nightly brief

Top CNS stories for today including early, in-person voting getting underwat in Georgia where Republican Brian Kemp, currently Georgia’s secretary of state, and Democrat Stacey Abrams are vying to succeed Nathan Deal as the next governor; accused Russian spy Maria Butina files a letter requesting the government turn over criminal records, arrest reports and details on witnesses prosecutors might use to build their case against her; the Supreme Court agrees to review a Second Circuit ruling involving the application of the First Amendment to the private operator of a public-access television channel; the Florida Supreme Court rules that the state’s next governor and not current Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Scott will get to pick three new justices to the state Supreme Court; a new study says the global supply of beer could be the next victim of climate change; Bavarian voters did what they were expected to do Sunday: They dealt German’s ruling “grand coalition” of conservatives and Social Democrats a resounding defeat, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the Senate confirming 15 of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, including three to federal appeals courts; a federal judge tosses a lawsuit by the ACLU that claimed U.S. Health and Human Services subsidized religion by allocating millions of dollars to faith-based groups; the D.C. Circuit struggles over a suit that would hold search engines like Google liable for letting disreputable locksmiths manipulate their map results; the Arkansas Supreme Court uphelds a state law that requires voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot; the Seventh Circuit rules a Wisconsin school district did not discriminate against a Catholic school on religious grounds when it refused to provide bus service; Beto O’Rourke’s long,  campaign for Senate through all 254 Texas counties recalls for many Texans the populist appeal of the state’s last Democratic governor, the late Ann Richards; a political earthquake is expected in elections this Sunday in the politically conservative and traditionally stable German state of Bavaria, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the Senate Judiciary Committee approving eight of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, including one who received a not qualified rating from the American Bar Association; a federal judge wants to know whether Robert Mueller wants to pursue a series of counts the jury deadlocked on during Paul Manafort’s trial last summer; President Donald Trump signs the Music Modernization Act into law, guaranteeing royalty payments to artists and songwriters for pre-1972 recordings; dozens of laws are waved in preparation for construction of 18 miles of border wall in South Texas; New Jersey sued over a plan to allow oil and gas drilling off its coast, but not Florida’s; the California Coastal Commission amicably settles a 33-year dispute over a lagoon access trail in Carlsbad; with the recent murder of one journalist and the disappearance of another overseas, press advocates are sounding the alarm and demanding the U.S. government do more to hold those who harm and jail reporters accountable, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pausing the Second Circuit’s approval of the deposition of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census; in other Supreme Court news, the justices grappled with how quickly the government must pick up immigrants following their release from prison if it want to initiate deportation proceedings and North Dakota’s new voter ID requirements, which they decided to keep in place; the Second Circuit lifts a ban on the release of a biopic that probes the 1977 plane crash that killed the front man and other members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd; the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to write off nearly $90 million in fees imposed on thousands of families with children in the juvenile justice system; a new study indicates certain shifts in what food we consume and how we handle food waste could make feeding the world sustainable in the coming decades; the Justice Department inspector general fails to identify who leaked a sensitive UK intelligence report about the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor whom President Donald Trump elevated to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, resigning without explanation; asking just five questions during his first day at the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh focused on precedent in oral argument for a criminal case about the classification of violent felonies; computer users hit Google and its parent company with a federal class action stemming from another Silicon Valley privacy scandal; attorneys for three Michigan residents receiving long-term care in nursing homes argue before the state’s highest court that their spouse’s transfer of assets to a trust should not prevent them from receiving Medicaid benefits; a Ninth Circuit panel questiona a federal judge’s decision to overturn a Justice Department policy against prosecuting people accused of killing an endangered animal; British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Union leaders appear to be getting closer to a deal on Brexit, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including a landmark report from the United Nations putting a tighter-than-expected deadline for countries to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement; a national monument that former President Barack Obama established in the Atlantic Ocean survives a court challenge; a federal judge agrees to quash subpoenas served on American University on behalf of accused Russian operative Maria Butina; a furry relative to minks and otters and native to the West Coast may get federal protection as threatened under the Endangered Species Act; nearly 50 members of three Native American tribes in North Dakota claim in a class action that Andeavor Logistics is unfairly profiting from a crude oil pipeline operating through tribal trust lands; the makers of Titleist golf balls are suing the makers of a parody brand that holds itself out as the “sluttiest ball in golf,” and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh now being just a day away from confirmation after surviving a procedural vote and garnering the support of key senators; Courthouse News files a First Amendment action against the court clerk in San Jose, California, over the practice of holding up access to new civil actions filed in Silicon Valley, where internet giants such as Google and Facebook are based; former Vice President Joe Biden stumps for California Democrats, saying victories in GOP-held congressional districts this November can help stop President Donald Trump’s “assault” on immigrants, women and working class families; special counsel Robert Mueller receives an endorsement from nine constitutional law professors who want the D.C. Circuit to affirm the constitutionality of Mueller’s appointment; a federal judge opens the door for environmentalists to bolster claims over a lobster fishery they blame for the declining population of an endangered whale; general elections in Bosnia are heightening concerns of potential violence; in his latest dispatch, Courthouse News’ western bureau chief unintentionally follows fires from California to the canyons of Idaho, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Republican senators concluding an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh exonerates the nominee, paving the way for a critical vote Friday; a federal judge blocks the Trump administration from canceling temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Sudanese who face dangers in their home countries; the Seventh Circuit upholds a Wisconsin law that requires all butter sold in the state to be graded; a group of protesters removed from a country ham breakfast at the 2015 Kentucky State Fair challenge their arrests as unconstitutional before the Sixth Circuit; former employees accuse the Milton Hershey School of barely disguising its sectarian activities; the political fortunes of French President Emmanuel Macron are in trouble, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including three concerned citizens failing to stop President Donald Trump from testing out an emergency text alert that popped up on hundreds of millions of cellphones Wednesday afternoon; the White House is phasing out wildlife refuge managers, the people who police illegal hunting, fishing, trapping and pollution, among other stewardship duties; the Houston City Council revises city law to prevent a Canadian purveyor of sex robots that plans to open its first U.S. shop; a group representing descendants of Alamo defenders claims in court that the Texas General Land Office and the manager of the San Antonio mission’s day-to-day operations have unlawfully silenced its members who oppose a site redevelopment plan; an attorney for Michigan argues before a Sixth Circuit panel to overturn an injunction that prevents the state from suspending the licenses of drivers who don’t pay traffic fines; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fast food regularly feeds one out of three adults in the United States, and consumption tends to increase along with income, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Senator Jeff Flake ralling Monday night in New Hampshire for the return of civility and compromise in American politics; a record number of Californians have registered to vote ahead of the November midterms in which they’ll pick a new governor, a U.S. Senator and decide a host of hotly contested congressional races; in a new court filing, BuzzFeed explains in detail for the first time how it came to publish the so-called “Russia dossier” compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele; voicing alarm at expanded registration requirements for sex offenders, Justice Neil Gorsuch says the federal law appears to give prosecutors too much power; a federal judge advances a class action accusing Chipotle Mexican Grill of falsely advertising its food as made from only non-GMO ingredients; a new international survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that while American allies want the U.S. to remain the world’s top superpower, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions suing California to stop hours-old legislation being called the strongest net neutrality law in the nation; a small frog creates a big stir on the first day of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court as a divided court grapples with how far the federal government can go to protect the habitat of an endangered creature; a federal judge denies a request by environmental groups and scientists who believe immigration causes climate change to review seven immigration statutes; the U.S. Supreme Court rejects hearing the case of a California billionaire trying to make the state pay to use his property as a beach-access point; the Seventh Circuit rules the National Labor Relations Act does not allow local municipalities to pass right-to-work laws; a new study fines more Americans in their 50s and 60s believe DNA testing is a boon to many, but is also fueling anxiety; the United Nations’ highest court rejects landlocked Bolivia’s bid to force Chile to the negotiating table over granting access to the Pacific Ocean, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly advancing the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but Senator Jeff Flake said he only did so with the understanding the FBI would conduct an investigation into the sexual assault allegations embroiling Kavanaugh; four environmental groups sue Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to protect the two-state Dinosaur National Monument from increased air pollution from oil and gas drilling; the Ninth Circuit revives an ongoing spat on claims the opening guitar riff in Led Zeppelin’s rock epic “Stairway to Heaven” was lifted from another band’s song; the city of Ferguson, Missouri, asks the Eighth Circuit to toss claims that it runs a debtor’s prison for people too poor to pay traffic tickets; an Orange County, California judge rules the state’s “sanctuary” law restricting police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities violates the state constitution and cannot be enforced; describing the plight of two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, attorney Amal Clooney issues a call for Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to intervene in the case, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including America watching agog as Christine Blasey Ford gave emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her alleged assault in 1982 by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and Kavanaugh later delivered his lengthy rebutal; in a batch of five cases taken up for the start of the October term, the Supreme Court agrees to review claims over a fishing trip that turned fatal when public utility workers attempted to raise a downed power line from the Tennessee River, ninety-eight mountain goats are starting over in the peaks of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, after the government flew them there from the Olympic Peninsula; a California landowner scored a major court victory Wednesday when a federal judge ruled that the government wrongly designated 56 acres of its land as critical habitat for the Riverside fairy shrimp; a former West Virginia Supreme Court justice sues the state claiming lawmakers had violated her constitutional rights to free speech and due process; a new study suggests half of the world’s killer whale populations could collapse in the next century due to the buildup of toxic PCBs, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including a federal judge in San Francisco hinting he would block the Trump administration’s decision to yank temporary authorization from hundreds of thousands of immigrants; attorney Michael Avenatti releases the identity of his client accusing Brett Kavanaugh of being present for a gang rape and saying she later became a victim herself; the Fourth Circuit grapples with whether a politician has the right to block critics from their official social media pages; an expanded panel of Ninth Circuit judges reconsiders whether a San Francisco law requiring warning labels on billboard ads for soda passes constitutional muster; a Massachusetts zoo must face Endangered Species Act claims over its treatment of two Asian elephants in the collection; a new study suggests a newly discovered hummingbird found in the Andes mountain range in Ecuador is already critically endangered, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including President Donald Trump opening to unexpected comic relief in his second big speech at the General Assembly; the chief judge of the Fourth Circuit questions the validity of eminent domain laws; a federal judge on Monday restores Endangered Species Act protections to grizzly bears; a Ninth Circuit panel finds an arbitrator, not a judge, has authority to decide whether drivers’ beef over being classified as independent contractors should be arbitrated or resolved via class action; nearly two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, the partisan divide over the media and its role in the American democracy appears to have widened, a new study says; the Fourth Estate loses a court battle to learn what allowances members of European Parliament get for travel, subsistence and parliamentary assistance, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Judge Brett Kavanaugh voweding in a new letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he will “not be intimidated” into withdrawing from consideration as Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court; meanwhile, the White House announced Trump will have a crucial sit-down with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; attorneys for accused Russian agent Maria Butina insists in a court filing that they followed court procedure in subpoenaing certain records from American University; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and challenger Rep. Beto O’Rourke heatedly clash in their first debate; the California Judicial Council mets to hash out how the courts will actually operate in a world without money bail; a new study suggests the active ingredient in popular weed killer Roundup may indirectly kill honey bees, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including President Donald Trump taking to Twitter to defend Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, question why the professor accusing the nominee of sexual assault didn’t report the incident earlier; later, the president retreated from an order he signed earlier this week declassify documents on the Russia probe; a judge on Massachusetts’ highest court denied a bid to block federal immigration agents from making arrests at state courthouses; North Carolina is told it can’t enforce a law making it illegal foragriculture producers to help workers participate in unions; lawyers for Sarah Palin struck a chord at the Second Circuit while fighting to restore claims the former Alaska governor brought against the New York Times; a new study suggests that a regular bedtime and wake time supports heart and metabolic health in older adults; an Italian judge convicts two men of being middlemen in a massive bribery scheme involving oil giants Shell and Eni and a lucrative offshore Nigerian oilfield, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the man who provided blueprints for 3D-printable firearm parts on the internet being charged with felony sexual assault for paying to have sex with an underage girl; a lawyer for a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sex assault decades ago says she’d be willing to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee next week; California prepares for its first official “Surfing Day”; a rash of workplace shootings prompt calls for action by lawmakers; a new study finds Japan’s already-endangered orchid populations faces a new threat from a type of seed-eating fly; the majority of Americans say in a new Pew Research study that there are not enough women in high political offices or executive business positions, but many believe that the country might never achieve gender parity in these leadership positions, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including the professor who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to delay a hearing on the allegations planned for next week; President Donald Trump breaks his silence on former campaign advisor Paul Manafort who last week pleaded guilty to lobbying-related charges; the U.S. Supreme Court allows a federal judge’s decision requiring more disclosure from super PACs to go into effect, overruling an earlier move by Chief Justice John Roberts; an en banc Ninth Circuit reverses a federal judge’s dismissal of consolidated labor violation lawsuits filed by servers and bartenders who said employers underpaid them for non-tipped tasks; the European Court of Justice rules Britain’s looming exit from the European Union does not delegitimize an arrest warrant executed on that country’s behalf for a man accused of rape, murder and arson; a new study suggests the Great Dying, a cataclysmic period 252 million years ago during which more than 90 percent of sea creatures and 70 percent of land vertebrates went extinct, may have taken place over only a few thousand years, and more.

Top CNS stories for today including Mark Judge, who was friends with Kavanaugh in high school and whom Ford says was also in the room during the alleged assault, telling the Judiciary Committee he would not testify publicly; New York’s attorney general flagging an email that raises new questions about Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census; a federal judge blocks the Education Department from dismantling an Obama-era regulation intended to protect student-loan borrowers; two nonprofits claim a Montana Republican running for Senate let slip that he had illegally coordinated with the National Rifle Association; in a rare move, federal authorities will allow pharmaceutical-grade cannabis to be imported from Canada for use in a novel research study; less than a year after the most expensive courthouse in California opened – a $556 million endeavor – work to refurbish cracking windows is already underway, and more.