Calif. Supreme Court clears way for same-sex marriage case
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on November 18th, 2011 5:35 am by HL
Calif. Supreme Court clears way for same-sex marriage case
A California court cleared the way Thursday for federal appeals judges to render a highly anticipated decision on whether the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.
The California Supreme Court ruled that proponents of the ban, known as Proposition 8, have the legal standing to defend it in court. The question had become crucial in the legal battle over the measure because state officials had declined to defend it.
Cain receives Secret Service protection
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain began receiving protection from the U.S. Secret Service Thursday, his campaign said, making the Georgia businessman the first GOP presidential contender to received stepped-up security on the campaign trail.
Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said Thursday night that the campaign asked for the protection after The Washington Post posted an article online that morning detailing a series of physical skirmishes involving journalists at Cain rallies.
Justice Dept. dispute with Alabama over illegal-immigration law intensifies
The Obama administration’s legal campaign against restrictive state immigration laws has led to a bitter standoff in Alabama, where Justice Department attorneys are investigating possible civil rights violations.
The federal government already has sued Alabama over its new law, one of three such lawsuits against states that have cracked down on illegal immigration. Now, the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation to monitor potential discrimination as parts of the Alabama law take effect.
Marking 2 months of Occupation, D.C. protesters march to Key Bridge
Hundreds of protesters from the Occupy D.C. movement marched through downtown to Key Bridge at rush hour Thursday, resulting in a few traffic snarls but no major problems or arrests, police said.
They were among the thousands of supporters of Occupy Wall Street who marked the movement’s two-month anniversary with protests and traffic tie-ups around the country. Occupy protesters vowed to continue agitating for economic justice, even as police in New York and Chicago arrested hundreds and more police departments moved to clear out encampments, citing public health and safety concerns.
U.S. probing use of surveillance technology in Syria
The Commerce Department is investigating whether technology produced by a California company helped Syrian police monitor dissidents amid a bloody crackdown there, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Commerce officials are attempting to determine whether Blue Coat Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., had prior knowledge that its equipment and software was being used by the Syrian government, according to several U.S. officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.
