Topic: Law
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Playing the IRS card: Six presidents who used the IRS to bash political foes
Since the advent of the federal income tax about a century ago, several presidents – or their zealous underlings – have directed the IRS to use its formidable police powers to harass or punish enemies, political rivals, and administration critics. Here are six infamous episodes.
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Briefing
IRS 101: Seven questions about the tea party scandal
How the tables have turned: The Internal Revenue Service is the one under the microscope now, as revelations emerged Friday that the agency wrongly targeted conservative groups seeking nonprofit status. Here’s an accounting of what has happened, along with the ramifications.
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Where do things stand at Guantánamo? Six basic questions answered.
President Obama this week pledged to “reengage” with Congress to find a way to close the terror detention camp at the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, naval base. The renewed focus comes as 100 of the 166 detainees are reported to be engaged in a hunger strike. Here is a brief look at where things stand now.
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10 best books of May, according to Amazon's editors
Amazon staffers say these books are the cream of the crop among May releases.
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GMO, Organic, and seven other food labels you should know
A quick, easy guide to nine commonly seen (and misunderstood) food labels, from 'GMO' to 'grass-fed.'
All Content
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Kenya police assault, seek bribes from Somalia refugees, report says
Human Rights Watch says that thousands of Somali refugees fleeing the war in Somalia are met by Kenyan police who harass, assault, and even rape them. Kenyan officials deny the allegations.
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Ronnie Lee Gardner, Utah death-row inmate facing firing squad, denied federal stay
Ronnie Lee Gardner, Utah death-row inmate facing firing squad, denied federal stay to his Friday execution while he pursues a civil rights lawsuit.
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US opposes ICC bid to make 'aggression' a crime under international law
The Obama administration has resisted efforts by the International Criminal Court to include 'aggression' as a crime, mainly because it could impact US military operations abroad.
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Arizona lawmaker Russell Pearce takes aim at automatic citizenship
Legal scholars laugh out loud at Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce's proposal to limit automatic citizenship and warn that it would be blatantly unconstitutional.
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FTC head says he supports AMA. He should be investigating it.
FTC Chairman Leibowitz is courting the American Medical Association (AMA). That's not a plus for consumers.
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Israel announces Gaza aid flotilla inquiry, Turkey not satisfied
Israel opened a limited investigation into the legality of its raid on the Gaza aid flotilla. Irish and Canadian observers will participate. Israel and the US hope the move will reduce the country's international isolation, but critics say plan doesn't go far enough.
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Without a Paddle
How a grueling kayak race helped heal a bruised ex-husband.
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In BART murder case, police brutality, video evidence on trial
The trial of an Oakland, Calif. BART police officer may reveal judicial attitudes toward video evidence and police brutality, legal analysts say.
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A small step toward tax equality for same-sex couples
Three IRS rulings the rulings will lower the tax burden for many same-sex couples. But the changes don’t address a host of other ways in which same-sex couples face less-favorable tax treatment.
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Opinion: If the Arizona immigration law is ‘misguided,’ so is Obama's criminal-alien roundup program
Obama's ‘Secure Communities’ immigration enforcement program appears susceptible to racial profiling and a lack of due process. Citizens need more details.
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Opinion: Beyond World Cup soccer savvy, US should look to South Africa on Supreme Court nominations
International guidance helped strengthen US soccer. It could improve the US Supreme Court nomination process, too.
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Never mind the 'Freedom Flotilla.' Is Israel's Gaza blockade legal?
Israel has laid out a meticulous legal justification for its fatal raid on a Turkish-flagged boat, which was sailing in international waters as part of the 'Freedom Flotilla.' But most countries have focused on whether Israel's Gaza blockade is legal.
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Opinion: Elena Kagan and the consequences of consequentialist thinking
Elena Kagan’s personal moral beliefs are quite relevant to judging her fitness to serve on the Supreme Court.
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States cap workers benefits to reduce shortfalls: Is your pension fund at risk?
States' pension fund holdings are short $1 trillion. Illinois's answer: Cut benefits for state workers. But even that might not be enough.
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The Marrowbone Marble Company
How an idealistic GI – newly home from World War II – found his calling making marbles and fighting racism.
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Gallery: World's worst human rights violators
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Lyndon B. Johnson
This biography of LBJ is the latest in the well-received American Presidents Series.
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US defends unmanned drone attacks after harsh UN report
UN special rapporteur Philip Alston on Wednesday called for a halt to US unmanned drone attacks, which he called a path to a 'Playstation' mentality towards killing.
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Israel rejects international investigation of Freedom Flotilla raid
But Israeli leaders – including far-right Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman – say they are open to US involvement in a domestic investigation of the Israeli raid that killed nine activists on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla."
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Will US revoke the right of American citizenship to foreigners born here?
A bill in the House of Representatives would change the 14th amendment to the US Constitution that grants anyone who is born on US soil the right of American citizenship. Efforts to revoke birthright citizenship could make it the new flashpoint in the debate over immigration.
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Was Israel's raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla legal?
Israel says its raid on the so-called Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which left nine activists dead, was a justified defense of its economic blockade of Gaza. Legal scholars aren't so sure.
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Registry law doesn't apply to all sex offenders, Supreme Court rules
A sex offender who moved from Alabama to Indiana in 2004 does not have to register with authorities because his move predates the registry law Congress enacted in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
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Justice Department declares war on doctors
In a landmark Idaho case, the Justice Department forced a group of doctors to accept government price controls.
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Kenya's draft constitution under fire for Islamic courts
Kenya judges ruled this week that an Islamic ‘khadi’ court system that could expand under the new constitution is discriminatory. Human rights advocates say the issue has been ‘hijacked’ by those opposed to the draft constitution.
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Why Rand Paul is wrong about Title II
The history of the civil rights movement contains enough episodes of segregationist violence to support the hypothesis that Title II reduced coercive limitations of the right of association.
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