Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court reported it has been unable to identify a culprit behind the biggest leak in its history; A Norwegian special police unit is looking into whether hundreds of pig farmers should be charged for animal welfare violations; A group of clergy leaders filed a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion ban on religious grounds, and more.

National

Supreme Court fails to unmask leak after monthslong probe

The Supreme Court reported Thursday that it has been unable to identify a culprit behind the biggest leak in its history, a draft of the landmark ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

A demonstrator places a sign on the anti-scaling fence outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 5, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Debate over legality of bump stocks resurfaces at Sixth Circuit

Despite a ruling from the en banc appeals court upholding the government's ban on the rapid-fire devices, a Kentucky resident argued before the Sixth Circuit on Thursday that bump stocks don’t count as machine guns under federal law.

A bump stock is displayed in Harrisonburg, Va., in March 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Monsanto sued for leaving noncitizen cancer patient out of Roundup deal

Agrochemical corporation Monsanto and its owner Bayer were hit with a federal lawsuit Thursday for refusing to finalize a settlement payout with a non-U.S. citizen who developed cancer from using Roundup.

Ninth Circuit skeptical of inmates’ bid for release over Covid fears

A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel had doubts Thursday that inmates who say their medical conditions put them at risk of Covid should be released.

A sign for the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons is displayed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Regional

Indiana Supreme Court asked to lift block on near-total abortion ban

The Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in the state's appeal of a lower court’s decision to block one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws from going into effect.

The Indiana Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in an appeal of a lower court's ruling that blocked a controversial abortion law from taking effect. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

10th Circuit probes Trump-era deal with Utah to ‘exchange’ Green River water

The Trump administration failed to consider the strain of climate change and drought on the Colorado River and tributaries when it agreed to give Utah 52,000 acre-feet of water from a reservoir annually, environmental groups argued Thursday and asked a 10th Circuit panel to order an environmental impact statement for the plan.

Photo shows the Desolation Canyon Wilderness Area along the Green River in central Utah (Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management via Wikimedia).

Clergy members challenge Missouri abortion ban on religious grounds

A group of clergy leaders filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the state of Missouri’s abortion ban on religious grounds.

An anti-abortion activist waves to a Planned Parenthood staff member outside the clinic in St. Louis in 2019. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

International

Norwegian police weigh animal cruelty charges against pig farmers

A Norwegian special police unit known as Økokrim is looking into whether hundreds of pig farmers should be charged after a report found widespread violations of the country's Animal Welfare Act.

(Image by Pexels from Pixabay via Courthouse News)