Civil Society Groups Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reject Chevron’s…

Several prominent environmental and human rights groups are demanding that the U.S. Supreme Court block Chevron's ongoing attacks on their Free Speech rights and its use of false evidence in the historic Ecuador pollution case, where the oil giant faces the largest environmental judgment ever after admitting that it dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest. Seventeen separate environmental and human rights groups filed two amicus briefs today urging the justices to overturn Chevron's retaliatory racketeering suit against Ecuadorian Amazonian communities and their lawyers.

Reince Priebus says Trump wants power to sue news outlets

Reince Priebus insists Trump still wants the power to sue news outlets -and says changing libel laws 'is something that we've looked at' White House chief of staff says a looser libel lawsuit standard is something that has been discussed inside the administration Trump first raised the idea of taking the NY Times and The Washington Post to court in a February 2016 campaign rally, pledging to 'sue them and win money' The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a free press, and a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling sets a very high bar for proving news libel At Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner, comic Hasan Minhaj said Trump had boycotted the event because he 'doesn't care about free speech' White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on Sunday that loosening America's libel laws to allow the president to sue news outlets over unflattering coverage 'is something that ... (more)

Latest use of sedative keeps death penalty debate alive

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - Is unorthodox the same as cruel and unusual punishment? It's the central question of the current U.S. death penalty debate, highlighted by the latest execution involving a disputed sedative that appeared to involve discomfort to the inmate. States struggling to find lethal drugs believe they've got the answer in midazolam, a sedative that's taking the place of barbiturates and anesthetics no longer available because drug manufacturers don't want them used in executions.

Texas congressman tearfully begs God’s forgiveness for abortion, same-sex marriage

In case anybody didn't know that Texas U.S. Rep. Randy Weber was conservative, his tearful request for God's forgiveness removed all doubt. Weber, R-Alvin, took the podium at the annual "Washington - A Man of Prayer" event in the nation's capitol in Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

A snapshot of Trump’s first 100 days: summarized in numbers

In his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has produced hundreds of tweets, fired scores of rockets at Syria, signed dozens of executive orders, made one big move on the Supreme Court and signed no major legislation. He's grumbled about the pointlessness of judging presidents by a 100-day standard: "It's an artificial barrier.

Iran says US seized $3.5B of its assets in “highway robbery”

News selected on topics and regions - oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector The US government seized $3.5 billion assets of the Central Bank of Iran in an act that can surely be called a highway robbery, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a conference of Iranian-European bankers, Mehr news agency reported April 29. A Luxembourg court in March said that a 2016 verdict to freeze the assets of the $1.6 billion of CBI in the country was legal.

US executions: New troubles could resonate in upcoming case

It's the central question of the current U.S. death penalty debate, highlighted by the latest execution involving a disputed sedative that appeared to involve discomfort to the inmate. States struggling to find lethal drugs believe they've got the answer in midazolam, a sedative that's taking the place of barbiturates and anesthetics no longer available because drug manufacturers don't want them used in executions.

KQED Seeks to Unseal Video of Historic California Prop 8 Marriage Equality Trial

Today, the Human Rights Campaign , the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, backed efforts by Prop 8 KQED to release the full record of the groundbreaking case, including videotapes, which have remained under court seal. Prop 8 was the 2008 amendment to the California Constitution that stripped the state of marriage equality and was ultimately overturned by the United States Supreme Court in the case Perry v.

Sanctuary-city ruling not activist

An executive order signed by President Donald Trump attempted to penalize so-called sanctuary cities. The order - one of an unprecedented 32 to be signed by Trump in 100 days of office, despite his attacks on his predecessor's use of executive orders - threatens to cut off federal funding from local governments that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities.

The Latest: Inmate lurches 20 times during execution

The Latest on Arkansas' effort to execute a fourth inmate before its supply of a lethal injection drug expires on Sunday : An Arkansas inmate executed for the 1999 killing of a former deputy warden following an escape lurched 20 times on the gurney before three lethal drugs took his life. Kenneth Williams was executed Thursday night.

Minority groups want trial on Texas voting maps before 2018

Three losses in federal court in barely a month over its voting laws have raised the stakes for Texas at a hearing before a three-judge panel. The San Antonio-based justices on Thursday could begin answering key questions, including if the state's voting maps will need to be redrawn before the 2018 election and, if so, will courts or the Republican-controlled state Legislature do it? They may also shed light on Texas' risk of becoming the first state forced back into federal oversight since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down much of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.

Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Moore running for US Senate

Supporters of suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore gather to listen to him announce his plan to run for U.S. Senate at a news conference Wednesday, April 26, 2017, on the steps of the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. The fiery Republican jurist, who was suspended from the bench on accusations that he urged defiance of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing gays and lesbians to marry, is running for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Website aims to help women self-induce abortions at home using medication

An international advocacy group concerned about restrictive laws in the United States plans to help women self-induce abortions at home, offering online advice and counseling about how to use medications that can terminate their pregnancies. Women Help Women, a three-year-old organization headquartered in the Netherlands, this week launched an online service to provide one-on-one counseling services for women seeking to end their early pregnancies using the abortion pill, which is legally available only by prescription in the United States but can be purchased on the Internet or from other countries.