December 20, 2015 EPA accused of stonewalling records requests from conservative groups A conservative legal group filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, accusing the agency of stonewalling records requests from conservative groups and engaging in political bias in granting fee waivers for documents.
December 20, 2015 Appeals court halts gay marriages in Mich. A federal appeals court issued an order Saturday preventing more same-sex couples from getting married in Michigan for at least several more days.
December 20, 2015 Justice Department to begin release of over 6,000 federal inmates under new guidelines The Department of Justice will begin the process Friday of releasing some 6,112 federal inmates under the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s new sentencing retroactivity guidelines for drug offenders.
December 20, 2015 Judge orders temporary halt to executions in Mississippi A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the state of Mississippi from using two drugs in executions, shutting down the death penalty in the state for now.
December 20, 2015 Federal court strikes down 'discriminatory' Texas voter ID A federal appeals court struck down Texas' voter ID law on Wednesday in a victory for the Obama administration, which had taken the unusual step of bringing the weight of the U.S. Justice Department to fight new Republican-backed mandates at the ballot box.
December 20, 2015 Planned Parenthood head apologizes for official’s fetal organ comments, as fallout grows Planned Parenthood’s president apologized Thursday for comments made by the group’s medical research director in a secretly recorded conversation about collecting fetal body parts, as outrage over the graphic video mounted on Capitol Hill where lawmakers are launching several investigations.
December 20, 2015 Denver court rules against Little Sisters of the Poor in contraception coverage case A federal appeals court in Denver ruled on Tuesday against a group of Colorado nuns who challenged a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide insurance policies covering contraception. Â
December 20, 2015 Former FBI director alleges agency concealing evidence in anthrax case An ex-director of the FBI’s anthrax investigation says the agency is hiding evidence that casts doubt on its conclusion that Army scientist Bruce Ivins sent the anthrax-filled letters that killed five people and sickened 17 others in 2001.
December 20, 2015 Pa. high court nominee in hot seat over 'Christmas' email A white county judge nominated for Pennsylvania's highest court apparently forwarded a racially insensitive email showing a black couple talking through glass via a jailhouse phone under the heading, "Merry Christmas from the Johnsons."
December 20, 2015 Federal judge orders Alabama county to wed gay couples A federal judge in Alabama has ordered Mobile County to start issuing gay marriage licenses.