DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that mail ballots that are improperly dated won't be counted in November, a move that could have major implications in the closely divided battleground state. The decision reverses a lower court ruling from last month that found it was unconstitutional to reject mail ballots that had a missing or incorrect date. "This makes mail voting in the Keystone State less susceptible to fraud," he said. "Today’s procedural ruling is a setback for Pennsylvania voters, but we will keep fighting for them. Democrats have utilized mail voting more heavily than Republicans in recent elections in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Persons: Michael Whatley, Steve Loney, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Votebeat, Kamala Harris, Democratic Sen, Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Organizations: Republican National Committee, Pennsylvania Republican Party, Commonwealth, ACLU, Public Interest Law, Pennsylvania, Trump, Democratic Locations: Pennsylvania, Keystone

☆ Peter Schey, Tenacious Lawyer Who Defended Migrant Rights, Dies at 77
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Trip Gabriel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Peter Schey, a driven defender of the human rights of migrants crossing the Southern border, who won landmark legal cases requiring humane care for undocumented children and the right of migrants to attend school and receive health care in states that tried to bar those services, died in Los Angeles on April 2. His death, in a hospital, was caused by complications of lymphoma, said Melinda Bird, a former wife. He took on both Democratic and Republican administrations in Washington. He was a leader of the legal team that negotiated the seminal Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1997 government measure safeguarding detained, unaccompanied migrant children. He fought the Trump administration when it tried to tear up the deal 21 years later.

Persons: Peter Schey, Melinda Bird, Schey, shay, Trump Organizations: Democratic, Republican Locations: Los Angeles, South Africa, Washington

☆ He was once hailed as the pride of China. Now nationalists are coming for this Nobel laureate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Now, some of China’s most zealous online nationalists have a new target in their crosshairs: the country’s first officially recognized Nobel laureate. Mo Yan receives the 2012 Nobel Literature Prize from King Carl Gustaf of Sweden during an award ceremony on December 10, 2012 in Stockholm. He accused Wu of creating a publicity stunt by “maliciously framing” the Nobel laureate and taking his words out of context. In 2011, he was named the vice chairman of the state-run Chinese Writers Association – an appointment that could not have been made without the blessing of the party. In 2022, Sima Nan, a nationalist pundit known for his inflammatory criticism of the United States, famously accused Mo’s Nobel win of being a Western effort to smear China.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — They’ve, Mo Yan, Xi Jinping, Xi, Wu Wanzheng, Mao Xinghuo, Wu, Guan Moye, –, Mo, King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Jonathan Nackstrand, ” Zhang Yongsheng, Hu Xijin, Hu, ”, Murong Xuecun, “ Xi, Mao, Writers Association –, Liu Xiaobo, Liu, caricaturize, “, doesn’t, Sima Nan, Mo’s Nobel, ” Murong Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Communist, Getty, Red Guards, Tongji University, Global Times, Writers Association, Chinese Writers Association Locations: China, Hong Kong, Mo, Weibo, Stockholm, AFP, Shanghai, Beijing, Shandong, United States

Evangelical Christian conservatives have long had allies in top Republican leadership in Congress. Religious conservatives cheered Johnson's election Wednesday, after which he brought his Bible to the rostrum before taking the oath of office. “Someone asked me today in the media, ‘People are curious, what does Mike Johnson think about any issue?’” Johnson said Thursday in a Fox News interview. One might call him a happy warrior.”Progressive faith leaders expressed alarm at Johnson‘s election, and his remarks on Wednesday evoking the Bible as saying authorities are chosen by God. He still voted with most House Republicans to overturn Biden's victories in two states.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson's, “, ’ ” Johnson, Donald Trump’s, Paul Raushenbush, Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Newt Gingrich, Johnson, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Brent Leatherwood, Leatherwood, what's, — Johnson, Kristen Waggoner, Albert Mohler, Johnson’s speakership, ”, ” Mohler, Fea, ” Raushenbush, Nathan Empsall, Empsall, Joe Biden's, Amanda Tyler, Johnson “, ” Tyler, David Crary, Holly Meyer Organizations: Fox, Interfaith Alliance, Southern Baptist, Southern, Liberty University, Southern Baptist Convention, Liberty Commission, Southern Baptists, Defending, ADF, Shreveport Times, U.S, Supreme, Freedom Guard, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Messiah University, Christian, Fea, Faithful, Republicans, Capitol, Baptist, Religious Liberty, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Southern, Virginia, Louisiana, Shreveport, Kentucky, Louisville , Kentucky, Pennsylvania, United States, Israel, America, Faithful America

July 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed an Ohio public interest lawyer as President Joe Biden's latest nominee to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a vote that was largely along party lines. Rachel Bloomekatz was approved by a vote of 50-48 to the Cincinnati-based appeals court as Senate Democrats push to confirm judges ahead of a planned recess next month. Bloomekatz, who launched the public interest law firm Bloomekatz Law in Ohio in 2019, has represented consumers, workers and voters in appellate cases. Bloomekatz previously worked at Washington, D.C.-based Gupta Wessler, a law firm that represents plaintiffs in appellate litigation, and global law firm Jones Day.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Rachel Bloomekatz, Chuck Schumer, litigator, Bloomekatz, Joe Manchin, Stephen Breyer, Donald Trump, Gupta, Jones, Andrew Goudsward, Jacqueline Thomsen, Jamie Freed Organizations: U.S, Senate, Circuit, Appeals, Democrats, Top, Bloomekatz Law, Gun Safety, Republicans, Democratic, Supreme, Washington , D.C, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Cincinnati, U.S ., Tennessee, Washington ,, Washington

☆ Even Fox News' top legal commentator says the indictment against Trump is 'extremely damning'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A top Fox News legal commentator called the indictment against Donald Trump "extremely damning." Turley on Friday warned Trump's legal team: "This is not an indictment you can dismiss." If Donald Trump wanted to hear good news about his unsealed indictment, Fox News on Friday wasn't the place to find it. "It is an extremely damning indictment," Turley, a conservative jurist and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, said. But even so, Turley warned Trump's legal team: "This is not an indictment you can dismiss."

Persons: Donald Trump, Jonathan Turley, Turley, Trump's, Trump, Shapiro, stashed, Sean Hannity's, Hannity, he's Organizations: Fox News, Trump, Fox, Public, George Washington University, The Justice Department, DOJ Locations: Trump's, Lago, Florida

Summary Among 2022 law graduates, 10% landed government jobs while 8% went into public interestSome schools had much higher percentage of grads go into those jobs(Reuters) - When it comes to sending graduates into government and public interest jobs, no law school comes close to the City University of New York School of Law. The Albuquerque school saw just shy of 40% of its most recent class go into government and public interest jobs. Public interest jobs include public defenders, labor unions, and positions at organizations funded by the Legal Services Corp. Some law schools send significantly higher percentages of their alumni into government and public interest jobs than the national average. Read more:These law schools sent the most grads to federal clerkshipsLarge U.S. law firms love hiring from these schoolsThese law schools aced the job market in 2022Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Justice Department’s April 20 letter includes guidance for state and local police, prosecutors, judges and probation officers. Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, told me that the DOJ's voice is critical on these issues. The earlier memo included a section that laid out the principle that courts must not use bail practices that incarcerate people solely because they can’t afford a fee. The Justice Department didn't address my specific questions about why the section on bail was nixed. Lauren Jones, legal director at the National Center for Access to Justice, told me that there's clear overlap between cash bail practices and justice system fees.

☆ A South Carolina business owner was threatened with 'ruinous fines and jail time' after zoning laws were changed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Changes to zoning laws forced a South Carolina business owner to lay off three of his five workers. Rafael Chinchilla, the owner of Tires 2 Go, a tire retailer in Simpsonville, South Carolina, was told in August 2022 to stop offering U-Haul rentals or face "ruinous fines and jail time." But under South Carolina law, "a property owner has a vested right to continue a nonconforming use in existence when his property is rezoned, barring a factual showing that continuing the use would harm the public health, safety, or welfare." The order forced the business owner to lay off three of his five employees as it had "drastically reduced the income from his business," the nonprofit wrote in its letter to the city Friday. It added that "his use as a U-Haul rental business was grandfathered in, and the City should not violate South Carolina law to destroy it."

Companies Hormel Foods Corp FollowNov 15 (Reuters) - Hormel Foods' labeling of a meat product line as "natural" despite using the same hogs and production methods as its other brands shows the U.S. meat labeling system needs reforms, said consumer advocates and documents released on Tuesday from a lawsuit the company is close to settling. “This is an endemic problem, not a Hormel problem.”Hormel said the company complies with USDA rules and guidelines for labeling and that it stands behind its Natural Choice products. "The term ‘natural’ is practically unregulated and can/will be used widely – as a result there is little to no difference between ‘natural’ meat and ‘conventional’ meat," read the slides, which were part of the document release. The presentation also advised companies to appeal to consumers' desire for wholesome products by packaging their meat in cardboard. Hormel and ALDF asked the court to dismiss the case last Thursday after agreeing to settlement terms.

(Reuters) - The shooting death of teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer prompted the U.S. Justice Department's most significant investigation of policing practices since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. The DOJ also pointed out that “police departments in surrounding municipalities and the County” have practices similar to Ferguson, although that issue was “beyond the scope” of the investigation. In fact, federal officials even considered opening another investigation of the St. Louis police department for similar problems, Reuters reported in October 2020. Ferguson officials expressed concerns that the reforms required to stop exploitative policing in their city would “cripple city finances,” Reuters reported in March 2016. (A measure to institute a modest property tax increase to fund the reforms didn't get the required two-thirds majority vote.)

☆ Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández faces off against Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández is running against Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District. Democratic incumbent Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández faces off against Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District. New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District candidatesLeger Fernández, first elected in 2020, is seeking a second term in Congress. Martinez Johnson, Leger Fernández's challenger, is an environmental engineer who's worked with energy companies on the eastern side of the state. Voting history for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional DistrictNew Mexico's 3rd Congressional District covers large swaths of southeast New Mexico.

☆ Trans Floridians sue to block Medicaid rule excluding gender-affirming care
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Advocacy groups sued Wednesday to block a new Florida rule that bars Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming health care, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration adopted the rule last month after it issued a report that claimed gender-affirming procedures have the “potential for harmful long term affects.” The rule took effect Aug. 21. in the lawsuit, said the new Medicaid rule will prevent her and her husband, Joshua, from being able to access puberty-blocking medication prescribed by K.F.’s doctors. They are also represented by two health advocacy groups, the Florida Health Justice Project and the National Health Law Program. Accredited medical groups — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association — say gender-affirming medical care is safe and medically necessary.

☆ One millionaire landlord was behind half of Milwaukee's evictions during Covid lockdowns last June. Here's the story of how corporate landlords helped drive the evictions crisis
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-26 | by ( Abigail Higgins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

Corporate landlords in cities like Milwaukee helped drive an evictions crisis during the pandemic. Corporate landlords, which own almost 50% of rental properties, are more likely to evict, advocates say. Before the 2008 recession, corporate landlords owned 20% of rental properties; today, it's nearing a whopping 50%. Since the Center for Disease Control's evictions moratorium took effect last September, evictions by corporate landlords have actually been steadily increasing. There is no national database of evictions, and evictions are only tracked at the level of the country's more than 3,000 counties.

Search resuls for: "Public Interest Law"

14 mentions found