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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union stories: 17 news summaries

Taser Tells Cops: Don't
Aim at Chest

Company cites 'extremely low risk' but insists stun gun is safe

Oct 21, 09 11:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stun gun maker Taser has issued an advisory to police departments suggesting cops not aim at a suspect’s chest because it poses an "extremely low" chance of triggering an "adverse cardiac event." The company insists its product is safe, but if something goes wrong, "it... More »

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Arizona • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • heart attack • cardiac arrest • Colorado • Taser • stun gun • police department

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions

Administration tells Congress it wants to renew surveillance laws

Sep 16, 09 3:30 AM CDT
(AP) - The Obama administration supports extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year,  AP reports. The Justice Department tells Congress in a letter they will back preserving the post-9/11 law's authority to access business records, monitor so-called "lone... More »

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Department of Justice • American Civil Liberties Union • domestic surveillance • surveillance • Patriot Act • wiretapping • Obama administration • President Obama

 Court: Ashcroft on Hook  
 in Post-9/11 Detention Case 

Bush attorney general slammed for imprisonment without charges

Sep 4, 09 7:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former Bush attorney general John Ashcroft can be held personally responsible in a lawsuit brought by a US citizen who was detained on suspicion of being a material witness to terrorism but was never charged with a crime, an appellate court ruled today. Abdullah al-Kidd alleged the detention, begun in... More »

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Department of Justice • John Ashcroft • American Civil Liberties Union • US Constitution • appellate court • Abdullah al-Kidd • unconstitutional • material witness

Racial Profiling Still Widespread in US: ACLU

A lot of high-level talk, but no 'concrete action' on issue, report says

Jun 30, 09 2:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Racial profiling remains rampant in the US, with thousands detained yearly due to race, religion, or nationality, even though top federal officials are trying to halt the practice, the American Civil Liberties Union claims in a report to the UN. South Asian and North African immigrants are often targeted as... More »

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United Nations • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • racial profiling • report

CIA Calls on Court to Keep Interrogation Files Secret

Panetta warns that releasing records would benefit al-Qaeda

Jun 9, 09 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The head of the CIA urged a federal judge yesterday to keep records of harsh interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects under wraps, CNN reports. The ACLU is suing to make the files, which describe the content of destroyed CIA tapes, public. But Leon Panetta warned that doing so would have "... More »

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CIA • American Civil Liberties Union • CIA videotapes • harsh interrogation • interrogation tapes • al-Qaeda • Leon Panetta

(Newser) - A group of breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients has filed suit against the Patent Office for allowing a company to patent two human genes, the Courthouse News Service reports. The plaintiffs, who also include medical organizations and the ACLU, allege that Myriad Genetics' patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2... More »

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breast cancer • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • genetic screening • ovarian cancer • lawsuit • BRCA1 • BRCA2 • genes • medical treatment • Patent and Trademark Office • genetic research • patent

updated

 Obama Reverses, 
 Will Block Release  
 of Abuse Photos 

In reversal, president says images would endanger US troops

May 13, 09 1:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama has reversed position and will oppose the release of abuse photos of detainees in US custody, the Washington Post reports. "The publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • torture • American Civil Liberties Union • abuse • detainee • photograph • harsh interrogation • decision • Obama administration • President Obama • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - The White House is rethinking its promise to release photos of detainees being abused in US custody, press secretary Robert Gibbs suggested yesterday, saying President Obama has “great concern” about the impact they would have. At issue are 44 photos targeted in a Freedom of Information Act suit by... More »

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Barack Obama • torture • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • Freedom of Information Act • harsh interrogation • Obama administration • Robert Gibbs

ACLU Blasts Town's 9pm Teen Curfew

Wave of shootings prompts Hartford
to crack down

Aug 14, 08 5:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Connecticut ACLU officials are blasting a blanket 9pm teen curfew in Hartford and are considering challenging the crackdown in court, AP reports. The month-long curfew is due to begin tonight. The city announced the curfew after weekend shootings left one dead and 10 wounded. ACLU lawyers say the move violates... More »

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gangs • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • Connecticut • gang violence • curfew • Hartford

Denver Can 'Corral' Convention Protesters: Court

Judge rules security concerns take priority over free speech

Aug 7, 08 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - A federal judge has ruled that protesters can be confined to a fenced-in zone at the Democratic National Convention because security concerns outweigh activists' right to free speech, Reuters reports. The ACLU and a coalition of protest groups had brought a lawsuit against Denver and the Secret Service over plans... More »

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free speech • Denver • Democratic National Convention • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • protests • Protestantism • protesters

 Maryland
 Cops Spied
 on Peaceniks 

Activists branded terrorists & drug dealers

Jul 18, 08 4:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Groups opposing the death penalty and the war in Iraq were infiltrated and spied on by undercover Maryland State Police officers, according to police logs obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union. Some activists were placed on terrorist and drug trafficking databases with no evidence they were involved in any... More »

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American Civil Liberties Union • First Amendment • domestic surveillance • surveillance • terrorist • Maryland State Police • infiltration • Homeland Security and Intelligence Division • Baltimore Coalition Against the Death Penalty

LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans

'Total body imaging' devices look under clothes for weapons

Apr 18, 08 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - New technology will allow screeners at Los Angeles International Airport to scan passengers with a device that effectively looks beneath their clothes, the LA Times reports. The “whole body imaging” machines are drawing mixed reviews—a TSA spokesman praised the "brand-new security tool," but an ACLU rep... More »

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privacy • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • airport • airport security • TSA • LAX • airport screener • Los Angeles International Airport

Feds to Unveil New ID System

States get more time to phase in more secure licenses

Jan 11, 08 8:22 AM CST
(Newser) - Homeland Security officials will unveil plans today for new super-secure drivers' licenses but will give reluctant states more time to comply, the AP reports. Every American under 50 will have to switch to the new licenses by 2011 and those older by 2018. The licenses will be linked to a... More »

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American Civil Liberties Union • Department of Homeland Security • Michael Chertoff • Real ID • drivers licenses • national database

Democrats Withdraw Spy Bill

Delay vote that would give phone companies immunity in spy scandal

Dec 18, 07 3:20 AM CST
(Newser) - Legislation that would have granted retroactive immunity for phone companies that cooperated in the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program was abruptly withdrawn by Senate majority leader Harry Reid late yesterday. The legislation, favored by the White House, had deeply divided Democrats. Reid said the Senate would deal with the... More »

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Harry Reid • American Civil Liberties Union • Chris Dodd • FISA • FISA Court • warrantless wiretapping • immunity • telecommunications companies

Senate Brokers Truce With Bush on Domestic Spying

Includes immunity for phone companies

Oct 18, 07 4:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Senate Democrats and Republicans have brokered a deal on legislation regarding the White House domestic spying and wiretapping program—including a highly controversial grant of immunity to telecommunication companies that co-operated with warrantless wiretaps. The deal marks a victory for the White House because Democrats had to kill a House... More »

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Nancy Pelosi • CIA • FBI • Hamas • White House • House Judiciary Committee • American Civil Liberties Union • Arlen Specter • Patrick Leahy • Senate Intelligence Committee • Mike McConnell • warrantless wiretapping • domestic spying • John D. Rockefeller • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court • Louie Gohmert • domestic wiretapping • al-Qaeda

E-Z Pass Steers Cheaters to Divorce court

Toll booth records prove spouses were heading the wrong way

Aug 12, 07 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Spouses suspecting an unfaithful partner have an unlikely ally: automatic toll-booth passes with detailed electronic records that divorce attorneys are using to prove infidelity.  "It's an easy way to show who took the off-ramp to adultery," one lawyer quipped. The E-Z Pass devices, which are usually found... More »

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New Jersey • New York • American Civil Liberties Union • Pennsylvania • E Z Pass • adultery • toll collection • big brother

Botched Execution
Takes 2 Hours

Condemned killer took bathroom break during lethal injection

May 26, 07 7:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Prison staff at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility spent two hours administering lethal injection to condemned killer Christopher Newton—inserting needles ten times before finding a suitable vein to inject the deadly chemicals. Newton had been sentenced to die for killing his cellmate during an argument after a chess game. More »

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death penalty • torture • prison • ACLU • American Civil Liberties Union • Ohio • lethal injection • execution • capital punishment • Christopher Newton • death row

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