France’s Parliament Is Set to Debate Changing Rape Law to Include Consent – The New York Times Source Link Excerpt:
After dozens of men were convicted of raping a drugged Gisèle Pelicot, lawmakers moved to require that consent be given for sex to be considered consensual.
Many countries require that consent be given before sex — and have written that into their rape laws. France is not among them.
Now two lawmakers hope to change that, and they got a step closer Tuesday night when the lower house of the French Parliament passed a bill that expands the definition of rape to include nonconsensual penetration.
Their cause gained traction after a horrific trial last fall in which dozens of men were convicted of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was in a deeply drugged state.
“This is a starting point, not a final one,” Marie-Charlotte Garin, one of the two lawmakers who proposed the bill, told the National Assembly after the vote. “We are moving from a culture of rape to a culture of consent, and this is the first stone we are throwing against the wall of impunity.”
California Legislature Rejects Law Banning Men from Women’s Sports– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
The California legislature rejected two bills seeking to ban men from participating in women’s sports on Tuesday, with some lawmakers calling it “cruel.”
One of the bill’s lawmakers voted to block “would have required the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports, to adopt rules banning students whose sex was assigned male at birth from participating on a girls’ school sports team,” noted The Associated Press.
The other bill would have reversed a 2013 law allowing students to participate in sex-segregated school programs, including on sports teams, and use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity.”
Both bills would have applied to K-12 students as well as college students.
Republicans supported the bill, arguing it would protect women, while Democrats denounced it as a cruel attack on LGBTQ rights and transgender youth.
“I don’t think anybody should be gender policing women and girls,” said Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward.
U. Oregon agrees to free speech reforms to settle lawsuit with conservative professor– www.thecollegefix.com Source Link Excerpt:
‘Settlement acknowledges that Bruce Gilley should not have been blocked for quoting one of our founding documents,’ attorney says
The University of Oregon has agreed to enact free speech reforms to ensure it does not block or censor social media posts to settle a two-and-a-half year old lawsuit with a conservative professor who had been blocked from the institution’s X account after his “all men are created equal” post.
The settlement requires the University of Oregon to clarify social media guidelines to explicitly protect speech from viewpoint-based censorship, create an appeals process for those who believe they were wrongfully blocked, and conduct annual First Amendment training for staff who manage university social media accounts, said attorneys representing Professor Bruce Gilley in a news release.
The university will also pay for some of Gilley’s attorneys fees, the release stated. Inside Higher Edreported that the “university agreed in the settlement that its insurer would pay from $95,000 to $382,000 in attorneys’ fees to Gilley’s representatives — the Institute for Free Speech and the Angus Lee Law Firm.”
Congressional Republicans Determined to Bust Up the Gavel Gestapo in the District Courts– townhall.com Source Link Excerpt:
We’re arguably amidst a judicial insurrection that hasn’t been lost on anyone, especially within the Trump White House and on Capitol Hill. The Trump administration knew it would face opposition; this isn’t their first rodeo. It doesn’t make it any less infuriating, however. The only difference is that the president has an army of lawyers and an attorney general at the helm to help defend his lawful executive orders aimed at securing the border, deporting illegal aliens, reducing regulations, and rebuilding our military. You saw how many he signed on day one of his presidency. Members of the Republican Study Committee spoke about this on their recent podcast.
Lawfare Isn’t Beaten—in France or America– www.dailysignal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Elections are supposed to be decided at the ballot box, not in the courtroom—unless you’re French or, in this country, a liberal.
What a judge in France has just done by disqualifying Marine Le Pen from running in that nation’s next presidential election is what Democrats dream of doing here.
The controversial populist was ahead in the polls, but now Le Pen isn’t even eligible to run, thanks to a court that found her guilty of using European Union funds to pay for political expenses.
She insists the spending was legitimate, but as things stand French voters won’t get to decide for themselves who’s right.
Senate Hearing on Judges Blocking Trump’s Executive Orders– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on judges using universal injunctions to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders on Wednesday, April 2.
The hearing, titled “Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions,” will examine what Congress can do in response to lone district judges acting to block the implementation of Trump’s orders across the entire country.
The House held a similar hearing on Tuesday as the Supreme Court remains uninvolved in resolving the conflict between the executive and judicial branches of government.
SpaceX blasts off first human spaceflight, taking 4 astronauts on Earth’s polar orbit– timesofindia.indiatimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
Crew members will attempt to exit the spacecraft without medical assistance after re-entry, helping researchers study astronauts’ post-spaceflight capabilities.
Judge pauses order to halt legal funds for lone migrant children– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
A federal judge in California on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that ended legal funding for migrant children. Without the ruling, thousands of children would face greater obstacles to remaining in the United States.
The Trump administration canceled a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides legal help to migrant children under 18 through subcontractors. Several subcontractor groups sued over the order, arguing that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys.
“The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” she wrote.
Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan for Over 350,000 Deportations– slaynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
A Barack Obama-appointed activist federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to deport over 350,000 migrants from Venezuela.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration.
The move blocks the Trump administration from ending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.
The TPS status was granted under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
BREAKING: Obama appointee Federal Judge Edward Chen just blocked Trump’s administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Venezuelans.
Why are these rogue activists posing as judges allowed to constantly impede Trump?
Federal judge Ho dismisses public corruption case against Mayor Adams “with prejudice”– www.nydailynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
A federal judge on Wednesday permanently dismissed the sweeping public corruption charges against Mayor Adams — denying an effort by Trump’s Justice Department to have them, tossed “without prejudice,” or keeping open the possibility of bringing them again.
Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho’s decision was not based on the merits of the case against Adams or a belief of whether he was innocent or guilty.
The judge appointed an independent lawyer, Paul Clement, the former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to advise him on the matter, who recommended he dismiss the case for good. Clement said the prospect of the mayor feeling indebted to the president out of fear he could be reindicted and not New Yorkers was “deeply troubling.”
Alert: Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore legal aid to migrant children who traveled alone to US – San Francisco Chronicle Source Link
Tariffs may raise much less than White House projects, economists say– www.cnbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
President Donald Trump says that tariffs will make the U.S. “rich.” But those riches will likely be far less than the White House expects, economists said.
The ultimate sum could have big ramifications for the U.S. economy, the nation’s debt and legislative negotiations over a tax-cut package, economists said.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday estimated tariffs would raise about $600 billion a year and $6 trillion over a decade. Auto tariffs would add another $100 billion a year, he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Navarro made the projection as the U.S. plans to announce more tariffs against U.S. trading partners on Wednesday.
Economists expect the Trump administration’s tariff policy would generate a much lower amount of revenue than Navarro claims. Some project the total revenue would be less than half.
Roughly $600 billion to $700 billion a year “is not even in the realm of possibility,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s. “If you get to $100 billion to $200 billion, you’ll be pretty lucky.”