Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including average unemployment across the EU remained at a 14-year low of 6%; A law firm faced an uphill battle at the Supreme Court as it argued attorney-client privilege covers communications spanning both legal and nonlegal advice; Fraud allegations against Congressman George Santos ramped up with a federal complaint, and more.

National

Supreme Court to test the limits of attorney-client privilege

An anonymous law firm faced an uphill battle at the Supreme Court on Monday as it argued that attorney-client privilege covers communications spanning both legal and nonlegal advice.

(Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels via Courthouse News)

Civilians work for military, but who sits at their bargaining table?

A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of arguments by the state of Ohio in a case concerning the labor rights of civilian members of the National Guard.

The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Regional

Newly sworn in Santos hit with campaign fraud claims

Fraud allegations against Congressman George Santos ramped up Monday with a federal complaint accusing the rookie Republican representative of using straw donors and fudging spending records in violation of federal campaign finance laws.

Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Ohio sued over election law passed ‘in the dark of night’

The Ohio Legislature abused its lame duck session and eschewed public input to radically transform a special elections scheduling law into a complete overhaul of the state's voting process, according to a lawsuit filed late Friday night by several nonprofit organizations and labor unions.

A bowl of stickers is set out for voters in Steubenville, Ohio, in March 2020. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Jury hears opening arguments in NYC truck attacker’s death penalty trial

The long-awaited death penalty trial of the man charged with killing eight people with a truck on a New York City bike path in 2017 commenced Monday.

Sayfullo Saipov, right, addresses a Manhattan courtroom during his Nov. 1, 2017, arraignment on federal terrorism charges. The Uzbek immigrant is charged for the Oct. 31, 2017, truck rampage on a New York City bike path that left eight people dead. Saipov said he was spurred to attack by the Islamic State group's online calls to action and picked Halloween because he knew more people would be out on the streets. Seated at the defense table federal defenders David Patton and Sylvie Levine. (Sketch by Elizabeth Williams via AP)

International

EU unemployment remains at 14-year low

Average unemployment across the European Union remained at a 14-year low of 6% in November, according to data released by Eurostat on Monday.

This graph shows the ebb and flow of unemployment in the full European Union (blue) and the 19-state euro area (red) from the beginning of 2008 through November 2022. (Eurostat via Courthouse News)

One dead, 57 wounded in third subway crash on Mexico City mayor’s watch

A collision of two subway trains in Mexico City on Saturday left one woman dead and 57 other passengers wounded. Now three of the four fatal accidents in the history of the Metro system have occurred during current Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum's term.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum holds a phone to her ear in one of several photos shared on her Twitter account of her responding to the subway train crash that left one dead and 57 wounded on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (Twitter via Courthouse News)

Science

Ocean sponge living off British Columbia coast an effective Covid treatment

Which organism would win in a battle royale, the virus that causes Covid-19 or a Canadian marine sponge? Researchers identified three organisms off the coast of British Columbia that may offer natural treatment against current and future variants of SARS-CoV-2, according to a study published in Antiviral Research on Monday.

Senior author Dr. François Jean and researcher Dr. Guang Gao at UBC LSI imaging facility where they routinely capture high-resolution microscopy images of human cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Paul Joseph).