Warren asked Obama to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg: Clearing the name of a traitor was a priority for the Democratic presidential candidate

Radical U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who could be the next Commander-in-Chief, asked then-President Barack Obama in his final days in office to formally exonerate Soviet atomic spy Ethel Rosenberg, according to media reports. This was not a request for a … Continue reading Warren asked Obama to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg: Clearing the name of a traitor was a priority for the Democratic presidential candidate

Supreme Court revives employees’ suit against IBM retirement plan

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court threw out a lower court’s decision and so revived a lawsuit by IBM employees who had invested in company stock. They argued they should be able to sue managers of the company’s retirement fund in stock-drop litigation for not disclosing that the company’s microelectronics business was overvalued. The issue in the case, cited as Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, is whether the fund managers can be held liable under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for not promptly disclosing problems in the microchip-making division that caused the price of company stock to fall 7 percent. … Continue reading Supreme Court revives employees’ suit against IBM retirement plan

Supreme Court justices skeptical of prosecution in NJ ‘Bridgegate’ case

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to uphold the convictions of the two former New Jersey political operatives who orchestrated the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal—the “Bridgegate” traffic-congestion scandal of 2013—but the justices didn’t seem to have been moved. Justices … Continue reading Supreme Court justices skeptical of prosecution in NJ ‘Bridgegate’ case

Pension plan members argue before Supreme Court about right to sue for risky investments

WASHINGTON—Defined benefit plan participants should be allowed to sue plan administrators for fiduciary breaches even when the retirement plan is overfunded and participants have not lost money, a lawyer for participants told the Supreme Court. A company retirement plan is said to be “overfunded” when its assets exceed its liabilities, allowing the surplus funds to be used to cover current and future retirements. Oral arguments in the case, cited as Thole v. U.S. Bank, were heard by the Supreme Court on Jan. 13. Some business advocates view the Thole case as an opportunity for the Supreme Court to curb perceived … Continue reading Pension plan members argue before Supreme Court about right to sue for risky investments

Supreme Court to hear that abortion disproportionately harms black women

Black pro-life organizations are arguing in an abortion case soon to be heard by the Supreme Court that “unqualified and uncredentialed abortion providers” have a long history of “disproportionately harming black women.” Oral arguments are scheduled for March 4 in the … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear that abortion disproportionately harms black women

Federal judge shields independent truckers from California law

A federal judge has temporarily shielded 70,000 independent truckers from an unusually restrictive and possibly unconstitutional California law that virtually outlaws independent contracting. Layoffs blamed on the law, known as AB5, were announced in December 2019 at media outlets across the United … Continue reading Federal judge shields independent truckers from California law

Professor argues private home ownership helps cause California wildfires

Californians’ insistence on owning their own homes is “reinforcing” the state’s rampant wildfires, according to a professor whose recent column has sparked controversy. Americans’ “aspirations of home ownership” and “belief in the importance of private property” are “reinforcing” the conditions that … Continue reading Professor argues private home ownership helps cause California wildfires

Washington and Lee students want diplomas without pictures of university’s namesakes

A group of students at Washington and Lee University are demanding that images of the two historical figures after which the school was named—U.S. President George Washington and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee—be removed from the academic diplomas awarded to students upon … Continue reading Washington and Lee students want diplomas without pictures of university’s namesakes