Michigan court rules former cop can stand trial for murder of Patrick Lyoya
By Michael Anders. On January 25, a panel of judges for Michigan’s Court of Appeals ruled that Christopher Schurr can stand trial for killing Patrick Lyoya. The decision comes nearly two years after then-Grand Rapids Police Officer Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head during a traffic stop on
Death row inmate executed by first-ever nitrogen asphyxiation: “Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards”
By Kate Randol. The state of Alabama put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death Thursday evening at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. With his execution, Alabama has earned the macabre distinction of being the first US state, and likely the first government entity internationally, to utilize nitrogen asphyxiation to deliberately kill
Kentucky bill aims to criminalize homelessness
By Milo Stevens. A Kentucky bill introduced in the legislature January 9 aims to criminalize homeless encampments across the state. House Bill 5, called the “Safer Kentucky Act,” would allow police to arrest people camping in public areas, sleeping in their cars or generally trying to survive in the elements. The bill
US presidents can order assassinations—Trump lawyers and Justice Department prosecutors agree
By Patrick Martin The Appeals Court hearing Tuesday on ex-president Donald Trump’s claim of “absolute immunity” from prosecution for anything he did while in the White House led to a remarkable discussion of the president’s supposed power to order the assassination of political and business rivals, or foreigners targeted by the
US Supreme Court to decide whether Trump is eligible to appear on the ballot
by Tom Carter On Friday, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a legal challenge to a decision by the highest court of the state of Colorado barring former president Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot for the Republican primary election in the state. The decision by the Supreme Court to
License to kill: US police killed over 1,200 people in 2023
By Jacob Crosse Nearly a decade after popular protests broke in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, MappingPoliceViolence.us (MPV) has found that police killed at least 1,213 people this year in the US, slightly more than the 1,202 deaths tabulated by MPV in 2022. According to MPV, citing data from
Clarence Thomas demanded more money just before receiving gifts from his ultra-rich supporters
By Kevin Reed. Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas demanded a salary increase and threatened to quit the high court in 2000 just before ultra-rich supporters stepped in and gifted him with cash and other favors, according to a new report published by ProPublica on Monday. Based on interviews and other documents that
US financial system a “minefield of vulnerabilities”
By Nick Beams. Those pondering why the US Federal Reserve made a sudden and dramatic turn away from its previous insistence that monetary policy would need to remain restrictive, will find some of the answers in the latest annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). In its report, issued the
![Kate Cox [Photo: Kate Cox]](https://therepublic.lk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/e876db53aff2471df625c562c8533a389c20d4e2.jpg)
The Texas Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling and the war on democratic rights
By Tom Carter. The Texas Supreme Court’s abrupt intervention to block a medically necessary abortion is not only a monstrous injustice. It is a concentrated expression of the profound rot of the whole social order in America, with fundamental human rights under siege and collapsing across the board. Kate Cox is a
Right-wing Supreme Court majority on brink of gutting federal regulatory powers
By John Burton. At oral arguments Wednesday morning the right-wing majority of Supreme Court justices sympathized openly with an extremist position advocated by the attorney for a fascistic con artist that threatens longstanding federal powers to regulate the securities markets and other major business activities, including workplace safety, environmental protections and