Nightly Brief

Top CNS stories for today including House Democrats are set to introduce a resolution to block President Donald Trump’s effort to fund his long-promised wall along the U.S-Mexico border by declaring national emergency; Prosecutors in Manhattan have readied separate criminal charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort in the event he is pardoned by the president; Illinois prosecutors hit R&B singer R. Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse following decades of misconduct allegations swirling around the Chicago native, and more.

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National

1.) House Democrats are set to introduce a resolution Friday to block President Donald Trump’s effort to fund his long-promised wall along the U.S-Mexico border by declaring national emergency.

2.) If President Trump pardons his former campaign manager Paul Manafort for a financial crime spree, prosecutors in Manhattan have readied criminal charges against him in another jurisdiction.

In this June 21, 2017, photo, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

3.) Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office pushed back Friday on claims that it prematurely released the indictment against Roger Stone, saying it followed court instructions and did not tip off the media to Stone’s arrest last month.

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2015, file photo, musical artist R. Kelly performs the national anthem before an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks in New York. Chicago prosecutors have charged R. Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, according to media reports citing court records. Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 charges come after years of allegations directed at Kelly, accusing the now 52-year-old of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

4.) Illinois prosecutors on Friday hit R&B singer R. Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse following decades of misconduct allegations swirling around the Chicago native.

Louise Turpin, far left, and her husband David, third from left, pleaded guilty to torturing their 12 children and several other charges in Riverside County Superior Court on Feb. 22, 2019. (Nathan Solis/CNS)

5.) Two Southern California residents accused of torturing and starving their 12 children pleaded guilty Friday to torture, dependent adult abuse, child endangerment and false imprisonment charges in a plea deal with prosecutors.

Authorities escort Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, center, from a plane to a waiting caravan of SUVs at Long Island MacArthur Airport, in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., on Jan. 19, 2017. (Photo via U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

6.) Less than two weeks after the Brooklyn conviction of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, federal prosecutors announced a grand jury indictment of two of his sons on drug-trafficking charges.

International

FILE - In this file photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle on the main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. High-ranking Iraqi security officials said Friday, July 28, 2017 up to 7,000 Islamic State group affiliates remain in Iraq after the fall of Mosul, where the group's leader declared the self-styled caliphate three years ago. (AP Photo, File)

7.) An Alabama man whose daughter joined the Islamic State terrorist group and now wants to return to America filed a federal lawsuit Thursday night challenging the Trump administration’s determination that she is not a U.S. citizen.

8.) Tallying up the harm from overexploited resources, climate change, and mass species extinction among insects and plants, the United Nations urged international leaders in a report Friday to do their part to protect the global food chain.

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