The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) released a final environmental impact statement on the dangers of fracking on Monday, which carries the force of law and officially bans fracking in the state. Signed by NYDEC Commissioner Joseph Martens , the report cited significant water withdrawals, increased stormwater runoffs, potential severe flooding and inadequate [...]
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee said Monday that extremist groups’ destruction of antiquities and heritage sites in conflict zones could amount to war crimes. The committee noted particularly the Islamic State’s (IS) destruction of the ancient city of Hatra in Iraq, and was deeply concerned about the group’s capture of Palmyra in May. Both cities [...]
Egypt’s chief prosecutor, Hisham Barakat , was killed Monday in Cairo by a car bomb attack on his convoy. Barakat’s vehicle was attacked by a car outfitted with explosives that was remotely detonated when his motorcade left his home in Heliopolis. The prosecutor’s death marks the country’s first assassination of a senior official in 25 [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in four cases. In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin , Abigail Fisher brought suit against the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), alleging that its race-conscious admission program violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Fisher was denied admission to UT Austin [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that the EPA could not make regulations regarding the toxic emissions of power plants without considering costs. In Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency , the court considered the question of whether the EPA could create regulations under theClean Air Act irrespective of costs that would be incurred. [...]
The US Supreme court on Monday ruled 5-4 in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission that the Elections Clause of the US Constitution permits the state of Arizona to adopt a commission to draw congressional districts. At issue was a proposition passed by Arizona voters that created a special commission to draw congressional [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 in Glossip v. Gross that Oklahoma’s use of the sedative midazolam as part of its lethal injection protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment . The issue came before the court after Oklahoma used the midazolam as a replacement when it [...]
The US Periodic Review Board (PRB) announced Friday that one of the longest-held detainees at Guantanamo Bay may now be released to his home country of Saudi Arabia. Abdul Rahman Shalabi has been on a nine-year hunger strike and would be released into a Saudi Arabian government rehabilitation program. Shalabi was detained in January 2002 [...]
Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina announced Friday that the country had certified the citizenship of thousands whose status had been in question for almost a decade. Their citizenship was in question based on their Haitan-immigrant-parents illegal entry into the country. As a result, they had had trouble enrolling in school, travelling, getting formal work, marrying [...]
European Union leaders announced Friday that a final quota compromise had been reached regarding the large number of illegal immigrants arriving in Italy and Greece after crossing the Mediterranean sea. It is estimated that over 120,000 migrants have made the dangerous sea crossing in the past year, most fleeing from Syria and other war-torn nations. [...]
