Nightly Brief

Your Monday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announcing his agency is rolling back fuel emission standards for cars and trucks; Special Counsel Robert Mueller asking a federal judge to uphold a provision of a plea agreement that limits public access to the records; the Supreme Court rules that an Arizona campus policeman who shot a mentally ill woman four times in her driveway is entitled to qualified immunity; Georgia reignites a simmering feud with Tennessee over a one-mile strip of land that would give the Peach State access the Tennessee River; a federal judge rules the Republican Party of Virginia has a right to bar individuals from voting at its meetings or conventions who have supported nonparty candidates; scientists say limiting climate change-induced warming to just 1 degree Fahrenheit could prevent the Arctic from becoming ice-free in future summers, and more.

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National

1.) EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday that the agency is rolling back fuel emission standards for cars and trucks, calling the standards put in place by former President Barack Obama too restrictive.

2.) In one of the cases being prosecuted by special counsel Robert Mueller, the government asked a federal judge Monday to uphold a provision of a plea agreement that limits public access to the records.

3.) Just like car salesmen and mechanics, a class of dealership employees known as service advisers are exempt from federal overtime rules, the sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Monday.

4.) Speaking at a Tennessee symposium Monday to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., former Attorney General Eric Holder said he believes access to the right to vote is the “chief civil rights issue of our time.”

5.) Quoting 19th century French literary criticism, Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke out Monday after the Supreme Court rejected appeals by two men on death row in Florida.

6.) Summarily reversing a Ninth Circuit decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that an Arizona campus policeman who shot a mentally ill woman four times in her driveway is entitled to qualified immunity.

7.) Georgia lawmakers reignited a simmering feud with Tennessee by recently approving a resolution that would establish a commission to convince the Volunteer State and North Carolina to give up a one-mile strip of land so it can access the Tennessee River.

8.) Refusing to give an opinion on the constitutionality of a voter-passed law authorizing police to collect DNA from arrestees, the California Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated an arsonist’s misdemeanor conviction for refusing to supply authorities with his DNA after his arrest.

9.) A federal judge ruled Friday that the Republican Party of Virginia has a right to bar individuals from voting at its meetings or conventions who have supported nonparty candidates.

10.) Continuing his Easter tradition, California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday issued 56 pardons including five for immigrants at risk of being deported.

Science

11.) Scientists say limiting climate change-induced warming to just 1 degree Fahrenheit could prevent the Arctic from becoming ice-free in future summers.

12.)  Anticipating how rising atmospheric carbon dioxide will affect the water cycle, including extreme weather forecasts, is critical to preparing for and predicting the future of the planet.

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