Nightly Brief

Your Monday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including reports that California's worst wildfire season ever may wind up costing a total $180 billion; the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a hearing Monday to determined whether a juror's questioning whether black people have souls prejudiced the outcome of a capitol case; an appeals court rejected timber harvesters’ attempt to strike the coho salmon from the endangered species list; a new study finds a law just passed by the Bolivian government could further exacerbate deforestation and threaten rare plant and animal species in the nation’s most biodiverse protected rainforests, and more.

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1.) In National news, with rain finally headed toward Southern California this week, the state’s worst wildfire season ever may finally end if precipitation snuffs out what’s left of the largest fire in California history still smoldering in the back country.

2.) Quoting a juror’s signed affidavit questioning whether black people have souls, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a hearing Monday on whether his involvement in a capital trial prejudiced its outcome.

3.) A California lawmaker is aiming to protect the state’s budding marijuana industry by barring law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal drug agencies on pot busts.

4.) The former Google engineer who was fired over a memo he wrote that suggested biological reasons are behind the predominance of male engineers at the company filed a lawsuit in state court on Monday.

5.) In Regional news, finding no evidence that coho salmon are not native to California streams south of San Francisco, an appeals court rejected timber harvesters’ attempt to strike the species from the endangered species list.

6.) Two state judges have sued the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, demanding secret surveillance recordings they say were made by another judge who was spying on them.

7.) Voters in Virginia are appealing a federal judge’s decision against a new election for a race that might have forced a 50-50 split in Virginia’s House of Delegates.

8.) In International news, a new study finds a law just passed by the Bolivian government could further exacerbate deforestation and threaten rare plant and animal species in the nation’s most biodiverse protected rainforests.

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