A Senate floor debate began Tuesday to discuss a proposed Gun Liability Law that would prevent lawsuits against gun manufacturers, dealers and trade associations when crimes or accidents involving firearms occur. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said the legislation would stop "unjust lawsuits" intended to "drive gun manufacturers out of business." Democrats have voiced their opposition [...]
US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts wrote an opinion Tuesday, dismissing a class-action suit brought by firefighters and federal law enforcement officers who sought increased disability benefits upon retirement. The retirees were hoping to gain higher benefits before meeting the threshold requirements of reaching the retirement age of 50 and serving for over 20 years. [...]
A Mexican court Tuesday refused to issue a warrant for the arrest of former Mexican president Luis Echeverria for his alleged involvement in the 1971 "Corpus Christi massacre," leading to the deaths of nearly a dozen student protesters. The current president of Mexico, Vicente Fox , had called for an investigation into the massacre and [...]
A US immigration judge has denied a request to set bail and free former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles , who is wanted in Venezuela for his involvement in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban plane. Posada is currently being held for illegally entering the US and his attorney asked for his release during Posada's [...]
Republican senators Tuesday urged Democrats to commit to a timeframe for US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' confirmation vote, voicing their preference to have him sworn in as a justice prior to the court reconvening on October 3. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) said if he does not receive agreement on a vote [...]
Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, President Bush's nominee to head the SEC, Rep. Christopher Cox , told the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday that he would vigorously enforce securities laws. Cox also pledged to enforce the controversial Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rule requiring companies to count stock options given to employees as a [...]
Leading Tuesday's states brief, the ACLU filed a lawsuit today against North Carolina asking the court to rule that a "holy scripture" suitable for oath administration includes the religious texts of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and other non-Christian faiths as well as the Christian Bible. Last month, two state judges in Guilford County ruled that an [...]
A witness testified at a military Article 32 hearing Tuesday that dogs handled by two American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison bit and injured two Iraqi detainees. Pvt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, who in November was convicted of abusing Abu Ghraib detainees , alleged that the soldiers, Sgts. Santos A. Cardona and Michael J. [...]
An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a man to a four year jail term for his role in the 2004 Jakarta suicide car bombing outside the Australian embassy. Agus Ahmad is the second man convicted by the South Jakarta district court for taking part in the bombing and one of eleven militants on trial . The [...]
The UN Security Council Tuesday unanimously adopted a resoluton to closely scrutinize and keep track of all countries and rebel organizations that abuse children in any way or recruit children as soldiers . Resolution 1612 allows the UN to monitor the governments and rebel organizations in Burundi, Ivory Coast, Congo Republic, the Democratic Republic of [...]
