All posts tagged: Provisions

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage : NPR

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE: Zareena, left, and Shakeela, internally displaced Afghan girls play outside a shanty at a refugee camp in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 25, 2011. Dar Yasin/AP hide caption toggle caption Dar Yasin/AP KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls. Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No. 18 “on judicial separation of spouses” last week, which sets out rules for separation of a married couple. Among its most controversial provisions, it says that the silence of a girl reaching puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage. It also includes a section on the separation of girls who reach puberty and are married, which “implies that child marriage is permitted,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) …

House strips MAHA-hated pesticide provisions from farm bill

House strips MAHA-hated pesticide provisions from farm bill

Published by Sam Flores

The House of Representatives on Thursday stripped a set of controversial provisions aimed at protecting pesticide manufacturers from the farm bill, following a Make America Healthy Again uprising that could have sunk the broader package. The amendment led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla, to strip the language was passed by a vote of 280-142, after a bipartisan groundswell of opposition from lawmakers and MAHA advocates who said the provisions amounted to a “liability shield” to protect Bayer from allegations that its Roundup herbicide and its chemical glyphosate cause cancer. The broader farm bill cleared the House Thursday morning by a vote of 224-200. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, who was helping lead the push to strip the pesticide language for Democrats, said the language represented a “handout to big agriculture, to big chemical.” “It preempts states’ rights to regulate pesticide usage or labeling [and] provides a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers,” Pingree said on the House floor. “Put simply, this language puts chemical company profits over the health of Americans.” A sign protesting Chairman Glenn …

Federal judge dismisses Morongo tribe lawsuit challenging California gaming compact provisions

Federal judge dismisses Morongo tribe lawsuit challenging California gaming compact provisions

Published by skeptic

A federal judge has thrown out, at least for now, a lawsuit filed by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians that challenged several provisions in its gaming agreement with California. In a March 4 order, U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes ruled the tribe had not shown a real and active legal dispute with the state or Gov. Gavin Newsom. Without that kind of immediate conflict, the court said, the case cannot move forward. The ruling dismisses the lawsuit but gives the tribe the opportunity to amend its complaint and try again. Morongo first filed the case in May 2025, targeting multiple provisions in a tribal-state gaming compact that took effect in January 2018. The tribe argued that several parts of the agreement violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA, because they regulate issues that do not directly relate to the operation of Class III gaming. That category includes slot machines and casino-style table games offered at tribal casinos. Morongo’s complaint laid out 17 separate claims, each focused on a specific provision in the …

Judge Blocks Additional Citizenship Provisions in Latest Setback to Trump’s Election Executive Order

Judge Blocks Additional Citizenship Provisions in Latest Setback to Trump’s Election Executive Order

Published by Sam Flores

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked certain federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing voter registration forms, the latest blow to a wide-ranging executive order on elections President Donald Trump signed last year. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington ruled that the Constitution’s separation of powers, giving states and to an extent Congress authority over setting election rules, are at the heart of the case. “Put simply, our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures,” wrote the judge, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton. Specifically, Kollar-Kotelly permanently blocked two provisions of the executive order that sought to impose proof-of-citizenship rules. Her decision said agencies will not be allowed to “assess citizenship” before providing a federal voter registration form to people enrolling in public assistance programs. It also said the Secretary of Defense cannot require documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots. “Our democracy works best when all Americans can participate, including members of our military …