Your Thursday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top CNS stories for today including a new report from Earthjustice claiming that since Inauguration Day 2017, the Trump administration and Congress have taken deliberate steps to limit or eliminate access to the nation’s courts; the president says he's willing to rejoin the Trans Pacific Partnership; Missouri Governor Eric Greitens desperately tries to play damage control after a special investigative committee releases a report on his alleged blackmail of a former mistress; researchers say the most “charismatic” species have an elevated status in conservation biology and receive extra attention – often at the expense of other creatures; a magistrate with the European Court of Justice advises that EU grandparents should be able to seek court relief when it comes to child access, and more.
Sign up for CNS Nightly Brief, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your email Monday through Friday.
National
1.) A new report from Earthjustice, the nonprofit environmental law organization, claims that since Inauguration Day 2017, the Trump administration and Congress have taken deliberate steps to limit or eliminate access to the nation’s courts.
2.) It will likely be two weeks before the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up a bipartisan bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired without good cause, as committee members need time to review the legislation and any potential additions.
4.) The Kirtland’s warbler songbird has recovered sufficiently to be removed from the endangered species list, but the island marble butterfly, which lives only on an island in northwest Washington, should be protected, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday.
Regional
5.) Fighting for his political life, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens desperately tried to play damage control Wednesday after a special investigative committee released a report on his alleged blackmail of a former mistress that has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for his immediate resignation or impeachment.