The federal courts have taken "extensive" steps to protect workers from abuse, discrimination and harassment since the rise of the #MeToo movement, by creating more paths to report misbehavior and offering a new training session for in-house investigators, U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad Jr. said Wednesday. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which handles the judiciary's administration, reported that the overall number of complaints against federal judges remains small, with just...

Scientists have unveiled the first draft of the Human Cell Atlas, a project aiming to map every cell type in the human body to enhance the understanding of health and disease. It could eventually be used to better treat cancer and inflammatory disorders. Described as a "Google Maps for cell biology," the atlas charts how different cells work together to form tissues and organs. This initial version focuses on cells from the mouth, stomach, intestines, and areas that guide bone and joint...

HARARE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Southern Africa's regional bloc on Wednesday extended by a year its troop deployment in Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is helping the government fight rebel groups. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployed the mission in Congo, a major producer of metals like cobalt and copper, in December 2023 with a one-year mandate. A communique issued after regional leaders met in Zimbabwe's capital Harare expressed concern at the security and...

The Portland City Council authorized a $400,000 payout Wednesday to settle a lawsuit from a disabled protester who accused Portland Police Bureau officers of using excessive force against him during racial justice protests in 2020. Why it matters: The settlement is the largest single payout by the city tied to the 2020 protest lawsuits and highlights the growing financial and legal consequences regarding police misconduct. Context: Dustin Ferreira, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta and...

Members of the House Ethics Committee met behind closed doors Wednesday but did not reach an agreement on whether to publicly release a report detailing their sweeping investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Several Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have said they want to review the House report on the yearslong investigation into Gaetz, R-Fla., before a Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for him next...

The House Ethics Committee deadlocked Wednesday afternoon on releasing a report from its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump’s pick to be attorney general, deciding against releasing the results of an investigation after a party-line vote. A swarm of reporters waited outside an Ethics Committee meeting for more than two hours before Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) emerged to announce there was no agreement by...

The House Ethics Committee did not come to an agreement about whether to release its report detailing the yearslong investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) said Wednesday after the committee met for a closed-door session. The committee adjourned after two hours of meeting, with lawmakers emerging from the closed-door meeting declining to comment. However, no decision was made on whether to publish, according to the chairman.

Employers and workers may not realize it, but they just dodged a bullet. They can thank a federal judge in Texas who just tossed out a Biden administration rule that tried to raise the salary threshold for overtime pay by 65%, from $35,568 to $58,656 per year (a range that includes about 12 million workers). That new threshold would have exceeded the earnings of more than 70% of workers in lower-cost states such as Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia. The same thing...

On Friday a federal judge in Texas struck down a new rule from the Biden administration aimed at extending overtime protections to millions of workers. Judge Sean D. Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that the Labor Department went beyond its authority in issuing the regulation earlier this year. He granted summary judgment to the state of Texas, which had sued to stop the rule from taking effect.

A federal judge in Texas entirely eliminated a rule from President Joe Biden’s administration that expanded overtime protections for workers by requiring employers to pay overtime premiums to more salaried people, multipleoutlets reported, eliminating one of the highest-profile Labor Department rules enacted during the Biden administration. Judge Sean D. Jordan in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas—who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump in his...