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Judge rejects former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s effort to quash subpoena

18Nov

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Judge rejects former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s effort to quash subpoena

FILE - White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on March 9, 2022. Patrick Semansky / AP A judge refused Friday to quash a subpoena issued to former White House press secretary Jen Psaki that seeks her deposition in a lawsuit filed by Missouri and Louisiana, alleging that the Biden administration conspired to silence conservative voices on social media. Psaki filed a motion in federal court in Alexandria seeking to quash the subpoena, saying that she had no relevant information to provide and that a deposition would place an undue burden on her. The Justice Department supported her efforts to quash. U.S. Magistrate I...

U.S. moves to shield Saudi crown prince in journalist killing

18Nov

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

U.S. moves to shield Saudi crown prince in journalist killing

The Biden administration declared Thursday that Saudi Arabia's crown prince should be considered immune from a lawsuit over his role in the killing of a U.S.-based journalist, a turnaround from Joe Biden's passionate campaign trail denunciations of Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal slaying. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 23, 2018. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images The administration said the senior position of the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and recently named prime minister as well, should shield him against a suit brought by the fiancée of slai...

Israeli airstrike kills 2nd top Islamic Jihad commander

7Aug

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Politics

Israeli airstrike kills 2nd top Islamic Jihad commander

Gaza City, Gaza Strip — Israel said Sunday that it killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in a crowded Gaza refugee camp, the second such targeted attack since it launched its high-stakes military offensive against the militant group just before the weekend.The Iran-backed militant group has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response, and the risk of the cross-border fighting turning into a full-fledged war remained high. Gaza's ruling Hamas group, which fought an 11-day war with Israel in May 2021, appeared to stay on the sidelines for now, possibly because it fears Israeli reprisals and undoing economic understandings with Israel, including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza residents, that bolster its control. The Islamic Jihad c...

Alex Jones’ media company files for bankruptcy amid defamation trial

1Aug

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Business

Alex Jones’ media company files for bankruptcy amid defamation trial

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' media company Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy on Friday — but his attorney said it should not disrupt the defamation damages trial underway in Texas that seeks to force Jones to pay $150 million or more to the family of one of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack.The trial in Austin, where Jones lives and Free Speech Systems is based, wrapped up its first week of testimony Friday and is expected to conclude next week. The bankruptcy filing was announced by Jones' attorney Andino Reynal late in the day.Reynal and attorneys for the family suing Jones told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble that the bankruptcy filing would not halt the lawsuit. The company wants "to put this part of the ...

Biden says he’s considering declaring a public health emergency for abortion access

10Jul

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Biden says he’s considering declaring a public health emergency for abortion access

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware — President Biden said Sunday he is considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to promote abortion access, even though the White House has said it doesn't seem like "a great option."He also offered a message to people enraged by the Supreme Court's ruling last month that ended a constitutional right to abortion and who have been demonstrating across the country: "Keep protesting. Keep making your point. It's critically important."The president, in remarks to reporters during a stop on a bike ride near his family's Delaware beach house, said he lacks the power to force the dozen-plus states with strict restrictions or outright bans on abortion to allow the procedure. "I don't have the aut...

Iowa Supreme Court rules abortion is not protected by state constitution

17Jun

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Iowa Supreme Court rules abortion is not protected by state constitution

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or even ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.The court, now composed almost entirely of Republican appointees, concluded that a less conservative court wrongly decided that abortion is among the fundamental privacy rights guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution and federal law.Friday's ruling comes amid expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to choose to have an abortion nationwide. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, Iowa lawmakers could ban abortion in the state without completing the lengthy process of am...