Nightly Brief

Top CNS stories for today including a fraud probe by New York's attorney general turning up years of secret emails Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote on climate change when he was ExxonMobil CEO; Tennessee suing the federal government over its refugee program; the European Court of Justice holding that company bans on religious wear are not discriminatory; a federal judge ruling the Justice Department does not have to divulge its rules for spying on journalists, and more.

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1.) Trump Directs Department Heads to Trim Agency Fat

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that directs executive branch department heads to eliminate redundancies and trim functions that would be better performed by the states.

2.) Fraud Probe Uncovers Secret Tillerson Emails on Climate Change

New York’s attorney general says he has tied Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to at least seven years’ worth of messages about climate change that the former ExxonMobil CEO apparently sent from a secret email account.

3.) Tennessee Takes On Federal Refugee Program

Tennessee sued the federal government Monday, claiming it violated the 10^th Amendment by threatening the Volunteer State with Medicaid cuts unless it agrees to help fund the resettlement of refugees in the U.S.

4.) Timber Group Says Obama Order Threatens Loggers

A lobbying group for the timber industry claims the last minute expansion of protections for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument by former President Barack Obama threatens to push loggers into poverty and violates a Congressional mandate which protects their industry.

5.) Bans on Religious Wear Cleared by EU Court

A company ban on wearing political or religious symbols – including a Muslim employee’s headscarf – does not amount to direct discrimination, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday.

 6.) Pittsburgh-Area Jurors Will Decide Cosby's Fate

When Bill Cosby heads to trial this year on indecent sexual assault charges, a jury from Allegheny County will determine his guilt, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled.

 7.) Big Fight Over Big Dinosaur Bones

Two dinosaur-bone hunters whose excavation of a rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nearly 20 years ago in South Dakota set off a lengthy court battle are back in court, fighting over the sale of their partnership’s fossils.

 8.) FBI Need Not Tell How It Snoops on Journalists

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Justice may withhold records on its rules for spying on journalists without a warrant.

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