Nightly Brief

Top CNS stories for today including GOP senators invoking an obscure Senate rule to silence Elizabeth Warren; a North Carolina court blocked efforts Wednesday by the GOP-controlled state Senate’s to hold review hearings on cabinet appointments by newly elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper; researchers forecast increasingly dangerous fire weather as the effects of climate change continue to expand; a lawyer's group blasts President Donald Trump's attack on judge, and more.

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1.) GOP Invokes Obscure Senate Rule to Silence Elizabeth Warren

Republicans on Tuesday night invoked a little-used rule to prevent Sen. Elizabeth Warren from speaking out against the Sen. Jeff Sessions, who the Senate is prepared to confirm as attorney general on Wednesday.

2.) North Carolina Judges Block GOP Power Grab

A North Carolina court blocked efforts Wednesday by the GOP-controlled state Senate’s to hold review hearings on cabinet appointments by newly elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

3.) Judge Rules Against EPA in Bay-Delta Water Case

A federal judge refused Tuesday to dismiss allegations that the Environmental Protection Agency shirked its duty to review temporary changes California made to its water-quality standards during the drought, an action that environmentalists say shrank the state’s salmon and steelhead fish populations.

4.) Lawyers' Group Blasts Trump's Attack of Judge

The Federal Bar Council issued a statement Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s comments regarding a federal judge’s decision to temporarily block the ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.

5.) Leftward Shuffle at DNC Could Be Overcorrection

Was it the candidate or the message? Against signs of a leftward face-lift in the Democratic Party since its upset loss in the November election, politics experts harbor reservations about whether the shift is necessary.

6.) Devastating Wildfires Increase as Climate Warms

Researchers forecast increasingly dangerous fire weather as the effects of climate change continue to expand the global footprint of disastrous wildfire.

7.) Piping Plover Defenders Gear Up for Trial

A parks official is headed to trial on claims that the failure to rein in a colony of feral cats at Jones Beach on Long Island has put a threatened bird population at risk.

8.) Infrastructure Needs See Rare Bipartisan Support

Senators on Wednesday heard of the challenges they will have to overcome to meet President Donald Trump’s plan to improve the country’s infrastructure, one of the few White House goals that has a measure of bipartisan support in Congress.