AUSTIN, Texas – Texas’ strict voter ID law discriminates against minorities and the poor and must be weakened before the November elections, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, giving more than a half-million registered voters a likely easier path to casting a ballot.
The ruling was a striking election-year victory for the administration of President Barack Obama, which took the unusual step of bringing the U.S. Justice Department into Texas to fight the case. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the ruling affirmed that the 2011 law – which Texas enforced in three elections – abridged the right to vote based on race or color.
Elections experts widely agree that the Texas law, which accepted concealed handgun licenses but not college IDs, was the toughest in the nation.
WASHINGTON – The backlog in the federal immigration court system has eclipsed half a million pending cases, The Associated Press has learned.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review said Wednesday there are now 500,051 pending immigration cases in the agency’s courts.
The backlog has been steadily rising in recent years as the number of unaccompanied children and people traveling as families have been caught crossing the Mexican border illegally. Since 2011, more than 200,000 cases have been added to the court’s docket and backlog is likely to continue growing.
PARIS – France adopted a deeply divisive labor bill Wednesday after the government used a special measure to force it through Parliament without a vote, ending months of often violent protests and damaging political division.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls argued to the lower house of Parliament that the bill, which weakens union powers, makes layoffs easier and extends the work week, is necessary to create jobs and make the economy more globally competitive.
He used the special measure because left and right couldn’t agree on the reforms.
The bill led to months of violent clashes between police and leftist protesters who accuse the Socialist government of trampling on democracy and dismantling hard-won worker protections.
Associated Press
