Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top CNS stories for today including the Office of Government Ethics criticizing President Donald Trump after he belatedly noted a reimbursement to his attorney, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 that Cohen paid Stormy Daniels; Senate Democrats successfully pass a resolution reversing the Federal Communication Commission’s hotly contested repeal of net neutrality rules; the Senate Judiciary Committee release transcripts of its closed-door interviews with Donald Trump Jr. and others on a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer; Michigan State University agreed to pay a $500 million settlement to hundreds of survivors sexually abused by Larry Nassar; a study from the Center for Biological Diversity finds marine wildlife populations like Florida manatees and California sea otters are bouncing back in protected habitats throughout the United States; the European General Court rules against regulators for shirking their responsibility to ensure that merger conditions placed on the German airline giant Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines remain necessary, and more.
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National
1.) The Office of Government Ethics criticized President Donald Trump on Wednesday as it disclosed the Republican’s latest disclosure form, which belatedly notes a reimbursement to his attorney, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 that Cohen paid Stormy Daniels.
2.) Senate Democrats successfully passed a resolution reversing the Federal Communication Commission’s hotly contested repeal of net neutrality rules, at the very least giving their party a potential rallying issue for the 2018 mid-term elections as the Republican-controlled House is unlikely to take the measure up.
Regional
6.) Michigan State University announced Wednesday that it has agreed to pay a $500 million settlement to hundreds of survivors sexually abused by former university and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
7.) The St. Louis Police Department announced Tuesday that it will launch an investigation into perjury allegations against the private investigator hired by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office in the ill-fated invasion of privacy case against Gov. Eric Greitens.
8.) The Florida city of Pensacola on Wednesday asked the 11th Circuit to reverse a lower court order requiring the city to remove a 34-foot-tall Latin cross from a public park.
Science
10.) Marine wildlife populations like Florida manatees and California sea otters are bouncing back in protected habitats throughout the United States, according to a study from the Center for Biological Diversity.
11.) Climate change could shift the geographic distribution of hundreds of marine species that inhabit North America’s Atlantic and Pacific continental shelves, a new study finds.
International
12.) The European General Court ruled against regulators Wednesday for shirking their responsibility to ensure that merger conditions placed on the German airline giant Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines remain necessary.
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