A federal judge in Montana halted construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday on the grounds that the U.S. government did not complete a full analysis of the environmental impact of the TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) project. Continue reading “U.S. judge halts construction of Keystone XL oil pipeline”
UBS faces new legal battle in U.S. over mortgage securities
UBS Group AG (UBSG.S), Switzerland’s largest bank, faces another potentially costly legal battle as the U.S. Department of Justice draws up civil charges over the sale of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.
UBS said on Wednesday it expected to be sued by the Justice Department as early as Thursday. The bank said the claims were not supported by the facts or the law and it would contest any complaint vigorously.
Analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank said it was unclear how long the U.S. legal case might last and that it was hard to estimate what size fine UBS might face.
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Florida approves ballot measure restoring felons’ voting rights
Florida voters on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to some 1.5 million people with felony convictions, ending a system that activists said disproportionately affected poor and black residents.
The passage of Amendment Four with the support of 64 percent of voters could reverberate beyond Florida into the 2020 presidential election because of the outsize role the battleground state often plays in deciding close national elections.
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Mail bomb suspect to have first hearing in U.S. court in New York
The Florida man accused of mailing bombs to prominent Democrats and other critics of U.S. President Donald Trump was due to make his first appearance in federal court in New York on Tuesday where prosecutors will argue he is too dangerous to be freed on bail.
Cesar Sayoc was arrested on Oct. 26 in Fort Lauderdale and agreed in a Florida court appearance last week to be transferred to federal court in New York to face five criminal charges.
Sayoc, a former stripper and pizza delivery driver who lived in a white van festooned with right-wing political images supporting Trump and attacking his critics, was arrested following an intense manhunt.
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U.S. Supreme Court ends fight over Obama-era net neutrality rules
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused a request by the Trump administration and the telecommunications industry to wipe away a lower court decision that had upheld Obama-era net neutrality rules aimed at ensuring a free and open internet, though the justices’ action does not undo the 2017 repeal of the policy.
The high court decision not to throw out the 2016 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling leaves a legal precedent in place that could help net neutrality supporters in any future legal battle if that policy is ever re-introduced.
The rules championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, intended to safeguard equal access to content on the internet, were opposed by President Donald Trump, a Republican.
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