The resignation of U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida’s 1st Congressional District was formally recorded Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives. This development came as U.S. Representative Mike Johnson was elected House Speaker. Gaetz’s resignation concludes his tenure in the 118th Congress and the 119th Congress following a tumultuous series of events.
A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that a lower court judge must reconsider his dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a pregnancy crisis center and other religious organizations challenging a New York law that prohibits retaliation against employees who receive abortions. The lawsuit, brought by CompassCare, a pregnancy crisis center operator, and other plaintiffs, argues that the law infringes on their First Amendment rights.
A federal judge in California rejected Bay Area Rapid Transit's (BART) effort to overturn a verdict awarding six former employees $7.8 million after they were fired for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) said that he commuted the sentences of 15 people on death row. The inmates were all convicted of first-degree murder.
The state of Georgia was shaken by the tragic death of Effingham County Judge Stephen Yekel, who reportedly took his own life in his courtroom just before his scheduled retirement. At 74, Judge Yekel was discovered by a deputy around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, though he is believed to have died late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, the Seoul Western District Court issued a historic arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, marking the first time in South Korean history that a sitting president has faced an arrest warrant. This comes after an investigation into Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law in December.