The United Kingdom approved the mass use of a new vaccine against the deadly coronavirus on Wednesday, becoming the first Western nation to do so and marking a hopeful turning point in the pandemic.
by CAIN BURDEAU
The United Nations is warning the world must slow down fossil fuel production by 6% a year over the next decade if humanity hopes to stave off catastrophic damage from climate change.
by BRAD KUTNER
As right whales inch toward extinction, a group of advocates filed an emergency petition Wednesday asking the federal government to protect dwindling populations from a major threat: commercial fishing gear.
by NINA PULLANO
by DUSTIN MANDUFFIE
Demanding to see the paper trail, the ACLU complained in federal court Wednesday that the Trump administration is staying mum about its efforts to track immigrants’ movements using cellphone location data.
by JOSH RUSSELL
The Los Angeles Times sued a trio of government claiming they are withholding crucial documents detailing allegations of widespread sexual abuse and misconduct at ICE detention centers.
by CARSON MCCULLOUGH
Environment on Appeal
The Ninth Circuit gave California a green light Wednesday to move forward with a contested highway project through a majestic grove of ancient redwood trees, reversing a lower court ruling that halted construction pending further environmental review.
by NICHOLAS IOVINO
Pandemic
Sports and the Courts
The U.S. women’s soccer team’s settlement of claims against their governing federation of inequitable working conditions represents a breakthrough in the parties’ long running legal battle, but experts said Wednesday the path to resolving remaining equal pay claims is riddled with complexity.
by MARTIN MACIAS JR.
Emotional support pets and service animals that aren’t dogs will no longer be allowed on planes after the Transportation Department finalized a rule Wednesday limiting animals on flights.
by ERIKA WILLIAMS
Across the Nation
With justices from both party lines noting the racist overtone of divided guilty verdicts, the Supreme Court dug in Wednesday to whether to bestow retroactive effect on a recent ruling requiring unanimous jury verdicts.
by MEGAN MINEIRO
by MARIA DINZEO
Relief for Americans walloped by the Covid-19 pandemic remains elusive, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Wednesday that a Republican proposal that has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill has President Donald Trump’s support.
by BRANDI BUCHMAN
Real estate developers who promised to fund a nonprofit dedicated to preserving 90% of a 270,000-acre property north of Los Angeles are violating a 12-year-old pact by cutting their quarterly conservation payments, environmental groups claim in a new lawsuit.
by NICHOLAS IOVINO
A federal judge incorrectly halted a North Carolina law requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled on Wednesday.
by ERIKA WILLIAMS
by ANDY MONSERUD
An Ohio man whose death sentence was overturned earlier this year by a panel of judges argued before the full Sixth Circuit on Wednesday that his intellectual disabilities make capital punishment unconstitutional.
by KEVIN KOENINGER
The U.S. Department of Justice will not seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing three individuals at a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015.
by AMANDA PAMPURO
Most Popular
by ALEXANDRA JONES
by MARIA DINZEO
Rulings
by LORRAINE BAILEY
A federal judge denied class certification to a worldwide group of Fyre Festival attendees who didn’t get what they paid for when they arrived at the failed 2017 luxury music festival. Damages vary widely among the festivalgoers, and it cannot be shown that all attendees relied on the same allegedly fraudulent marketing statements when they purchased tickets or airfare.
The Fourth Circuit halted construction of a pipeline in West Virginia in a Clean Water Act suit filed by the Sierra Club, finding that the pipeline project does not qualify to be governed by a nationwide permit. Rather, the pipeline company must go through the more arduous individual Clean Water Act permitting process.
The Arizona Supreme Court revived the state attorney general’s suit against the Arizona Board of Regents over subsidizing in-state university tuition for DACA recipients. The attorney general “is entitled to prove that, in providing in-state tuition on behalf of students who were unlawfully present, ABOR illegally expended funds beyond the amount of tuition collected.”
A federal judge dismissed tort claims stemming from a FedEx driver’s alleged assault of a business owner after he complained about damage to a package containing Star Wars replica merchandise.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a high-profile GOP fundraiser’s claim that Qatar used “electronic warfare” in a campaign to discredit him and disrupt defense contracting deals. Qatar is entitled to sovereign immunity for injuries stemming from its alleged hiring of hackers to illegally access the man’s computer.
From the Walt Girdner Studio
Hot Cases
Chance the Rapper’s former manager claims in Illinois state court he is still owed an unspecified amount of money after being fired when the musician’s most recent album and tour flopped.
At 339, Allegheny County’s use last year of a restraint chair on pretrial detainees “was almost four times more per capita than all other jails in Pennsylvania,” according to a federal complaint by three women with mental or physical disabilities who were jailed ahead of trial.
A New York City restaurant chain called The Meatball Shop brought a federal trademark suit against “Jersey Shore” stars Snooki and Deena, who have begun to market the nickname that recognizes their highly tanned and curvy petite frames.
An artist whose murals at Vermont Law School depict the state’s efforts to help free slaves leading up to the Civil War is suing the school for painting over his work at the demand of students who found the murals offensive.
The Chinese government announced Tuesday that its Chang’e 5 robot probe landed on the moon where it will collect lunar rocks to bring back to Earth.
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