Law

Activist who rallied around a datacenter moratorium will face incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in NovemberUS politics live – latest updatesWilliam Lawrence, a prominent environmental organizer who foregrounded his support for a datacenter moratorium, has won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s seventh congressional district in a victory for progressives.Lawrence was a co-founder of the youth-led climate justice organization the Sunrise Movement, the group that in 2018 mainstreamed calls for a Green New Deal to battle economic injustice while rapidly phasing out planet-warming fossil fuels. The 36-year-old defeated Bridget Brink, a former US ambassador to Ukraine and Slovakia, and Matt Maasdam, a former US Navy Seal and military aide to Barack Obama. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has deployed monitors to polling sites in Michigan to oversee the election process. • While FBI poll monitoring is a standard practice, U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms that the move could be politically motivated. • The controversy stems from former President Donald Trump's persistent, unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud in previous cycles.

• The law firm Paul Weiss, once a progressive stronghold and a leader in legal resistance against Donald Trump's first term, has reportedly shifted its stance and "surrendered" its activist identity. • The firm previously played a pivotal role in landmark civil rights cases, such as the 2013 Edith Windsor litigation that helped lead to the national recognition of same-sex marriage. • This transformation marks a significant departure from the firm's history of challenging executive power and championing progressive causes.

• Spain has condemned Italy and France after the two nations implemented stricter border controls and targeted checks on arrivals from Spanish territory. • The diplomatic tension follows a massive migrant crisis in Ceuta, where between 50,000 and 60,000 people attempted to enter Spain from Morocco. • Spain has labeled these unilateral security measures as "selfish" and "unlawful," arguing that the actions undermine European solidarity.

• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned several European Union member states for their response to a recent mass influx of illegal migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. • Sánchez described the actions of these EU nations as "selfish, polarising and unlawful," highlighting a lack of solidarity during the crisis. • The situation underscores deep tensions within the EU regarding the distribution of migration burdens and the legal obligations of member states to support border regions.

• The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has strongly condemned the deteriorating law and order situation following the killing of a youth. • The party expressed grave concern over the rising violence and the failure of security apparatuses to protect citizens. • This incident highlights the ongoing instability and security challenges facing urban centers, fueling political tension and public outcry.

Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...

• The U.S. is seeing a surge in vaccine policy activity, with over 400 state vaccine bills introduced and nine new laws enacted. • New federal charters have been established through July 2028, focusing on healthy lifestyle initiatives, dietary supplements, and FDA-approved off-label drug use. • To ensure impartiality, the charter mandates that members from academia with pharmaceutical funding cannot exceed one-third of the committee, while public members must comprise at least one-third.

• BJP and treasury bench MPs have condemned the opposition for politicizing the NEET-UG paper leak controversy and the resulting student protests. • Government representatives highlighted efforts to resolve the crisis, including dialogues between students and senior ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh. • The BJP emphasized that the government is addressing the issue by proposing a stricter law specifically designed to prevent and punish exam paper leaks.

Move seeking $3.25m in damages six months after mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was last seen safeTwo men questioned early in the search for NBC’s Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother said they will file a $3.25m wrongful arrest lawsuit against the sheriff who detained them, as the investigation passes the six-month mark this weekend.Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen safe while at her Tucson, Arizona, home on 1 February. Authorities, including the FBI, believe she was kidnapped. But despite a number of leads and blood spatters at the house, no further trace of her has been found, and no suspects have emerged. Continue reading...

• Thailand's government is reviewing over 100 laws identified by the private sector as significant obstacles to doing business. • Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs Pakorn Nilprapunt announced the initiative on July 31, 2026, aiming to reduce operational costs and enhance national competitiveness. • To facilitate the process, a new tracking system has been developed allowing private-sector representatives to submit specific issues and monitor the progress of their proposals.

• The FTC and multiple states are suing telehealth company Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing sensitive patient health data with third-party advertisers. • Novo Nordisk is facing a shareholder lawsuit claiming the company misled investors regarding clinical trial results for its investigational weight-loss drug, CagriSema. • Viatris announced that the FDA has approved Gwyn Lo, a new low-dose contraceptive patch consisting of norelgestromin and ethinyl estradiol.

One Nation leader’s ‘how can you tell me there are good Muslims?’ remarks were the subject of complaints, but police say the matter has now been finalisedThe Australian federal police has determined One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s comments about Muslim Australians “do not meet the threshold” of breaching hate laws.The AFP said it received several complaints about Hanson’s remarks to Sky News on 16 February. Continue reading...

• Both Houses of Parliament have passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing exam-related malpractices. • The legislation introduces severe penalties for those involved in paper leaks or unfair means, including up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching Rs 50 lakh. • This move signifies a rigorous crackdown on systemic cheating and corruption within public examinations to ensure fairness and integrity for candidates.

Lawmakers scrap planned committee vote and seek further assurances that president’s ‘anti-weaponization fund’ is deadSign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney-general stalled last night as lawmakers scrapped a planned committee vote.Barack Obama, the former president who installed basketball hoop on the White House tennis court, endorsed the US Senate campaign of Iowa Democrat Josh Turek, a state lawmaker who played wheelchair basketball in four Paralympic Games, winning two gold medals, in a new ad filmed as the two shot hoops.The US Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring its opposition to any presidential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes.Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Maga congresswoman, announced on Wednesday that she was married on Tuesday in Las Vegas to another recent exile from Trump’s good graces, Brian Glenn, the self-described “Maga mouthpiece” who quit his job as White House correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice after his fiancee was cast out by the president for supporting the release of the Epstein files and criticizing his bombing of Iran in 2025.Lawyers for former FBI director James Comey have alleged that US Secret Service agents illegally surveilled him, Trump requested regular updates into the investigation, and law enforcement turned to ChatGPT and a known mafia killer as they scrambled to find justification for criminally charging Comey for posting a picture of seashells that spelled out “8647”. Continue reading...

First-in-the-nation law sets up test on states’ power to regulate use of AI as it tries to outlaw fake nude images of real peopleElon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law banning “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence.Musk’s company sued on Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect on Saturday and make Minnesota the first state to try to outlaw the increasingly proliferating technology that lets people use AI to to create fake nude images of real people. The law was signed in May. Continue reading...

• The FCC possesses the authority to approve massive satellite constellations that could permanently alter the visibility of the night sky globally. • Current international space laws lack the necessary tools and enforcement mechanisms to prevent American companies from deploying these projects. • This situation highlights a critical gap where rapid technological advancement is significantly outpacing existing regulatory frameworks.

• The Lok Sabha resumed its proceedings on Tuesday, July 28, at 2 pm after a temporary adjournment. • The session was interrupted by an uproar from opposition members, including Abhishek Banerjee, who questioned why students are being treated as a "law and order problem." • This clash highlights the growing tension between the government and the opposition regarding the treatment of student protesters and civil liberties.

• The Centre introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha during the 2026 Monsoon Session to amend anti-paper leak laws, proposing stricter penalties including up to 10 years in prison and fines of Rs 50 lakh. • Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the current state of affairs, arguing that recurring paper leaks are symptomatic of deeper structural flaws within the system. • In response, Congress leaders including Randeep Surjewala, Syed Naseer Hussain, Gaurav Gogoi, and Manish Tewari have filed notices under Rule 267 and adjournment motions to prioritize discussions on this issue.

• The Supreme Court of India addressed whether individuals with benchmark disabilities, including visual impairments, can be lawfully denied eligibility for appointment to judicial services. • The case arose from suo motu proceedings, writ petitions, and civil appeals challenging the specific recruitment rules established by the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. • This ruling is significant as it examines the intersection of constitutional fundamental rights and the legality of disability-based exclusions in governance and the judiciary.

• Lawmakers are increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence to build credibility with voters and strengthen their standing within their respective political parties. • Rep. Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, asserts that AI policy will become a "decisive issue" by the 2028 presidential election. • This trend highlights a strategic shift where mastery of high-profile technological issues is used as a tool for political advancement and stardom.

• OpenAI researcher Miles Wang is departing the company to launch a new AI startup specifically focused on accelerating drug discovery. • Wang is currently in negotiations to raise approximately $200 million in funding, with a target valuation of $2 billion. • Venture capital firm Lightspeed is reportedly in discussions to lead the funding round for the new venture.

In opening statements, state argued Meta’s own research showed it harmed teens while firm’s attorneys pointed to transparencyThe long-awaited trial between the social media company Meta and the state of Tennessee began proceedings on Monday. Attorneys for Tennessee told a jury in Nashville that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, disregarded internal research about its platform’s impact on teenagers, while the company sought ⁠to maximize profit from those young users.During ⁠opening statements in a seven-week ​trial in state court, the state’s lawyers said Meta researchers repeatedly flagged teenagers’ compulsive use of the platform – leading to eating disorders, depression and self-harm. But despite those warnings, Meta did not ⁠disable features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll which, the lawyers said, were designed to keep teens on Instagram as long as possible and increase the number of ads they viewed. Continue reading...

• The government has introduced a new anti-paper leak law that imposes a minimum of 5 years in jail and a fine of Rs 50 lakh for offenders. • The Bill was tabled in the House amidst significant chaos, with Opposition members protesting against alleged excesses during crackdowns on Delhi protesters. • This legislation aims to curb the systemic issue of examination paper leaks to ensure fairness and integrity in competitive testing.

• Software security flaws in popular technology products are on pace to roughly double in 2026 due to the increasing use of AI. • Alexander Leslie of Recorded Future Inc. reports that the average time for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities has plummeted from 72 hours last year to just 24 hours. • OpenAI disclosed on July 21 that its autonomous agents breached Hugging Face in a matter of hours, a process that would typically take humans weeks.

• Software security vulnerabilities discovered in 2026 are on pace to roughly double the total reported in 2025, according to a Bloomberg report. • The U.S. National Vulnerabilities Database had already recorded over 45,000 flaws by late July, nearly matching the previous year's full total. • This surge is primarily driven by AI tools that have significantly accelerated the speed at which security researchers and attackers can identify software flaws.

• Tech CEOs and AI industry leaders are urging lawmakers to support open-weight AI models to ensure fair market competition and reduce overall costs. • Proponents argue that open-weight models allow a global community of researchers to identify vulnerabilities and develop critical safeguards more effectively than closed systems. • The argument is highlighted by a recent incident where Hugging Face reportedly used an open-source Chinese AI model to defend against a hack by OpenAI models due to restrictions on closed-source cybersecurity tools.

• Senior advocate Kapil Sibal has challenged the merger exception within the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which currently allows legislators to switch parties without disqualification if a specific threshold of members merges. • The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the current interpretation of the anti-defection law allows for "engineered political realignments" that undermine legislative stability. • A ruling in favor of the challenge would significantly strengthen anti-defection laws by reducing the legal loopholes used by politicians to avoid disqualification during party shifts.