The U.S. Justice Department informed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday that it would not pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a letter. This decision followed the Republican-controlled House’s party-line vote to hold Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio recordings of a special counsel…
Nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, litigation over abortion has surged dramatically. In 2022, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the court’s longstanding precedent had intensified debate and deepened division. He stated it was time to remove the abortion issue from the court’s…
Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google must face trial on U.S. antitrust enforcers’ claim that it illegally dominates the online advertising technology market, a federal judge ruled on Friday. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, denied Google’s motion to avoid a trial, according to court records. Google had argued for a summary judgment, asserting that antitrust laws…
A U.S. bankruptcy judge ordered the court-supervised liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ personal assets but dismissed the bankruptcy of his company, Free Speech Systems, without ordering its liquidation. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez appointed a Chapter 7 trustee to sell Jones’ assets, including his ownership stake in Free Speech Systems, the parent company of his…
A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected President Joe Biden’s administration’s bid to revive its directive requiring schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that align with their gender. This directive has faced blocking in 20 Republican-led states. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the Cincinnati,…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declared a federal ban on “bump stock” devices unlawful. These devices enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns. The justices, in a 6-3 ruling authored by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, upheld a lower court’s decision favoring Michael Cargill, a gun shop owner and gun rights advocate from…
U.S. immigrant rights groups sued the Biden administration over a new policy that bars most migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally from claiming asylum. Led by the American Civil Liberties Union, the groups argued that the restrictions implemented last week violated U.S. asylum law and that Biden failed to follow proper regulatory procedure. They…
Oklahoma’s highest court dismissed a lawsuit by the last two known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, who sought reparations for the violence and destruction that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Black people. The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld a judge’s decision from last year to dismiss the case, stating that the…
Rocket maker SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk faced a lawsuit on Wednesday from eight engineers who allege illegal termination for raising concerns about sexual harassment and discrimination against women. The engineers, comprising four women and four men, claim Musk ordered their firing in 2022 after they circulated a letter criticizing the billionaire as a…