Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to weigh in on a legal battle over content moderation laws; A former speaker of the Ohio House stood trial on a federal racketeering charge; Turkey threatened to block Sweden’s pending NATO membership, and more.

National

Justices invite Biden’s input for social media censorship laws

The Supreme Court asked the Biden administration on Monday to weigh in on a legal battle between conservative states and social media companies over content moderation laws.

The mobile phone apps for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are shown on a device in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Supreme Court upholds time limit for retroactive veteran disability benefits

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that the one-year application window for disabled veterans to receive benefits retroactive to their discharge date cannot be extended.

A U.S. Army soldier checks his rifle at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Jan. 4, 2020, before troops are deployed to the Middle East as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Lower-level Oath Keepers convicted on top charge of seditious conspiracy

Jurors returned with guilty verdicts Monday in the seditious conspiracy trial of four members of the far-right Oath Keepers organization who led the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Charging papers include this photograph of individuals affiliated with the Oath Keepers outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The group includes David Moerschel (red arrow), William Isaacs (purple), Jessica Marie Watkins (yellow), Donovan Crowl (green), Laura Steele (orange), Kelly Meggs (blue), and Connie Meggs (white). (Justice Department via Courthouse News)

In search for transparency, high court comes up cloudy

Justice Amy Coney Barrett read the first opinion from the high court bench in over two years on Monday, but you wouldn’t know unless given a coveted seat in the courtroom.

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Oct. 7, 2022. Standing beside her in the back row, from left are Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan are seated in front. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Regional

Retired top FBI agent in New York indicted for helping Russian billionaire duck sanctions

A former special agent in charge of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division of the New York Field Office has been arrested on charges that he aided Kremlin-linked billionaire Oleg Deripaska in evading international sanctions.

Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska attends Independence Day celebrations at Spaso House, the Moscow residence of the U.S. ambassador, on July 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Bribery trial begins for former Ohio House speaker

Larry Householder, a former Republican state legislative leader, and the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party stood trial Monday on a federal racketeering charge accusing the men of accepting more than $61 million in bribes to pass a $1 billion bailout for two of the state's failing nuclear power plants.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder waits to retrieve his personal items after going through security at Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati on Jan. 20, 2023, before jury selection in his federal bribery trial. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

International

Turkey threatens to block Sweden NATO bid after Quran burning

A series of anti-Islamic protests in Stockholm over the weekend drew sharp condemnation from Turkey’s president, who warned Sweden should not expect Ankara’s support for its pending NATO membership.

A woman holds a Quran during a protest outside the Swedish consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Rights court fines Lithuania for putting warning label on LGBT children’s book

Europe’s top rights court sided with a deceased Lithuanian children’s book author on Monday in a dispute stemming from the government's view that gay fairy tales harm children.

(Image by MorningbirdPhoto from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Categories / Closing Arguments

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.