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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Nightly Brief

Top CNS stories for today including the use of personal email being debated in a California public records case; Foie Gras practices turning the stomachs of the Ninth Circuit; California Democrats eager to flex their supermajority muscle in the state legislature; researchers conclude spraying insecticides to fight Zika-carrying mosquitoes may be counterproductive, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the use of personal email being debated in a California public records case; Foie Gras practices turning the stomachs of the Ninth Circuit; California Democrats eager to flex their supermajority muscle in the state legislature; researchers conclude spraying insecticides to fight Zika-carrying mosquitoes may be counterproductive, and more.

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1.) Use of Personal Email Debated in California Public Records Case

California’s high court grappled Wednesday with just how much privacy a public employee can expect when using a personal phone or email account to discuss work matters, in the city of San Jose’s challenge of whether the California Public Records Act should apply to unofficial texts and emails that pertain to the people’s business.

2.) California Dems Eager to Flex Supermajority Muscle

California Democrats are back in complete control of the Legislature after voters on Election Day granted the party the holy grail of state politics – a supermajority in both chambers.

3.) ‘Moral’ Electoral College Members Demand Right to Bump Trump

 Two presidential electors have asked Colorado to allow them to vote for someone other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the Dec. 19 Electoral College vote, in hope of garnering 37 votes from across the country to invalidate Trump’s election.

4.) Ex-L.A. Sheriff Called Ringleader of Conspiracy

The trial of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca began Wednesday with a federal prosecutor calling him the “heartbeat” of a conspiracy to obstruct an FBI investigation of brutality in the jail system.

5.) Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes May Resist Spraying

Common mosquito control strategies like spraying insecticides to control the spread of the Zika virus can be counterproductive and are often based on unreliable scientific studies and evidence.

6.)  Energy Firm Must Pay for Unused Wind Power

An energy company must honor its agreement to pay for wind power a farm generates even if it is not transmitted due to power grid overload, the Seventh Circuit ruled.

7.) Foie Gras Practices Turn Stomachs in 9th

Although gourmands across California rejoiced after a federal judge overturned the state’s ban on foie gras, the controversial delicacy may again disappear from California’s ritziest restaurants after the Ninth Circuit indicated Wednesday that its production is cruel.

8.) ‘Upstream’ Surveillance Fight Hits 4th Circuit

Dusting off federal court defeat, Wikimedia is joining human-rights groups at the Fourth Circuit on Thursday to oppose what they call a “government surveillance program that is unprecedented in scope.”

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