Your Tuesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top CNS stories for today including the Supreme Court closing the book on terror-support claims against Arab Bank by foreigners whose families were maimed or killed in attacks on Israel; efforts by former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort to suppress evidence seized from his condo and a storage locker facing opposition from prosecutors; attorneys for two of the convicted Bridgegate defendants telling the Third Circuit that no laws were broken when politically orchestrated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge caused horrific traffic jams; the Los Angeles City Council votes to overturn a policy barring city officials from traveling to Arizona;the nature journal reports on an enormous buildup of frozen plastic particles trapped in Arctic sea ice, and more.
Sign up for CNS Nightly Brief, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your email Monday through Friday.
National
1.) The Supreme Court closed the book 5-4 Tuesday on terror-support claims against Arab Bank by foreigners whose families were maimed or killed in attacks on Israel.
2.) With only Justice Neil Gorsuch and the chief aligned in dissent, the Supreme Court found nothing unconstitutional Tuesday about letting the Patent and Trademark Office review patent claims without court involvement.
Regional
5.) Attorneys for two of the convicted Bridgegate defendants told the Third Circuit on Tuesday that no laws were broken when politically orchestrated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge caused horrific traffic jams in 2013.
6.) The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to overturn a policy barring city officials from traveling to Arizona due to its passage of a controversial immigration law that has since been mostly struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
7.) A New York appeals court refused Tuesday to dismiss libel claims from a former New York Times reporter against the producers of a 2014 romantic-comedy.
8.) Protesters who face criminal charges for attempting to shut down two oil pipelines are allowed to present a “necessity defense,” a Minnesota Court of Appeals judge ruled Monday.
Science
9.) Photos of plastic clogging the world’s waterways and filling the stomachs of unfortunate sea birds and whales have become common in recent years, and on Tuesday the a nature journal reported on an enormous buildup of frozen plastic particles trapped in Arctic sea ice.
Research & Polls
10.) It was fear of losing status as a superpower, not economic problems, that led Americans to elect Donald Trump president, a University of Pennsylvania professor concluded after polling 1,200 voters.
International
11.) The European Union Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that someone who has been tortured in their home country is eligible for asylum if they face a significant risk of being deprived of physical and psychological health care back home.
12.) Survivors and relatives of 32 people killed at a catastrophic chemical plant explosion in southern Mexico have sued Fluor, the engineering and construction giant, accusing it of knowing about its “horrendous safety record” at the plant.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.