The President's Friday announcement that he was declaring a state of emergency along the country's southern border – with an eye toward allocating funds for the construction of his cherished border wall – was met with predictable outcry from both Democrats and legal experts across the country. While Republicans mostly rallied around the … [Read more...]
New York State Eyes Legal Challenge to Trump’s Emergency Declaration
New York’s state attorney general on Friday threatened legal action against U.S. President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration aimed at freeing up billions in funds to build a wall along the country’s border with Mexico, according to Reuters. New York’s Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement, “We will not stand for this … [Read more...]
Mountaintop Removal of Coal Causing Health Crisis in West Virginia
There’s a coal crisis in Appalachia, specifically in West Virginia, but the problem is not a lack of coal. There’s plenty of coal to be had in the Mountain State. In fact, 28 counties in West Virginia produce coal on a regular basis, and the West Virginia Coal Industry provides about 30,000 direct jobs in West Virginia, including miners, mine … [Read more...]
Legislation Seeks Cannabis Reform
Oregon Senator, Ron Wyden, proposed legislation that aims to ease the conflict between states where cannabis is legal in some form and the federal law, which categorizes marijuana as a dangerous illegal drug just like heroin, LSD, and cocaine, for example. While a number of states have adopted legalized medical marijuana, and some states have … [Read more...]
Mexico’s ‘El Chapo’ Drug Cartel Boss Convicted On All 10 U.S. Charges
The world’s most infamous cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was found guilty in a U.S. court on Tuesday of running a violent gang that smuggled tons of drugs into the United States, according to Reuters. Jurors in federal court in Brooklyn found Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, guilty on all 10 counts. He faces a possible sentence of … [Read more...]
Ohio’s Down Syndrome Abortion Ban Heads to Federal Court
In December 2017, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed into law House Bill 214, which prevented any physician from performing an abortion if he knew that one of the reasons the woman sought the abortion was because her baby had Down syndrome. Planned Parenthood and Preterm-Cleveland, however, joined forces and challenged the law almost immediately. … [Read more...]
Two Partisan Gerrymandering Cases to Go Before Supreme Court in March
For decades, advocates and attorneys have begged the Supreme Court to finally rule on partisan gerrymandering. But while the court has occasionally indicated that there could be a gerrymander so extreme it fails to pass constitutional muster, the justices have so far declined to weigh in decisively on the issue. That will change this March, … [Read more...]
Synagogue Massacre Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges
The man accused of killing eleven people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh pleaded not guilty to new charges, according to Reuters. Robert Bowers was charged with additional federal counts, including hate crimes, for assaulting the Tree of Life synagogue in late October. The 46-year-old pleaded not guilty to the 19 new charges. Bowers now faces … [Read more...]
Soon, No Permit Necessary for Concealed Gun in South Dakota
South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem (R), who’s only been in office for a month, signed a bill repealing the law that requires people to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in South Dakota. Noem said she was proud that this was the very first bill she signed into law in her gubernatorial freshman year. In her words, “It's special for me to … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Blocks Controversial Louisiana Abortion Restrictions By 5-4 Vote
In a 5-4 ruling issued late in the day on February 7, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Louisiana law that likely would have put the majority of the state's abortion providers out of business while running afoul of recent Supreme Court precedent. Perhaps most interesting and significant aspect of the decision for the immediate future of … [Read more...]
Former Florida State Senate Aide Receives $900,000 As Settlement for Sexual Harassment
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, journalists and activists focused significant attention on the United States Congress. Careful investigative reporting uncovered a number of truly dispiriting (and often disgusting) stories involving Congressmen harassing aides and other victims. However, just as sexual misconduct exists in almost every … [Read more...]
Texas Coal Power Plants Contaminate Surrounding Areas
Power companies in the U.S. are now required to analyze groundwater data and report those findings to the federal government. The Environmental Integrity Project, an agency that reviews those findings, has found that groundwater under sixteen Texas coal plants showed unsafe levels of contaminants in coal ash—the byproduct of combusted coal. Arsenic … [Read more...]
Executive Order Allowing for More Logging Draws Criticism
Late last year, California was besieged by some of the worst wildfires in the history of the state. Countless homes were destroyed. There were tens of billions of dollars in damages. Dozens of people died. In response, the federal government leaped into action to provide the necessary aid. And President Trump, surveying the tragic carnage, … [Read more...]
Virginia Attorney General Says He Wore Blackface In College
Virginia’s attorney general on Wednesday admitted to having worn blackface at a college party, becoming the state’s third high-ranking Democrat caught up in scandal since the release Friday of a racist photo from Governor Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook. Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement that he had donned brown face … [Read more...]
Virginia Introduces Bill to Make Clergy Members Mandated Reporters
There is little else as important as the safety, health, and wellbeing of our children. In an effort to protect our children, every state in the country has a statute that outlines who is required to make a report when they suspect or become aware that child abuse or neglect has taken place—they are referred to as “mandated reporters.” However, … [Read more...]
New Restrictions on Semiautomatic Assault Rifles Go Into Effect in Washington State
In November 2018, voters in the state of Washington approved Initiative 1639, an omnibus gun control ballot measure that included a range of provisions. It was the most ambitious gun control ballot measure in the history of Washington State. And when the calendar ticked over to 2019 on January 1, one important element of the proposal – … [Read more...]
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