Topics: Editors Picks - 199 results

Was Amanda Knox naïve before she was arrested for murder in Italy? Yes. Was her behavior often flaky, clueless and inappropriate for her situation? Yes. Was her youthful attractiveness a liability with the media and at trial? Maybe. Was she a killer who stabbed her roommate? No way. In her new memoir, “Waiting to Be Heard,” Amanda Knox of Seattle, Wash., describes the nightmare of her 43 hours of interrogation over three days, an 11-month trial and four years in …

Shortly after an anarchy advocate successfully tested a plastic gun fabricated using 3D printing technology, and then distributed the plans on the internet, the U.S. State Department had the plans pulled due a possible violation of an international arms treaty. Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, and self-described anti-statist, printed a handgun called the “Liberator” and successfully fired it. The gun is completely made out of plastic assembled by a 3D printer, with the exception of …

As many as six states this year could advance death with dignity laws that would allow individuals to take their own lives with the help of doctor-prescribed medication. Currently, only Oregon and Washington have statutes allowing physicians to aid people with dying, while Montana allows the practice through court precedent. Varying polls show majority support for death with dignity laws. Last year 84 percent of Americans polled agreed that “How a terminally ill person chooses to end his/her life should …

Legislation signed into law in Kansas last week will sharply restrict women’s access to abortions, part of a nationwide assault on reproductive rights. The language of the bill “declares the life of each human being begins at fertilization, with all state laws to be interpreted and construed to protect the rights, privileges, and immunities of the unborn child, subject only to the U.S. Constitution and the judicial decisions and interpretations of the U.S. Supreme Court.” Although the statute gives a …

The nail-biting manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect on Apr. 19 led police from door to door in Watertown, Mass., looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. How were police able to search people’s homes without warrants?   No Warrant, but Still Need a Reason The Fourth Amendment, of course, requires police to have warrants supported by “probable cause” to conduct searches. But exceptions allow police to make emergency searches without warrants – and sometimes even without probable cause. The “exigent circumstances” …