Nightly Brief

Your Tuesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including President Donald Trump taking issue with “each and every part” of an order that advanced defamation claims against him from former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tells Congress the president's request that the Commerce Department reconsider sanctions against ZTE, the Chinese telecommunications company, was not born from a “quid pro quo”; the Environmental Protection Agency bars the Associated Press, CNN and the environmental-focused news organization E&E from a national summit on harmful water contaminants; a California judge rules Pacific Gas and Electric must face claims that its power lines sparked at least some of the Wine Country wildfires that killed 44 people and caused billions of dollars in damage last fall; citizen scientists in France and several French territories discover five species of hammerhead flatworms; Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tells the European Parliament he regrets the company’s role in recent privacy and political scandals, and more.

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National

1.) President Donald Trump brought an appeal Monday night to New York’s highest court, taking issue with “each and every part” of an order that advanced defamation claims against him from former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos.

2.) Embattled Trump attorney Michael Cohen is leaking audio tapes about Stormy Daniels, an attorney for the porn actress told a federal judge Tuesday.

3.) President Donald Trump’s request that the Commerce Department reconsider sanctions against ZTE, the Chinese telecommunications company, was not born from a “quid pro quo” agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told senators Tuesday.

4.) The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday barred the Associated Press, CNN and the environmental-focused news organization E&E from a national summit on harmful water contaminants.

7.) Pacific Gas and Electric must face claims that its power lines sparked at least some of the Wine Country wildfires that killed 44 people and caused billions of dollars in damage last fall, a California judge ruled Monday.

8.) A federal jury returned guilty verdicts Tuesday morning in the fraud trial of former executives from Valeant Pharmaceuticals and the mail-order pharmacy it helped create.

9.) The Houston Texans stiff its cheerleaders for the hours they spend in the gym and at official team events, and fires them for complaining about the squad’s weight-shaming coach, a former cheerleader claims in a federal class action.

10.) A former Service Employees International Union executive filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit claiming he was fired amid a widely reported harassment investigation even though his employee file shows that no female staffers ever accused him of misconduct.

Science

12.) Five species of hammerhead flatworms, two of which may be new discoveries, have been found by citizen scientists in France and several French territories on other continents.

International

13.) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the European Parliament on Tuesday he regretted the company’s role in recent privacy and political scandals.

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