Laws and regulations

Oath Keepers Members Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy
Two leaders of the Oath Keepers were found guilty by a jury Tuesday, 29 November, of seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
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What Is Seditious Conspiracy?
The conviction on Tuesday of militia leader Stewart Rhodes in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol marks the first time in more than two decades that the Justice Department has successfully used a criminal charge known as “seditious conspiracy.”
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Oath Keepers Convictions Shed Light on the Limits of Free Speech – and the Threat Posed by Militias
The conviction of two leaders of the Oath Keepers militia for seditious conspiracy – a rarely used, Civil War-era charge typically reserved in recent decades for terror plots – are the most significant yet relating to the violent storming of the Capitol, and have meaning that extends beyond those who were on trial. The Oath Keepers convictions illuminate two crucial issues facing the country: the limits of the American right to free speech and the future of the militia movement.
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Brazil Court Rejects Jair Bolsonaro Election Challenge
Three weeks after losing Brazil’s election by the narrowest margin seen in decades, outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro had filed a long-shot appeal claiming votes should be thrown out due to faulty voting machines.
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EFF's Atlas of Surveillance Database Now Documents 10,000+ Police Tech Programs
The EFF has created a searchable and mappable repository of which law enforcement agencies in the U.S. use surveillance technologies such as body-worn cameras, drones, automated license plate readers, and face recognition.
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More U.S. Adults Carrying Loaded Handguns Daily: Study
The number of U.S. adult handgun owners carrying a loaded handgun on their person doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to new research. S larger proportion of handgun owners carried handguns in states with less restrictive carrying regulation, where approximately one-third of handgun owners reported carrying in the past month.
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This Gun Policy Platform Could Help Reduce Gun Violence by 28%: Researchers
A new report with findings from Tufts University School of Medicine experts proposes policies molded from common ground found between gun owners and non-gun owners.
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The Benefits of Integrating Electric Vehicles into Electricity Distribution Systems
As the cost of EVs continues to decrease, the industry matures, incentives grow, and charging infrastructure improves, EVs could make up the vast majority of vehicles on the road in 2050. Many studies have looked at how increased electricity demand will affect the bulk power system in the United States, but public analysis of the impacts on the distribution system has been less prevalent.
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U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Network Supplying Russia with Weapons Tech
The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of entities and individuals that it says are involved in supplying Russia with military technology to use in its war against Ukraine.
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The Missing Review of FBI’s January 6 Intelligence and Law Enforcement Failures
Much attention has been paid to the troubling institutional culture among agents at the U.S. Secret Service – agents who, according to Asha Rangappa. sympathized with, and since minimized their advanced knowledge of, the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6. “It is time to focus similar attention on the FBI,” she writes.
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No Evidence of Any Voting Machine Compromised: CISA
“We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country”: CISA
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Voters Largely Reject Election Deniers as Secretaries of State – but the Partisan Battle for Election Administration Will Continue
It appears that voters have largely rejected the vast majority of chief election official candidates who ran their campaigns as election deniers. But this election season raises questions, and exposes flaws, about how senior election officials are selected in the U.S. The platforms of these election deniers who appeared on the 2022 midterm ballot illustrate the risk that this dynamic poses to ongoing voter trust and future election results.
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U.S. Officials Hope Confidence Campaign Pays Off for Midterm Elections
“Americans should go to the ballot box with confidence,” Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Election Security Agency (CISA), told a cybersecurity forum late last month. Yet U.S. officials also acknowledge the threats to Tuesday’s elections are serious and are being treated with proper caution.
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Beyond the Results, the Midterms Can Tell Us a Lot About How American Democracy Is Faring
Election night and the days immediately before and after will provide valuable insights into the health of democracy in the United States. Here are four things to watch.
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Ye (Kanye West): What You Need to Know
Since early October 2022, Ye – the highly influential artist, record producer, and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West – has drawn media attention for inflammatory antisemitic and conspiratorial remarks. Here’s what you need to know about Ye’s statements, his history of espousing controversial views and why they are concerning.
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