National and State Trends in Fraud & Identity Theft: January — December 2004, Federal Trade Commission , February 1, 2005 . Excerpt: Between January and December 2004, Consumer Sentinel, the complaint database developed and maintained by the FTC, received over 635,000 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints. Consumers reported losses from fraud of more than [...]

Videotapes show Guantanamo Bay military prison riot squads subduing some detainees by punching them, tying one to a gurney and forcing them to strip from the waist down, according to a report by investigators from the US Southern Command obtained by AP. Investigators found no signs of systemic abuse at Guantanamo, but concluded that the [...]

In Tuesday's environmental law news, the US House Committee on Resources has announced that it is expecting to vote on February 9 on a broad energy bill that would allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) , speed up approval of drilling permits in areas already open to energy exploration, cut federal [...]

Following up on a story reported earlier today on JURIST's Paper Chase, Senate Democrats said Tuesday they will not try to filibuster the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, although they are expected to delay a final vote until at least Thursday. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid confirmed that Democrats would not stand in [...]

Following up a story reported earlier today on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US State Department has welcomed the release of the UN report on the violence in Sudan , although it has maintained its characterization of the actions as genocide, contrary to the UN's conclusions. The US previously called the Sudanese government's actions in Darfur [...]

Slovenia's National Assembly ratified the European Constitution Tuesday with an overwhelming 79-4 vote in favor, making it the third country to do so following Lithuania and Hungary . The constitution requires ratification by all 25 member states before it takes effect in November 2006. Spain is the first major EU country set to vote on [...]

Israel's attorney general said Tuesday that he had previously been unaware of the government's secret seizure of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem under a 1950 land law. Attorney General Meni Manuz called the plan illegal and ordered the government to halt it, arguing the law did not apply since many Palestinians were being kept from [...]

The British government has released an Egyptian man it had held since December 2001 without trial or charges, the Home Office reported Tuesday. The man, identified only as "C," was released from prison Monday because there was not enough evidence to hold him as a terror suspect, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said. No conditions were [...]

Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) , who have been examining the trading schemes Enron employed on Western power consumers, contend that the energy giant should be forced to relinquish all profits, some $1.9 billion, earned in that region between January 1997 and June 2003. Just last summer [...]

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1564 of 18 September 2004, January 25, 2005. Excerpt from the executive summary: Based on a thorough analysis of the information gathered in the course of its investigations, the Commission established that the Government of the [...]