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1. 美国最高法院暂停奥巴马政府气候变化规定的实施（Supreme Court blocks Obama climate change rules）
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt President Barack Obama a blow by moving to temporarily block his administration's rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Reacting to a lawsuit from 29 states, as well as the energy industry, justices blocked the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan from going forward while the rule is challenged in court.
The decision means that Obama now has two major legacy actions -- immigration and climate change -- stuck in the court system with the specter of a Republican taking over the White House in January.
Obama has pushed action on global warming as a key part of his legacy, an effort that reached its peak with the deal at the U.N.-led talks on climate change in Paris in December.
Proponents of the plan did not expect the high court to step in at this juncture, particularly since the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hold oral arguments in June and neither the industry nor the states would have had to come into compliance for at least two years. That a divided Supreme Court stepped in at this juncture to block the program after a lower court declined to do so sends a signal that at least five justices are concerned with some aspect of the plan. (CNN)
近年来，奥巴马政府在国际社会中不断做出温室气体减排承诺，希望树立良好的国际形象，包括与中国达成温室气体减排协议、在联合国巴黎气候大会上推动达成历史性减排协定等。然而，对美国政府而言，不论如何做出风光的承诺，回到国内都要老老实实地遵守国内分权制衡的游戏规则，不仅包括立法机构的制约，还面临司法机构的审查。
美国最高法院周二就做出决定，暂停实施奥巴马政府关于限制发电厂温室气体排放的规定，这给了奥巴马总统一次打击。
作为对来自美国29个州的诉讼和能源行业诉求的回应，最高法院的法官们在环境保护署的《清洁能源计划》还在联邦上诉法院审查之中时，就做出了此项暂停实施的决定。
这项《清洁能源计划》的支持者们万万没有想到最高法院会在这个节骨眼上做出这个决定。一方面，华盛顿特区联邦上诉法院将在六月份举行口头辩论，现在才二月份，离辩论时间都还早；另一方面，即便按照该计划，不论是能源行业还是各州都要至少到两年以后才须遵守该计划，现在还啥影响都没有呢。
其实联邦上诉法院本身并不同意做出暂停实施的决定。而最高法院最终以5:4通过该项决定，其中民主党的4名法官都表示不赞同，奈何共和党的法官就靠比民主党多出的1人，通过了此项决定。最高法院在这个时机主动介入，意味着这5名赞同暂停实施的法官对该计划的某些方面存有疑虑。
这一决定意味着，奥巴马政府的两项主要政治遗产——移民和气候变化行动，都陷入法院诉讼之中。奥巴马的移民政策之前一直被有些人批评是政府权力的过度扩张，受到来自各方的压力和挑战。奥巴马将防止全球气候变暖行动作为其政治遗产的一个关键部分，尤其是在2015年12月联合国巴黎气候大会上，各方在美国主导下达成了减排协定，而如今国内的政策实施却被迫暂停。与此同时，奥巴马还面临着不断崛起的共和党势力。在国会，共和党议员们也一直在反对奥巴马政府的减排限制，众议院议长、共和党人Paul Ryan周二直接称这些减排规定违法。那些参加下任总统竞选的共和党候选人们在竞选活动中也不断批评奥巴马政府的此项行动。很显然，在奥巴马卸任总统前，这些诉讼案件不太可能了结。真可谓屋漏偏逢连夜雨，这些政策和行动的未来前途未卜。
最高法院九名现任大法官
后排（从左到右）：Sonia Sotomayor（民主党）, Stephen G. Breyer（民主党）, Samuel A. Alito（共和党）, and Elena Kagan（民主党）
前排（从左到右）：Clarence Thomas（共和党）, Antonin Scalia（共和党）, John G. Roberts（Chief Justice，共和党）, Anthony M. Kennedy（共和党）, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg（民主党）
相信不用说，大家都能猜出谁赞成、谁反对了吧。看来党派政治无处不在，连最高法院也无法幸免。
2. 南非最高法院审理了起诉总统祖玛的案件（South African court hears case against president）
The chant "Pay back the money" filtered into South Africa's highest court on Tuesday, as judges heard a case in which President Jacob Zuma is accused of violating the constitution in a scandal over state spending on his private home.
Inside court, lawyers argued before 11 judges over whether the president broke the law by failing to follow a 2014 recommendation from the state watchdog agency that he pay back some of the more than $20 million in security upgrades to his rural home.
Outside, several thousand opposition party supporters demonstrated against what they described as corruption by the head of state, shouting that he should return state money used to improve his private home.
Zuma's office, on Feb. 3, said he was willing to reimburse some money, an about-turn to his previous position that he did nothing wrong. His critics said he was trying to avoid the embarrassment of a court hearing and a repeat of last year's heckling during his State of the Nation address, to be held on Thursday. (Breaking Legal News)
南非总统祖玛是土生土长的南非人，而且是占南非人口最多的祖鲁人，他出身卑微，经历过反种族歧视斗争、境外流亡等，有丰富的参政经验，于2009年就任南非总统。在就任总统之前，他就遭到过多次指控，但最后都得以化危为安。
这次，南非最高法院审理了这位祖玛总统的又一桩案件。据称，祖玛曾将超过2000万美元的安保升级资金用在他乡下的家中，而在2014年南非监察机构提出偿还其中一定款项的建议后，祖玛并没有理睬。祖玛现在因该丑闻而被指控违反宪法。
法庭上，律师们在11名法官面前就总统此种行为是否违法进行着争辩；法庭外，数千名反对党支持者举行示威抗议，称这是国家元首的腐败行为，要求总统退还用于改善私人家庭的国家款项。
祖玛办公室在2016年2月3日称，祖玛愿意补偿一定金额的款项。与之前坚持没有不当行为的立场相比，这一态度已经有了大转变。而批评者称，这是他为了避免法庭审理的尴尬和国情演讲中被诘问而不得不采取的措施而已。
祖玛咋这么爱家？原来，南非白种人传统上实行一夫一妻制，而祖鲁人等黑人种族传统上实行一夫多妻制。在白种人掌权时，只允许一夫一妻，而在南非废除种族主义制度之后，南非政府于1998年宣布一夫多妻制合法。祖玛虽是基督徒，但支持一夫多妻制，是南非首位奉行一夫多妻制的总统。据报道，祖玛前后共娶过六任妻子，现有四房妻子，二十多个孩子，甚至据说2010年祖玛还和老友的女儿偷情生了个孩子，被发现后只好公开向当时三个现任妻子道歉。
图片来源：www.timeslive.co.za
3. 卢森堡将率先建立“小行星采矿”法律框架（Luxembourg to pioneer legal framework for ‘asteroid mining’）
Luxembourg is pushing to the forefront of the up-and-coming ‘asteroid mining’ industry, wherein mining companies will reap precious metals including gold, platinum and tungsten from terrain beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and repatriate them to Earth for commercial gain. ‘Luxembourg [wants] to set up a regulatory and legal framework in preparation for the exploitation of space,’ commented Jean-Jaques Dordain, former European Space Agency head and current adviser to Luxembourg. It is understood that the government is also looking to invest in space mining companies.
Luxembourg’s announcement follows in the footsteps of US President Barack Obama, who last year signed the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act into law. The act ensures ownership, storage, transport, use and sale rights over space resources for the companies that retrieve them. However, it has since been highlighted that implementing the act may violate the Cold War-era 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which decrees that outer space (including the moon, planets and other celestial bodies) ‘is not subject to national appropriation by claims of sovereignty.’ Experts have warned that from legal inconsistencies may flow international political disputes as the embryonic industry begins to gain traction in the global resource economy.
US lawyer Michael Listner, founder of the Space Law and Policy think tank, has suggested that Luxembourg’s announcement marks an early attempt to untangle the legal binds inflicted by the OST and shore up security for investors in Europe’s emerging space-mining industry. Experts have suggested that if the industry is able to attract substantial early investment, then eventual costs associated with mining space minerals and transporting them to Earth may be kept down through collaboration. ‘This is something for investors to hang their hat on,’ said Mr Listner of Luxembourg’s announcement, ‘to give them confidence and say that there’s a nascent legal framework.’ (Global Legal Post; The Japan Times; The Guardian)
图片来源： The Conversation
在外太空采矿？这忽然间不再是遥远的幻想，看来人类真的要准备开启占领宇宙时代了。而“文明”社会中，随着商业的推进和拓殖，通常需要配套的立法和规则。就像当年西方世界开启航海冒险时代、逐步对全球进行殖民统治一样，伴随着的是海商法、海上保险法等各种立法的不断发展成熟。这或许就是贪婪果树上结出的法律之花。
这次，卢森堡走在了极具前景的“小行星采矿”业的前沿。矿业公司们将从地球大气层以外的小行星采获金、铂金和钨等贵重金属，并送回地球，来获得商业利润。前欧洲太空总署（European Space Agency）署长、现任卢森堡咨询顾问的Jean-Jaques Dordain评论说，“卢森堡（希望）建立一个监管和法律框架，来为空间开发做好准备。”不用说，政府也正在寻求投资这些太空采矿公司。
其实，在卢森堡宣布此项立法计划之前，美国总统奥巴马就已经开始动手了，他在2015就签署了《商业太空发射竞争法案》（Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act），使之正式成为法律。这一法案保障了那些取得太空资源并运回地球的公司对这些太空资源的所有权、储存、运输、使用和销售权利。然而，这一法案在国际法上是存在法律风险的。冷战时期的1967年《外层空间条约》（Outer Space Treaty， OST）规定，外层空间（包括月球、行星和其他天体）“不得因主权主张而收归国有”。专家警告说，随着这一萌芽行业开始逐步牵引全球资源经济，法律冲突可能导致国际政治争端。
美国太空法律和政策智库的创始人Michael Listner律师表示，卢森堡的这一宣布标志着对解除《外层空间条约》法律约束的早期尝试，从而为欧洲新兴的太空采矿业的投资者们提供安全保障。专家称，如果这一行业能够吸引大量的早期投资，那么后期通过联合协作将可能实现开采和运输成本的控制。Listner称卢森堡的宣布“是投资者可以借以发展的有利保障，能够给予他们信心，并提供一个初期法律框架”。
4. 科学家们终于从黑洞中观测到爱因斯坦的引力波（Einstein's gravitational waves 'seen' from black holes）
图片来源：BBC网站
Scientists are claiming a stunning discovery in their quest to fully understand gravity.
They have observed the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth.
The international team says the first detection of these gravitational waves will usher in a new era for astronomy.
It is the culmination of decades of searching and could ultimately offer a window on the Big Bang.
"It's the first time the Universe has spoken to us through gravitational waves. Up until now, we've been deaf."
He said the detection was one of the most important developments in science since the discovery of the Higgs particle, and on a par with the determination of the structure of DNA.
"It is the first ever direct detection of gravitational waves; it's the first ever direct detection of black holes and it is a confirmation of General Relativity because the property of these black holes agrees exactly with what Einstein predicted almost exactly 100 years ago."
"Gravitational waves go through everything. They are hardly affected by what they pass through, and that means that they are perfect messengers," said Prof Bernard Schutz, from Cardiff University, UK.
"With gravitational waves, we do expect eventually to see the Big Bang itself," he told the BBC.
Einstein predicted that if the gravity in an area was changed suddenly - by an exploding star, say - waves of gravitational energy would ripple across the Universe at light-speed, stretching and squeezing space as they travelled.
"It is hugely exciting for a whole generation of young people coming along, because these kinds of observations and this real pushing back of the frontiers is really what inspires a lot of young people to get into science and engineering." (BBC)
科学家们一直在追求对重力的彻底理解，现在他们有了一项惊人发现——引力波。（所以如果大家以前高中物理没学好，也不要自责，其实连重力这种基本概念科学家们自己都没有完全理解，所以只能填鸭式地让大家接受、做题、考试了。所以一定要：怀疑一切。）
下面，小编就和大家一起，边了解科学家们的发现，边学习一些常见（天体）物理学术语的英文表达。
（1）科学家观测到，在距离地球超过十亿光年（light-year）的地方，由于两个黑洞（black hole）的碰撞而产生了时空的扭曲（warping）。（注意按照爱因斯坦的光速不可超越理论，现在看到的宇宙光影都是早已发生、成为宇宙历史的过去景象，因此所看到的时空扭曲是早在10亿年前就发生的，而不是现在的扭曲。真希望我们生命的光影也能一直存留这么久，在宇宙的另一端被重新展现、成为新的存在。）
（2）国际小组称，这些引力波（gravitational wave）的首次探测发现，将天文学（astronomy）带入了一个新纪元。
（3）这一发现，是数十年来探索的顶峰，并可能最终为宇宙大爆炸（Big Bang）提供认识的窗口。
（4）“这是第一次宇宙（Universe）通过引力波来和我们对话。在此之前，我们一直犹如聋子一般。”
（5）据称，这一发现是科学界自发现希格斯粒子（Higgs particle）以来最重大的进展之一，可以和DNA结构的排序测定相媲美。
（6）“这是首次直接探测到引力波，也是首次直接探测到黑洞。这是对广义相对论（General Relativity）的证实，因为这些黑洞的属性和爱因斯坦在100年前预测的完全一致。”
（7）“引力波能够穿越任何物质，并几乎不受所穿越物质的任何影响。这意味着它们是完美的信使。”“通过引力波，我们期望最终能够看见宇宙大爆炸本身。”
（8）爱因斯坦曾预测，如果某一区域的重力突然发生改变（比如恒星爆炸），那么引力能（gravitational energy）的波浪会以光速（light-speed）在宇宙中扩散，并在此过程中拉伸或挤压空间。
（9）“这对一整代的年轻人都是非常激动人心的事件。这些观测，以及重新推向前沿的科学研究，都将激励着许多年轻人来进入理工科领域。”
但愿我们的后代们，重新拾起我们丢失已久的那句话：“我长大了要当一名科学家！”
5. 华纳就“祝你生日快乐”版权诉讼达成1400万美元的和解（Warner settles 'Happy Birthday' copyright suit for $14 million）
The copyright to the world's most popular song, "Happy Birthday to You," has been in dispute for decades, but if an agreement by Warner/Chappell Music to pay $14 million to end a lawsuit over the song is approved by a U.S. court, it will be free for all to use as they please.
The settlement, unveiled in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, would eliminate the music publisher's claimed ownership of the song. It also specifies that once the settlement is approved by the court, the song will be in the public domain. A hearing is scheduled for March 14.
A group of artists and filmmakers filed a class action lawsuit in 2013 against Warner/Chappell, the music publishing arm of privately held Warner Music Group. In a court filing on Monday, the group hailed the settlement as "unquestionably an excellent result."
The case garnered attention from around the world not only because the tune is so commonly performed, but because many people were not aware it was still under copyright, let alone purportedly owned by a major corporation.
People who sing "Happy Birthday" in their homes or at private gatherings have typically never been at risk of a lawsuit. But when the song was used for commercial purposes, such as in films, Warner demanded payment and took in an estimated $2 million in royalties for such uses each year. (Reuters)
世界最流行的歌曲是哪一首？没错，就是这首《祝你生日快乐》（Happy Birthday to You）。相信大家对歌词和旋律都耳熟能详，现在基本上过生日没有不唱它的。然而大家可能都不太清楚的是，这首歌其实一直是有版权保护的，而且版权属于一家大公司——华纳音乐旗下音乐制作业务品牌Warner/Chappell。
实际上，这一歌曲的历史非常复杂，可以追溯到1893年出版的一首儿童歌曲《大家早上好》（Good Morning to All）。该童歌由肯塔基州的Mildred Hill和她的姐姐Patty创作，后来其中的旋律被重新填写上“祝你生日快乐”的歌词，成为今天大家耳熟能详的歌曲。华纳称其并购了Hill姐妹的出版商，从而享有该歌曲的版权。
通常人们在家里或私人聚会中可以随意唱这首歌，不用担心会被起诉侵权。不过如果这首歌被用于商业用途，比如在电影中使用，华纳就会要求支付费用，据估计每年收取的版权费达到200万美元。
不过这一版权在数十年来一直有争议。2013年，一群艺术家和制片人对Warner/Chappell提起集团诉讼。地区法院法官George King在2015年9月判决称，Hill姐妹的出版商从来没有获得相关版权，因此也就不存在华纳的版权。
在之后联邦法院的诉讼中，Warner/Chappell同意就此案达成和解，愿意支付1400万美元来结束该诉讼；而法庭文件显示，原告团体对此结果也非常满意。根据洛杉矶联邦法院周一披露的文件，这一和解将消除Warner/Chappell对该歌曲的版权，并明确一旦获得法院批准，该歌曲将进入公众领域。按计划将在2016年3月14日进行一次开庭审理。
6. 英国司法部将关闭英格兰和威尔士的86家法院（Ministry of Justice to close 86 courts in England and Wales ）
图片来源： Legalcheek
Another 86 courts across England and Wales will close over the next 18 months, forcing defendants, witnesses and lawyers to travel even further afield to obtain justice.
In a second round of thinning out the HM Courts & Tribunal Service’s depleted estate, magistrates courts, crown courts, county courts and tribunals will be sold to raise funds for investment in technology and judicial modernisation programmes.
About 140 courts shut following the last review in 2011. Falling crime rates, the need to save money and the prospect of developing online justice have combined to persuade ministers that old and underused courthouses should be turned into flats or fast-food restaurants.
The proportion of the population able to reach a magistrates court within an hour by public transport will fall, under the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) plans, from 82% to 74%. (The Guardian)
2011年，英国就曾在进行评估的基础上，关闭了140家法院。犯罪率的降低、节约开支的需要和线上司法的发展等因素综合在一起，让英国政府相信那些陈旧的、使用率很低的法院应该改造成公寓和快餐店。
而现在，又有86家英格兰和威尔士法院未能幸免，将在未来18个月内被关闭，这迫使那些被告、证人和律师不得不走上更远的距离。在这第二轮对英国法院服务系统财产进行瘦身的行动中，那些地方法院、巡回刑事法庭、郡法院和法庭所在的房地产将被出售，从而筹集资金用于投资科技和司法现代化项目。
在实施司法部的此项计划后，能够乘坐公共交通工具在一个小时内达到地方法院的人口比例将从82%降到74%。
实习编辑/张雨
为无讼投稿/tougao@wusongtech.com