Boise settles lawsuit after anti-loitering
ordinance found unconstitutional
Posted By: sunset, 11/11/2025 1:18:33 AM
The city of Boise announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit Monday, bringing an end to a legal battle on the city’s anti-loitering ordinance first initiated over a year ago. A challenge to Boise’s ordinance was made by Luke Schuchardt in January 2024 after he was stopped and questioned under the statute by Boise Police officers and subsequently arrested and prosecuted. Under terms of the settlement, the city agreed to pay out $200,000. The ordinance has been suspended due to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Barry Lynn Winmill, and the city council will be taking up the repeal of the ordinance as part of the settlement agreement
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The city of Boise announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit Monday, bringing an end to a legal battle on the city’s anti-loitering ordinance first initiated over a year ago. A challenge to Boise’s ordinance was made by Luke Schuchardt in January 2024 after he was stopped and questioned under the statute by Boise Police officers and subsequently arrested and prosecuted. Under terms of the settlement, the city agreed to pay out $200,000. The ordinance has been suspended due to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Barry Lynn Winmill, and the city council will be taking up the repeal of the ordinance as part of the settlement agreement
Some spouses of foreign workers on the controversial H-1B visa may lose their work permits after the Trump administration changed employment rules.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 30 stripped holders of the H-4 spousal visa — thousands of whom are estimated to live and work in the Bay Area — of the ability to receive automatic extensions for their work permits when their renewal applications have been submitted but not fully processed by immigration authorities.
Previously, foreign citizens on the H-4 and certain other visas could have their work permits automatically extended by 540 days if their permit applications were submitted on time but expired while still being processed.
The view that Islam is problematic and should be criticised is a protected belief under equalities law, a judge has ruled. Patrick Lee, 61, was found guilty of misconduct by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) last April over posts on X. After a four-year disciplinary process, he was banned from the professional body and ordered to pay costs. The trade body ruled that 42 of his posts that criticised Islam, including calling the Prophet Mohammed a “monster”, were “either offensive or inflammatory or both” or “designed to demean or insult Muslims”. It is the first time a court has ruled that “Islam-critical” beliefs are protected
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to require that sexual markers on U.S. passports align with the traveler’s biological sex — effectively eliminating a Biden-era policy that allowed citizens to choose an ‘X’ marker denoting their nonbinary identity.
The 6-3 ruling is a massive blow to transgender rights advocates, who have argued the policy is unconstitutional, and a setback for LGBTQ+ rights. “Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth — in both cases, the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the court said in a four-paragraph opinion.
Each decade, after the decennial census has concluded, states draw new maps to divide themselves into political districts for electing representatives to state legislatures and Congress. This process is called redistricting or apportionment.
California has such a map, drawn by the members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2020. If Proposition 50 passes on Tuesday, it will mandate a substitute congressional district map drawn by the California Legislature.
But a lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court may put the legitimacy of Prop 50’s maps in jeopardy should it pass, along with many other district maps nationwide.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier today announced that he has filed a bill of complaint with the United States Supreme Court against the State of California, challenging its corporate taxation rules. Florida argues that a specific California tax regulation unconstitutionally targets and over-taxes multi-state businesses, particularly those operating across state lines, which Florida claims is directly harming its economy and discouraging companies from relocating or expanding to freer states. “California has created a tax system that punishes economic freedom,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. "The Newsom regime is obviously attempting to punish business owners who have fled California due to its disastrous policies.”
Public school districts coast to coast
adopting radical curriculum from org named
for 60s radical 15 replies
adopting radical curriculum from org named
for 60s radical 15 replies
Public schools across the country are directing teachers to use curriculum resources from a nonprofit that teaches American history through the lens of racial and sexual oppression.
The Zinn Education Project (ZEP), named for the late radical 1960s professor Howard Zinn, pushes controversial resources and lesson plans to teachers for students as young as pre-K, all the way up to grade 12.
ZEP boasts that its curriculum has been adopted by more than 176,000 teachers, who have downloaded more than 765,000 lessons for their students, according to its website. The organization hosts a Teach Truth Day of Action annually, which is co-sponsored by the NEA, America's largest teachers union, and other organizations.
A new report revealed that five foreign charities have donated just shy of $2 billion into various American nonprofits and policy advocacy groups focused on climate change and political activism. Americans for Public Trust released a detailed, 31-page report with receipts tracking money from foreign charities to U.S. groups. It notes that while contributing directly to political candidates is not permitted under federal law, election-related activities like "get-out-and-vote" campaigns, some lobbying efforts, issue advertising and other politically-charged activities, are in play for foreign dollars. The groups that contributed to the near $2 billion in foreign money include the Quadrature Climate Foundation (U.K.), the KR Foundation (Denmark), the Oak Foundation (Switzerland),
The Trump administration announced sweeping changes Thursday that will exclude employees of organizations that provide support for undocumented immigrants or gender-affirming care for minors from student debt relief, defending the move as excluding “illegal” activities. The change — which the administration has been working on for months — impacts the U.S. Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Created in 2007, the program cancels student debt for full-time “public servants” after 10 years of monthly payments. Teachers, government employees, healthcare workers, law enforcement and some nonprofit employees qualify for the program.
Hamas challenges terrorist designation
in Australia citing international law,
Palestinian rights 7 replies
in Australia citing international law,
Palestinian rights 7 replies
Hamas is mounting a legal challenge against the group’s terrorist designation in Australia, arguing that the listing breaches international law and provides legal cover for Israeli attacks on Palestinians — its second such attempt after a similar case in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this month, Hamas filed a legal petition seeking to be removed from Australia’s list of proscribed terrorist organizations. Pro-Palestinian activist and radio host Uncle Robbie Thorpe filed the application in Australia’s Federal Court on behalf of the Palestinian Islamist group, claiming that its terrorist designation restricts freedom of political communication in the country. According to the application, Hamas was denied the chance to present evidence..
During his closing argument in a Sonoma County trial that could reverberate throughout America’s animal rights movement, Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson seized several opportunities to stress something that should have seemed obvious: The defendant — not animal agriculture — is on trial here.
His need to reiterate that point Tuesday spoke to the unique nature of this case. It’s not just that Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old Berkeley undergrad and animal rights activist, is facing nearly five years in prison for taking four chickens valued at around $24 from a Petaluma-area poultry processing facility. By spurning a plea agreement, she had intended to force an examination of the meat industry’s practices.
New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani was hit with two criminal referrals Tuesday filed by a campaign finance watchdog accusing the lefty socialist of accepting illegal contributions from foreign donors.
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation filed the referrals – alleging Mamdani may have violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and New York Election Code – with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office on Tuesday.
The referrals were filed after The Post reported earlier this month Mamdani’s campaign raked in nearly $13,000 in contributions from at least 170 donors with addresses outside the US – including one from his mother-in-law in Dubai.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has elected Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City as its new president, signaling conservative continuity with a pastoral approach. However, Coakley criticizes Trump-era mass deportations, urging humane immigration policies and pathways to citizenship. With millions of Catholic immigrants potentially in the crosshairs and the Church’s teachings on human dignity clashing with hardline policies, Coakley’s past statements are already drawing scrutiny – and offering clues about what’s ahead.
A key Atlantic current could be pushed to the brink of collapse within decades, supposedly ushering in a new ice age and dramatically raising sea levels, climate scientists have claimed in a controversial new study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
The apocalyptic predictions came as a result of a collaboration between researchers at the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) and the University of California, San Diego — weeks after one-time climate alarmist Bill Gates publicly downplayed the impact of temperature fluctuations on the planet.
Barack Obama accused of destroying national
landmark to build brutalist monument —
to himself 23 replies
landmark to build brutalist monument —
to himself 23 replies
What kind of US president demolishes a cherished piece of American history in order to build a shrine to himself? That’s what many Chicagoans are asking — and they aren’t talking about President Trump’s East Wing demolition to make way for a White House ballroom. Locals are still trying to make sense of the $850 million Obama Presidential Center, dubbed “The Obamalisk,” which broke ground in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park in 2021 and will be finished next Spring. “Obama, of all people, should not be building a palace for himself, a fortress in the middle of a public park. It’s just contrary to what I thought he believed in,”
Kamala Harris is back once again with an extremely interesting new angle on her 2024 election failure.
Her memoir "107 Days" was released a couple of months ago, and she is about to wrap up her book tour (one that Democrats aren't too wild about, by the way) with a final stop on November 20. Not too terribly long ago, Harris told Stephen Colbert she was stepping away from politics because the "system is broken" — only to tease a 2028 run at the end of October.
California Representative Eric Swalwell has faced a barrage of controversy in recent years, from his alleged ties to the Chinese spy “Fang Fang,” to his removal from the House Intelligence Committee over national security concerns, to his infamous on-air mishap during a 2019 interview on Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Now, a new revelation raises even more serious questions about Swalwell’s integrity and eligibility to serve in Congress. Despite serving as a Congressman from California’s 15th District and claiming Hometown: Livermore on his official House profile, Swalwell has declared his Washington, DC property as his “principal residence.”
How Climate Change Can Lead to Earthquakes
20 replies
Climate change does its damage in a lot of ways—birthing hurricanes, heat waves, floods, droughts, and wildfires. Now add to that list earthquakes, continental rifting—or breakup—and magma production. That’s the conclusion of a new paper in Scientific Reports, which adds to a growing agreement among scientists that the Earth’s atmospheric processes can affect its geological processes in surprising ways.
“Ultimately, plate tectonic forces play the dominant role in driving continental rifting,” says geologist James Muirhead, senior lecturer at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and lead author of the paper. “However, our study shows that climate plays a key role in modulating the rate
Federal agents in Chicago are facing a nightmare most of us can’t imagine: a violent street gang has literally issued a “shoot-on-sight” order against them. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Latin Kings have targeted immigration enforcement officers working in the city, leading the agency to warn its teams to use “extreme caution.”
Shots were fired. Agents’ vehicles were rammed. Bricks and paint cans were thrown at Border Patrol trucks in the Little Village neighborhood during ongoing immigration operations. This isn’t happening in some failed foreign state. It’s happening on American streets.
This is a topic that keeps being brought up by various members of the Trump administration: The notion that tariff income from President Trump's tariffs has been robust enough to support a $2,000 rebate check for all Americans under a certain, unnamed income level. (I've seen a household income of under $100k kicked around as the top end.) Most recently, on Wednesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a reply to a question from a reporter, assured the White House Press Corps that something like this was in the works. Watch: Here's the exchange:
Question: (President) Trump has talked about sending a $2,000 check to U.S. citizens. Earlier
Democrats thought they had a winning hand when they released three carefully selected Jeffrey Epstein emails on Wednesday morning. The timing was no accident. With their caucus still reeling from their base turning on them for caving on the government shutdown, they needed a distraction, and they believed these emails would deliver one. They were wrong.The so-called bombshell consisted of three email exchanges. The crown jewel of their selective leak was a 2011 email between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in which Epstein described Trump as "the dog that hasn't barked." He noted that a victim had spent hours with Trump at Epstein’s house.
Jack Schlossberg rips ‘dangerous’
cousin RFK Jr. as JFK grandson launches
campaign for Congress 17 replies
cousin RFK Jr. as JFK grandson launches
campaign for Congress 17 replies
Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, kicked off the first day of his campaign for the House of Representatives Wednesday by ranting against his “rabid dog” cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “RFK Jr. is a dangerous person who is making life and death decisions as secretary of Health and Human Services,” Schlossberg, 32, told MSNBC in an interview. “And you don’t have to take my word for it. Now we have an actual record to go on. He has cut a quarter of the people who work in his agency. He fired all the vaccine experts on
A British businessman who threatened to “gang-rape” and set fire to a flight attendant has had his jail sentence tripled after an appeals court ruled it was far too lenient.
Salman Iftikhar, 37, was traveling first class from London Heathrow to Lahore with his three children and one of his wives in February 2023 when he turned violent midair.
After downing champagne and helping himself to ice from the on-board bar, crew members told him to return to his seat.
When told to stop, the defendant became irate, and started to film cabin crew with his phone, telling them, ‘Do not tell me what to do, you b—h,’” a court heard.
A woman who was once one of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most trusted lieutenants has found herself in the crosshairs of the FBI. And it’s not looking great for her. On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of California dropped a bombshell news release stating that Dana Williamson, Newsom’s chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, had been indicted on a litany of charges. The 53-year-old Williamson has been charged by a federal grand jury with “conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice, subscribing to false tax returns, and making false statements,”
Comments:
The judge declared the anti-loitering ordinance does not clearly articulate activity that may result in reasonable suspicion to warrant initial contact. An in plain sight discovery of narcotics was ruled unconstitutional and the judge refused to accept it as evidence in the case. Initial contact with the suspect revealed an outstanding warrant.