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Law

Harpoon aboard a Japanese whaling ship

Japan to Launch Commercial Whaling Operations This Summer

The country has announced that it is leaving the International Whaling Commission

Felicity Jones, playing future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, makes the oral argument for Moritz in a scene from On the Basis of Sex.

Based on a True Story

The True Story of the Case Ruth Bader Ginsburg Argues in ‘On the Basis of Sex’

Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was the first gender-discrimination suit Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued in court

Trending Today

Crab Fishermen Sue Energy Companies Over Climate Change

The suit alleges that oil firms are responsible for climate change driven algae blooms, which have delayed and shortened recent crab-harvesting seasons

Thomas Jennings, accused of murdering Clarence D. Hiller, Chicago, Illinois, 1910.

The First Criminal Trial That Used Fingerprints as Evidence

Thomas Jennings used a freshly painted railing to flee a murder scene but unwittingly left behind something that would change detective work forever

A man cleans a skull near a mass grave at the Chaung Ek torture camp run by the Khmer Rouge in this undated photo.

Landmark Verdict Finds Two of Khmer Rouge’s Surviving Leaders Guilty of Genocide

It is the first time that such a verdict has been meted out against high-ranking members of the brutal Cambodian regime

The court deemed Levola’s argument to be full of holes, much like a chunk of Swiss.

Dutch Company Can’t Copyright the Taste of Its Cheese, E.U. Court Rules

Taste, according to the ruling, is an ‘idea’

The Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver.

Why Colorado Had to Vote This Week to Abolish Slavery in All Forms

Previously, the state’s constitution made an exception for slavery as a punishment for convicted criminals

Several young plaintiffs and their families had already planned to live in Eugene, Oregon, during the now-delayed trial—which was set to begin in a lower court in the state on Oct. 29—in order to stay on track in school.

Supreme Court Orders Pause in Landmark Climate Change Case Led By Youth

21 children and young people are suing the United States government over policies they say contribute to climate change

A 1736 map of Scotland—with Shetland in a box.

New Law Puts Shetland on the Map—and Outside of a Box

Cartographers had previously been in the habit of representing the Scottish islands inside a box because they are located so far from the mainland

Grizzly Bear in Yellowstone National Park

Federal Judge Cancels Yellowstone Grizzly Hunt, Restores Species Protections

The judge found that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service had acted ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’ in removing federal protections for the species

Michael D’Antuono, "The Talk"

NYC Pop-Up Exhibition Traces Broken Windows Policing’s Toll

The show explores how the policing of minor crimes has caused an uptick in racial profiling, particularly targeting African American and Latino communities

Trending Today

‘It Wasn’t Aliens’: Solar Observatory That Was Mysteriously Evacuated Will Reopen Tomorrow

The Sunspot Observatory in New Mexico was closed for ten days due to a ‘security threat,’ though aliens and solar flares have been ruled out

Solar panel in Death Valley National Park.

Trending Today

What to Know About California’s Commitment to 100 Percent Clean Energy by 2045

The bold legislation was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown earlier this week

North Carolina will leave three Confederate monuments in place at the state Capitol

North Carolina Votes to Keep Three Confederate Monuments at the State Capitol

The state’s historical commission said it was bound by a 2015 law that restricts the relocation of statues on public property

Elaine Defendants, Helena, Phillips County, Ark., ca. 1910,

The Massacre of Black Sharecroppers That Led the Supreme Court to Curb the Racial Disparities of the Justice System

White Arkansans, fearful of what would happen if African-Americans organized, took violent action, but it was the victims who ended up standing trial

Trending Today

Europe Applies Strict Regulations to CRISPR Crops

A court has ruled that plants modified with CRISPR technology are subject to the restrictions of the 2001 GMO Directive

Trending Today

How a “Sultry” Statue of Liberty Cost the U.S. Post Office More Than $3.5 Million

A sculptor was awarded millions in royalties after the USPS accidentally used an image of his Las Vegas replica on a 2010 postage stamp

A cartoon entitled "At the Polls," depicting an election day brawl, that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1857.

History of Now

Why Are There Laws That Restrict What People Can Wear to the Polls?

A new Supreme Court ruling changes the course of a century-long debate over speech and conduct when voting

Fully 73 percent of the patents studied in the paper pertained to microbial species, which account for about 20 percent of marine life.

New Research

Nearly Half the Patents on Marine Genes Belong to Just One Company

Who owns biodiversity? No one and everyone—or maybe, a German chemical company

Exterior of the Iroquois Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, 1903

The Iroquois Theater Disaster Killed Hundreds and Changed Fire Safety Forever

The deadly conflagration ushered in a series of reforms that are still visible today

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