Nightly Brief

Top CNS stories for today including a bureau chief at Al Jazeera and an American freelancer claiming in a federal complaint that they are being targeted for death because a flawed algorithm put their names on the U.S. government’s kill list; Vice President Mike Pence casts a tie-breaker vote in the Senate, advancing legislation to stop federal funding for Planned Parenthood; the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum puts desert tortoises up for adoption; the California Supreme Court unanimously rejects the environmental impact report for a controversial mixed-use development at Banning Ranch, and more.

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1.) Targeted for Death, Journalists Take U.S. to Court on Kill List

A bureau chief at Al Jazeera and an American freelancer claim in a federal complaint that they are being targeted for death because a flawed algorithm put their names on the U.S. government’s kill list.

2.) Senate Advances Defunding of Planned Parenthood

Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaker vote in the Senate Thursday, advancing legislation to stop federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other women’s health providers.

3.) DOJ Shows Hustle to Deport Undocumented Inmates

The Justice Department is speeding up the process of deporting prisoners who were in the country illegally when they committed a crime, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced.

4.) Would You Spring for a Tortoise This Year?

The arrival of spring nudges the desert tortoises at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum out of their hibernation burrows, and that means they are ready for a new home. Each year, the Desert Museum puts up for adoption as many as 90 rescue tortoises.

5.) ‘American Sniper’ Killer’s Bid for New Trial Denied

A Texas appeals court ruled Friday that the ex-marine convicted of killing “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and his friend in 2013 does not deserve a new trial, rejecting his insanity defense and claims of trial errors.

6.) Strawberries Get Awfully Complicated in Court

A federal judge Thursday expressed frustration when attorneys for UC-Davis and two of its former researchers turned what he called clear-cut” issues over California’s strawberry industry into a three-hour slugfest, though he indicated he would rule for the university.

7.) Calif. Supreme Court Puts Kybosh on Coastal Project

The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected the environmental impact report prepared by the City of Newport Beach in approving a controversial mixed-use development on 401 acres of ecologically sensitive coastline known as Banning Ranch.

8.) Greens Win One for the Northwest’s Coastal Marten

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reevaluate its decision to deny endangered species listing to the coastal marten.

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