephone Tuesday that the US will continue to abide by the now-lapsed 2004 agreement until the two sides reach a new compromise. [...]
The Supreme Court of Missouri heard oral arguments Wednesday in two appeals challenging the September 14 ruling that a state law requiring voters to show a Missouri-issued photo identification at the polls violates the state constitution . The judges discussed whether the requirement constituted an impermissible additional requirement that placed an undue burden on voters, [...]
Salvador and Mabel Mangano pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 35 charges of negligent homicide and 64 charges of cruelty to the infirm for their alleged refusal in August 2005 to evacuate the residents of St. Rita's Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish after a mandatory evacuation order was issued in response to Hurricane Katrina . [...]
David Cynamon : "I represent the four remaining Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, captured in Pakistan by bounty hunters and sold to the US government. Before being sold, these captives, who were charity workers, were not given any hearing or the benefit of any investigation. They simply were turned over for the cash payment. [...]
Officials from the European Union and the US are adamant that references in the newly approved Serbian constitution declaring Kosovo part of Serbia will not impact ongoing United Nations discussions over the region's future status. Although still technically a province of the former Yugoslav state, Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999 when a [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday criticized the decision of the UN Human Rights Council to close access to its examination of last year's uprising in Andijan that resulted in the massacre of unarmed Uzbek civilians . HRW released a briefing paper that discusses the failure of the Council to publicly review Uzbekistan's human rights [...]
US officials have expressed concerns over "restrictions on civil liberties" in Thailand and elements in the 39-article interim constitution "that appear to give the military an ongoing and influential role in decision-making." A US spokesman on Tuesday also warned the military junta, which seized control of the government last month, that it should make a [...]
US District Judge Paul Gadola ruled Tuesday that two former executives of Kmart will stand trial for allegedly misleading investors about the retailer's finances before it filed for bankruptcy four years ago. Former Chief Executive Officer Charles Conaway and former Chief Financial Officer John McDonald had asked the court to dismiss the civil complaint filed [...]
The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Tuesday excluded from union eligibility workers who "assign others to a location, shift or significant tasks" in a case involving 12 charge nurses in a Minnesota hospital. In its decision , a three-member NLRB panel interpreted the definition of the terms "assign," "responsibility to direct," and "independent [...]
