Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including a popular abortion pill will remain free of any new restrictions until this weekend; The first arrests were made related to a mass shooting at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party in Alabama; Inflation rates continued to cool across the EU, and more.

National

Supreme Court extends continued availability of abortion pill

A popular abortion pill will remain free of any new restrictions until this weekend after the Supreme Court entered an extension Wednesday to a previous stay.

A patient prepares to take the first of two pills for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 12, 2022. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

Pentagon’s cold shoulder in probe of Russia war crimes spurs pushback at Senate

Senate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle renewed accusations Wednesday that federal agencies are dragging their heels on the congressional directive to support the International Criminal Court as it investigates war crimes committed in Ukraine by Russian soldiers.

At Ramstein Air Base in Germany, on Jan. 20, 2023, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, and the Ukrainian participant Oleksii Reznikov, right, attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Courthouse News’ podcast Sidebar, tackling the stories you need to know from the legal world.

Justices rule Turkish bank must face US prosecution for sanctions violations

The Supreme Court took a step back from an international legal battle between the U.S. government and a Turkish bank over sanctions violations on Wednesday, sending the case back down to the Second Circuit. But the justices did agree that Halkbank is not shielded from criminal prosecution.

Pollsters adopting new methods after understating GOP support

Since inaccurate polling muddied the waters of the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, generally by understating GOP support, polling methods have become more diverse and thorough, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

Regional

Two arrested in quadruple murder at Alabama birthday party

The first arrests were made Tuesday evening related to a mass shooting at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday that left four young people dead and 32 others injured, some critically.

Flowers and balloons sit piled outside the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Dadeville, Ala., four days after a shooting that killed four young people at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party. (AP Photo/Kimberly Chandler)

San Francisco comedy collection to be reunited in Boston

Comedy comes in threes, goes the rule. When telling a story — or a joke — they’re better when they contain three elements or characters or, well, anything actually. Three elements, like three bears or three little pigs, are more interesting to the audience. In Warren Debenham’s case, his American comedy collection, some 40,000 records and compact discs, tchotchkes, board games and other novelty items, is entering its third transition.

Divine, the queen of bad taste cinema -- also known as Harris Glen Milstead -- rapped Native Love 84 in 1984.

School district policy for transgender students debated at Wisconsin court

The hot-button issue of whether school districts can honor a student’s desire to identify by the gender of their choosing at school against their parents’ consent hit a Wisconsin circuit court on Wednesday.

Supporters of the LGBTQ community converse outside the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison in 2019 after a rainbow flag observing Pride Month was raised over the east wing of the building. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)

International

Inflation cools across EU as states reduce dependence on Russian gas

Inflation rates continued to cool across the European Union in March with countries using the euro as currency reporting lower price hikes than other member states, according to data published by Eurostat on Wednesday.

The Euro sculpture stands in front of the former European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Categories / Closing Arguments

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.