laws

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A Slew of New Laws Are Coming in 2025

There is now only one state that hasn't banned texting while driving

(Newser) - Artificial intelligence, abortion, guns, marijuana, minimum wages: Name a hot topic, and chances are good there's a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another, the AP reports. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed in 2024. Others...

St. Louis Barbers Released From 'Irrational' '40s Law

Ordinance nixed that barred barbers from operating past 6:30pm, or on Sundays, certain holidays

(Newser) - Friday was a big day for the barbers of St. Louis—they're now officially allowed to cut hair after the late-afternoon rush hour. KMOV reports that the Missouri city's Board of Alderman passed a bill that repealed an "outdated and irrational" law dating back eight decades that...

Bad News for Dissidents in Hong Kong
Bad News for
Dissidents in
Hong Kong
Mar 19, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Bad News for Dissidents in Hong Kong

New law gives government sweeping powers to stifle dissent

(Newser) - Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously approved a new national security law Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, reports the AP , widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The Safeguarding National Security Bill will expand the authorities' ability...

Critics Slam DeSantis' New 'Medical Freedom' Law

Florida bill allows doctors, insurers to refuse services based on religious, moral, ethical beliefs

(Newser) - On Thursday, Ron DeSantis signed what his office is touting as "the strongest legislation in the nation for medical freedom," with four separate bills that the Republican governor says offer "expanded protections [that] will help ensure that medical authoritarianism does not take root in Florida." One...

France to City Folk: Deal With Sounds of the Countryside

Senate passes law to protect rural areas' 'sensory heritage'

(Newser) - In an attempt to stop rural French neighbors from being at each other's throats, France has just passed a law to protect the nation's "sensory heritage." What that means, in essence, per CNN : Weekenders visiting from more urban areas won't be able to stifle most...

HK Enforces New Security Decree: 'Stop Breaking the Law'

At least 180 arrested after riot-inspired law put into place to stop secessionist, subversive activity

(Newser) - Hong Kong police made their first arrests under a new national security law imposed by China's central government, detaining at least two protesters Wednesday for carrying flags and signs calling for Hong Kong's independence. A man who had a Hong Kong independence flag was arrested at a protest...

China Is Making a Big Move on Hong Kong
China Is Making 
a Big Move on Hong Kong
the rundown
May 21, 2020 11:05 AM CDT

China Is Making a Big Move on Hong Kong

Beijing about to impose a new law to crack down on anti-China sentiment

(Newser) - China is about to clamp down on Hong Kong with a controversial new law, a move expected to trigger more pro-democracy protests and possible retaliation from the US. Critics fear it could end or drastically curtail the unique political freedoms the city enjoys. Coverage:
  • The law: When China's parliament
...

9 Notable New Laws in 2017
9 Notable New
Laws in 2017
Jan 4, 2017 1:04 PM CST

9 Notable New Laws in 2017

They involve sky lanterns, catfish, and tampons

(Newser) - If you plan to hunt catfish in Illinois this year, be sure to bring your pitchfork. Using pitchforks, spear guns, and arrows to catch the fish is now legal under one of several new state and city laws that came into effect with the New Year. Some of the more...

Virginia Looks to Bar 12-Year-Olds From Marrying

If law passes, kids under 16 can no longer wed, even if pregnant and with parents' OK

(Newser) - Although laws in Virginia state the minimum age to wed is 16, the fine print reveals a more disturbing picture: Much younger kids may be able to marry with parental permission and if the girl is pregnant, leading to extreme cases in which youngsters not even in their teens have...

8 Weird US Sex Laws
 8 Weird US Sex Laws 
May 8, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

8 Weird US Sex Laws

Want to settle your tab with sex? That's a no-no in Alabama

(Newser) - Sex is an intimate act between two people ... except for when government is also involved. Some of the strangest laws of the land relating to the horizontal tango:
  1. In New Hampshire, it's illegal to cheat on your spouse—adultery being defined there, since the early 1800s, as "intercourse
...

Light Bulb Ban Among 2014's 40K New Laws

Placentas, drones, pot also feature

(Newser) - Most of the 40,000 new state, federal, and local laws that took effect at midnight are pretty dull but there are some doozies in there—including the legalization of recreational pot in Colorado, where over-21s will be able to walk into stores and buy weed for recreational toking starting...

'Revenge Porn': Why the Legal System Fails to Stop It

Activists say laws must be written very carefully

(Newser) - Just why is "revenge porn" proliferating across the Internet? Not only because scumbag ex-boyfriends are so easy to come by, Salon reports. Activists say people get away with posting photos of women in various states of undress because the legal system hasn't caught up. In civil law, website...

Thousands of New Laws in Effect, Some of Them Odd
Thousands of New Laws in Effect, Some of Them Odd
welcome, 2013
Jan 1, 2013 12:29 PM CST

Thousands of New Laws in Effect, Some of Them Odd

If you live in Kentucky, don't even think about releasing a wild hog

(Newser) - While everyone fretted about the fiscal cliff , thousands of new state laws quietly took effect at midnight. The Christian Science Monitor , the Washington Post , and Mediaite run down a few notable ones, from the weird (feral hogs?) to the more conventional:
  • Caylee's Law: Legislation named after Caylee Anthony took
...

Malawi to Outlaw Farting
 Malawi to Outlaw Farting 
Jan 29, 2011 1:40 PM CST

Malawi to Outlaw Farting

'Local courts' law will also forbid impersonating a fortune teller

(Newser) - The government of Malawi is about to enact a law making it illegal to “foul the air” in public, the Daily Mail reports. Yes, farting will be one of many behaviors outlawed by new legislation that will set up “Local Courts” around the country. These courts will be...

5 Things You Can No Longer Do in 2011

Sorry, K2 addicts...

(Newser) - As we rang in the new year, we also rang in about 31,000 new state laws. The Week rounds up five you should know about:
  • In California: If you were planning on, say, creating a fake Facebook profile for your mortal enemy, think again. Impersonating someone online is now
...

No Dueling, and Other Weird Recent Laws
No Dueling, and Other Weird Recent Laws 
in case you missed it
Oct 2, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

No Dueling, and Other Weird Recent Laws

That's right, we said recent

(Newser) - Over the years, you've probably seen some news piece or other chortling at the silliness of antiquated old laws still lingering on the books. But in the new Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities, author Nathan Belofsky also reveals a number of bizarre statutes passed startlingly recently. Salon highlights...

'Meddling Bureaucrats' Ruining America
 'Meddling Bureaucrats' 
 Ruining America 
opinion
Jul 14, 2010 1:45 PM CDT

'Meddling Bureaucrats' Ruining America

We've got way too many laws, writes John Stossel

(Newser) - John Stossel rails against big government and the endless array of new laws he says are ruining America. "We've become a nation of a million rules," he writes at RealClearPolitics . "Not the kind of bottom-up rules that people generate through voluntary associations. Those are fine. I mean...

17 Stories