Nightly Brief

Your Thursday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment that charges a Long Island tech company with rebranding Chinese-made security equipment as “Made in the U.S.A.” before selling them to the U.S. military; President Donald Trump has now filled a quarter of the seats on federal appeals courts in the United States; The European Union’s expansion into the Balkans is stalling and that’s prompting policymakers and experts to warn that the region may turn to Russia, China and Turkey for trade and military protection, and more.

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National

1.) Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Thursday that charges a Long Island tech company with rebranding Chinese-made security equipment as “Made in the U.S.A.” before selling them to the U.S. military.

2.) With the Thursday confirmation of a Connecticut prosecutor to a seat on the Second Circuit, President Donald Trump has now filled a quarter of the seats on federal appeals courts in the United States.

3.) A New York state court has ordered President Trump to pay $2 million to settle claims that he used money from his charitable foundation for his personal, business and political interests during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

4.) The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a controversial nominee to the Second Circuit over objections from Democrats about his reluctance to answer questions about issues he worked on while serving as a lawyer in the White House.

International

5.) The European Union’s expansion into the Balkans is stalling and that’s prompting policymakers and experts to warn that the region may turn to Russia, China and Turkey for trade and military protection.

6.) Without commenting on whether funds were in fact misused, an EU court ruled Thursday that bias tainted a six-figure decision against political supporters of Brexit activist Nigel Farage.

Regional

7.) As the number of people living in cars and on the street has boomed, the state auditor said Thursday that California schools and regulators are not doing enough to connect hundreds of thousands of homeless students to help with tutoring, transportation and school supplies.

8.) Determined to hold the Texas prison system accountable for violating a class action settlement requiring air-conditioning for some heat-sensitive inmates, a federal judge said the agency’s director must identify who lied to class counsel to try to delay their inspection of a prison in Beaumont.