Courthouse News Service
New York's highest court weighs NYC law granting noncitizens the right to vote
The New York City Council asked the state’s highest court on Tuesday to uphold a city law that allows qualifying noncitizens to vote in its elections.
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If the New York Court of Appeals rules in favor of the city, about a third of the city’s adult population would be allowed to participate in municipal elections.
Smartmatic disputes Fox News' reporting privileges in defamation case
Voting technology company Smartmatic asked a New York state judge Wednesday to deny Fox News certain reporting privileges the news company claims are intended to protect journalists under the First Amendment.
Smartmatic, which launched a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox in 2021, said that these protections are not only inapplicable in this case but have not even been historically recognized by New York law.
Suspect in fatal burning of NYC woman indicted
The man accused of setting a woman on fire on a New York City subway has been indicted on four counts of murder and one count of arson, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Friday.
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Prosecutors say Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, set the woman on fire as she was sleeping on an F train nearing the Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn pn Sunday. After Zapeta set her clothing on fire, prosecutors say, he fanned the flames and then watched her burn. The police have not yet identified the woman.
Efforts to protect abortion rights largely successful, despite GOP rout
Abortion rights advocates saw measures in seven states to protect and expand reproductive health access succeed, while voters in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments that would leave abortion bans in place.
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Perhaps most notably, Missouri approved a measure guaranteeing the right to an abortion until a fetus is viable — which typically occurs around 21 weeks. Missouri, a mostly red state, was the first to pass a ban on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with its 2022 Dobbs ruling.
