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Supreme Court rules for former Georgia college student in free speech case
ATLANTA — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled against Georgia Gwinnett College in a legal dispute that raised long-standing complaints, particularly from conservatives and religious organizations, that colleges often find ways to discourage or prohibit them from sharing their viewpoints on campus. The court ruled 8-1 that former student Chike Uzuegbunam can seek nominal damages even though the college has since made changes it believes makes it easier for any group to hold an event on its campus. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion. The dispute began about five years ago when...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Judge accepts plea deal in deadly Ghost Ship fire case; Almena won’t have to return to jail
OAKLAND — Despite emotional testimony that revealed the raw pain that families of 36 people who perished in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire during a dance party still feel, a judge on Monday accepted a plea deal that would allow the man held responsible for the deaths to remain out of jail. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson sentenced Derick Almena to 12 years, but because he already served roughly four years behind bars and gets credit for good behavior, he won’t have to return to Santa Rita Jail. Instead, Almena will spend the next one and a half years at home with an ankle mon...
The Mercury News
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Georgia Senate votes to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate passed a bill Monday to roll back no-excuse absentee voting and require more voter ID, which would create new obstacles for voters after Republicans lost elections for president and the U.S. Senate. The legislation would reduce the availability of absentee voting, restricting it to those who are at least 65 years old, have a physical disability or are out of town. In addition, Georgians would need to provide a driver’s license number, state ID number or other identification. The Senate approved the bill on a party-line 29-20 vote, a one-vote majority of the chamber...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Biden grants temporary protected status to Venezuelans, plans new sanctions on Maduro
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration offered humanitarian protections to Venezuelans on Monday that would alleviate the threat of deportation for over 320,000 eligible individuals who have sought refuge in the United States. The administration determined that Venezuelans qualify for temporary protected status and also vowed to review imposing new sanctions that would further isolate Nicolás Maduro. More than 5.4 million Venezuelans have fled their country in recent years, according to the United Nations, among the largest displacement crises in the world. “The living conditions in Venezuela r...
Miami Herald
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Fulton DA overseeing Trump investigation hires top RICO expert
An Atlanta civil litigator widely considered to be the state's leading authority on racketeering and conspiracy law has joined the Fulton County district attorney's office in an advisory capacity. John Floyd, who played a pivotal role in two of the biggest local trials of the past 20 years, will serve as a special assistant district attorney, said Jeff DiSantis, spokesman for Fulton DA Fani Willis. The Reuters news agency first reported the hiring Saturday. In letters sent to top state officials last month asking them to preserve documents related to their post-election conversations with form...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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NYC jails gear up to limit the use of solitary confinement
NEW YORK — New York City inmates will get a minimum of 10 hours outside their cells — an increase of six hours — with five hours of daily programming, according to rules proposed by the city’s Board of Correction. Those in solitary will also follow individualized behavioral support plans, and work with case managers to help better cope while behind bars. “From closing Rikers Island, to ending solitary confinement for people under the age of 22, we have reoriented our correction system to value human life and rehabilitation,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who vowed to ban the practice last year. “...
New York Daily News
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Republicans invoke UAW scandal in opposing pro-union legislation
WASHINGTON — Legislation that would dramatically change U.S. labor laws is on a fast track for a vote in the House later this week. During a Monday hearing on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, Democrats argued the bill is a long-overdue update that would even the scales in collective bargaining, which they say is currently tilted in favor of employers. Congressional Republicans argued it would enable corruption and diminish worker freedom, frequently citing the embezzlement, bribery, money laundering and other charges against former United Auto Workers leaders as a caution against givi...
The Detroit News
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Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt says he won't run next year, clearing way for a possibly crowded GOP primary
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — In an announcement that instantly shook Missouri's political landscape, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt said Monday morning he would not run for reelection in 2022. "After 14 general election victories — three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives and four statewide elections — I won't be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year," Blunt, a Republican first elected to the Senate in 2010, said in a video posted to Twitter. Blunt, 71, became Missouri's senior U.S. senator in 2019 after incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill was defeat...
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Supreme Court rejects another Georgia election lawsuit
ATLANTA — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal in a lawsuit that sought to stop the January runoff election that flipped control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats. The lawsuit, filed in December by attorney L. Lin Wood, said Georgia's processes for handling absentee ballots for the runoff violated state law. Wood also objected to the state's process for verifying signatures on absentee ballots and to processing those ballots before Election Day and the use of drop boxes for voters to return their ballots. He said those policies led to widespread voting fraud in the November ge...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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NYC jails gear up to limit the use of solitary confinement
NEW YORK — New York City jails are moving one step closer to ending solitary confinement with new rules that will limit the use of the controversial practice, officials said Monday. Inmates will get a minimum of 10 hours outside cells — an increase of three hours — with five hours of daily programming, according to new rules proposed by the city’s Board of Correction. Those in solitary will also follow individualized behavioral support plans, and work with case managers to help better cope while behind bars. The new rules come two months after the City Council proposed legislation in December ...
New York Daily News
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