News & Commentary

CHICAGO - Congress and the Bush White House overstepped their constitutional authority and violated the rights of millions of customers when they passed and approved legislation granting sweeping immunity to telecoms that collaborated in illegal spying. That assertion is contained in a court filing today by three California affiliates and the Illinois affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with other interested parties in cases consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The ACLU lawsuits filed on behalf of dozens of plaintiffs - including renowned Chicago journalist Studs Terkel, former California Congressman Tom Campbell, journalist Robert Scheer and actor Richard Belzer -- challenge the unlawful collaboration of major telecommunications' companies - including AT&T - with the Bush administration's warrantless dragnet surveillance of electronic communications and records.

The ACLU/SC has launched a public education campaign to fight misinformation about the rights people with felony convictions have to vote. Get the facts and know your rights: California residents who have finished their sentences and parole do have the right to vote. Individuals on probation also can vote. All you have to do to restore your rights and take back your voting power is to register to vote by Oct. 20th at the post office or DMV.

The ACLU/SC has launched a public education campaign to fight misinformation about the rights people with felony convictions have to vote. Get the facts and know your rights: California residents who have finished their sentences and parole do have the right to vote. Individuals on probation also can vote. All you have to do to restore your rights and take back your voting power is to register to vote by Oct. 20th at the post office or DMV. Click here to download a quick guide, and click here to download a complete toolkit. For more information, visit Every Vote Counts.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The film 'Tru Loved' - which tells a poignant tale about gay and lesbian teen-agers dealing with parents and high-school friendships as well as their own hopes and fears -- will premier at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, October 11 at the Regent Showcase Theater, 614 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California today announced an immigration victory for Ahilan Nadarajah, an ethnic Tamil farmer who, after being tortured in his native Sri Lanka, sought asylum in the United States. He then suffered through a nearly seven-year ordeal as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials held him first in immigration jail and later under electronic monitoring because of secret, fake evidence accusing him of being a terrorist.

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ORANGE, CALIF. - A Buddhist congregation will be able to move forward with plans to build a long-awaited temple under the terms of a settlement announced today with the city of Garden Grove.

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ORANGE, Calif. - A state appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of misdemeanor charges of disrupting a meeting against Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, a former Orange Coast College student involved in a free-speech lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa.