Your Friday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top CNS stories for today including the House of Representatives passed a $19 billion emergency spending package that includes money to help Puerto Rico, the Midwest and other regions recover from recent hurricanes and other natural disasters; Presidential hopeful Eric Swalwell and a key House Democrat want to make it easier to prosecute presidents who may have committed crimes once they leave office; A California judge denied a bid by homeowners of a coastal town to halt construction of a 154-bed homeless shelter, and more.
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National
1.) The House of Representatives on Friday passed a $19 billion emergency spending package that includes money to help Puerto Rico, the Midwest and other regions recover from recent hurricanes and other natural disasters.
2.) In their unbounded pursuit of President Donald Trump, White House hopeful Eric Swalwell and a key House Democrat want to make it easier to prosecute presidents who may have committed crimes once they leave office.
3.) U.S. consumer prices jumped 0.3% in April, driven largely by increases in gasoline and housing costs, but inflation pressures have stayed in check.
4.) Dismissive of a Russian company’s invocation of the Mueller report to dodge charges that it interfered in the 2016 U.S. election, prosecutors spent just five pages responding to it.
5.) In his latest dispatch, Courthouse News’ western bureau chief hangs with prairie dogs and bison in an area with a troubled history.
Regional
6.) A California judge denied a bid Friday by homeowners of a coastal town to halt construction of a 154-bed homeless shelter, despite residents’ concerns the shelter will attract more homeless people and boost crime and noise levels.
7.) An Illinois criminal court judge decided Friday that one of his colleagues will hear arguments for appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s hate-crime case.
8.) On any given night, volunteers with the Grace Project prowl the streets of Panama City, armed with cages and bags of food. They drive past the motel missing its roof and the tent city behind the furniture store before turning into a neighborhood rendered desolate by Hurricane Michael – the third most powerful storm on record.
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