Your Friday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top CNS stories for today including the Food and Drug Administration met with experts to determine whether CBD products should face tighter regulation; Missouri’s lone abortion clinic will stay open for now after a St. Louis judge issued a restraining order requiring the state to renew its license; The Illinois Legislature approved a measure that will legalize recreational use of marijuana, and more.
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National
1.) Racing to catch up to an already booming industry for CBD products, the Food and Drug Administration met with experts Friday to determine whether the compound celebrated by its users as a miracle salve should face tighter regulation.
2.) The D.C. Circuit signed off Friday on new EPA regulations that give states a break on monitoring dangerous air quality.
3.) Unable to avoid testifying in the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election meddling, longtime Roger Stone aide Andrew Miller suggested to reporters Friday that he is still loyal to the indicted Republican operative.
Regional
4.) Missouri’s lone abortion clinic will stay open for now after a St. Louis judge issued a restraining order Friday afternoon requiring the state to renew its license.
5.) The Illinois Legislature approved a measure Friday that will legalize recreational use of marijuana, marking a victory for Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, who made the issue a key part of his campaign platform.
6.) Two transgender Iowans and a gay rights group backed by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the constitutionality of a new state law barring Medicaid coverage for sex-reassignment surgeries.
7.) While Arizona’s election requirements may force Libertarians to work harder to put candidates on the primary ballot, the rules passed constitutional muster Friday with a Ninth Circuit panel.
International
8.) Her Royal Majesty’s courts are disappearing — and going online. Sold-off Victorian courthouses have become swanky cocktail bars and high-end cafés. Less appealing concrete-clad courthouses are simply gone — razed to the ground and replaced by new developments. Others have been turned into apartments, and people sleep and eat where once judges, solicitors and court recorders worked.
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