Nightly Brief

Your Tuesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including Virginia Republicans persuading the Supreme Court to take up their effort to preserve state legislative districts; President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Third Circuit fends off questions about various scandals that plagued former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie while the New Jersey lawyer was serving as his legal adviser; Georgia election officials are ordered to review thousands of provisional ballots cast in last week’s election for governor; Maryland sues to topple Matthew Whitaker as the new U.S. acting attorney general; the 2018 election isn’t over in Florida, but more than a million Floridians, felons whose voting rights have been restored, are already looking toward the next electoral contest; Kyrsten Sinema wins the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, flipping it from Republican to the Democrats; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advices Americans to more more and sit less each day, and more.

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National

In this Oct. 9, 2018 photo, police office guards the main entrance to the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Virginia Republicans who are trying to preserve state legislative districts that have been struck down by a lower court as racially discriminatory. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

1.) Virginia Republicans who are trying to preserve state legislative districts that were struck down as racially discriminatory persuaded the Supreme Court to take up their appeal Tuesday.

2.) Facing a Senate panel on Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Third Circuit fended off questions about various scandals that plagued former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie while the New Jersey lawyer was serving as a legal adviser in the governor’s office.

Provisional ballots sit in a room ahead of being counted in Fulton County, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Atlanta. Malfunctioning voting machines, missing power cords, and hours-long lines at the polls are being scrutinized in Georgia, where the governor's race is still undecided as votes are still being tallied. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

3.) A federal judge on Monday ordered Georgia election officials to review thousands of provisional ballots cast in last week’s election for governor, and said they cannot certify statewide results in the race until late Friday afternoon.

4.) President Donald Trump sidestepped the Constitution and the Justice Department’s own succession plan by appointing of Matthew Whitaker as the new U.S. acting attorney general, the state of Maryland says in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

As President Donald Trump points to CNN's Jim Acosta, a White House aide takes the microphone from him during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Regional

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2018 file photo, people gather around the Ben & Jerry's "Yes on 4" truck as they learn about Amendment 4 and eat free ice cream at Charles Hadley Park in Miami. With a single vote Tuesday, Nov. 6, Florida added 1.4 million possible voters to the rolls when it passed Amendment 4, which said that most felons will automatically have their voting rights restored when they complete their sentences and probation. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

6.) Florida officials may still be counting votes from Election Day, but more than a million Floridians are already looking toward the next electoral contest: A ballot initiative to restore voting rights to most felons who have served their time passed overwhelmingly last Tuesday, ending 150 years of voter disenfranchisement.

FILE--In this Aug. 28, 2018, file photo, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., talks to campaign volunteers at a Democratic campaign office on primary election day in Phoenix. Republican Martha McSally and Sinema will confront each other at a debate Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, in a race for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, which could determine which party controls the Senate next year. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

7.) Kyrsten Sinema has won the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, flipping it from Republican to the Democrats. Her opponent Martha McSally conceded on Monday after Sinema’s lead grew to 38,197 votes at 5 p.m., a 1.7 percent margin.

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2008, file photo, the execution chamber at the Washington State Penitentiary is shown with the witness gallery behind glass at right, in Walla Walla, Wash. Washington state's Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty violates its Constitution. The ruling Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. They ordered that people currently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

8.) Three Supreme Court justices defended their votes Tuesday after the court rejected its 84th death-penalty case in recent weeks involving the same claim against Florida.

9.) New Jersey’s highest court ordered the state on Tuesday to notify thousands of convicted drunken drivers that the charges against them were tainted by inaccurately calibrated breathalyzer machines.

Science

10.) Americans should strive to move more and sit less often each day, according to updated physical activity guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the first time in a decade.

International

President Donald Trump stands amongst the headstones during an American Commemoration Ceremony, Sunday Nov. 11, 2018, at Suresnes American Cemetery near Paris. Trump is attending centennial commemorations in Paris this weekend to mark the Armistice that ended World War I. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

**11.) President Donald Trump scowled for the TV cameras, gave a cold shoulder to European leaders, displayed chumminess with Russian President Vladimir Putin, posted a negative tweet about the French president, missed a forum on world peace, and a topless protester ran out on the wet Champs-Elysees in Paris as Trump’s motorcade passed, with “Fake Peacemaker” written on her breasts.

12.) Putting the kibosh on a case involving Dutch cream cheese, Europe’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the taste of a food product is not eligible for copyright protection.

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