Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Senator Lindsey Graham asked the Supreme Court to block his testimony before a Georgia grand jury investigating attempts to overturn 2020 election results; A Black man who was facing 40 years in prison for voter fraud in Texas had his case dismissed; Battles raged over the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, and more.

National

Graham asks for Supreme Court shield against Georgia election probe

Senator Lindsey Graham asked the Supreme Court on Friday to block his testimony before a Georgia grand jury investigating attempts to overturn 2020 election results showing Donald Trump lost in the state.

United States Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., addresses business leaders during a congressional conversation sponsored by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Aug. 18, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Ninth Circuit finds abortion foe’s undercover tactics not protected by First Amendment

The long-running legal fight between abortion foe David Daleiden and Planned Parenthood took another turn Friday, as a Ninth Circuit panel found Daleiden’s undercover videos are not entitled to First Amendment protections.

The outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic is shown on April 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, File)

Jury takes over in Cardi B back tattoo battle

What is the substance of a man's physical identity? Is it his face? His body? Can it be summed up in something so worldly, so easily obtainable as a back tattoo? These are the questions eight members of a federal jury in Santa Ana will now grapple with, after the close of a 2 1/2-day civil trial between heavily tattooed Orange County resident Kevin Michael Brophy and Cardi B, the world famous, Grammy-winning hip-hop artist.

Left: the album cover from Cardi B's debut mixtape; right: Kevin Michael Brophy's back tattoo, parts of which were used for the cover (Photo from Brophy's complaint.)

Regional

Judge tosses case against Black Texan accused of felony voting fraud

A Black man who was facing 40 years in prison for voter fraud in a felony indictment secured by the Texas Attorney General’s Office after he stood in line for hours to cast his ballot had his case dismissed this week, his attorneys announced Friday.

Hervis Rogers, center, a Black man charged with felony voter fraud, smiles with his attorneys, ACLU of Texas staffers and Nicole DeBorde of Houston, right, after his case was dismissed. (ACLU of Texas/Twitter via Courthouse News)

Trial date set for ex-Virginia election official despite lack of clarity on charges

More than a month after former Prince William County, Virginia, registrar Michele White was indicted on corruption charges, she contends she still does not know what she did to bring about the criminal case.

The Prince William County Courthouse in Manassas, Va. (Billy Hathorn/Wikipedia Commons via Courthouse News)

Dispatches from the road: To Airbnb or not to Airbnb

In his most recent dispatch, Courthouse News’ western bureau chief mulls the effects of short-term rental regulations from Hawaii to Maine.

Tourists flock to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Mokuaikaua Church, the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian island, peaks above trees on an overcast May 2022 day. (Chris Marshall / Courthouse News)

International

After 240 days of war, battle rages over Ukrainian port city

Battles are raging over the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a strategic port city under Russian control that sits at the mouth of the Dnieper River on the Black Sea.

Ukrainian soldiers ride in a tank in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/LIBKOS)

Uncertainty overload: Young Russian expats struggle to cope with war

Courthouse News spoke to three Russians in the Finnish border town of Lappeenranta who all struggle with the war's financial and emotional impacts amid shock over their home country's invasion of Ukraine.

Eduard recently fled out of Russia to Finland to avoid conscription for the army. He does not plan on returning to his home country until the war ends. (Mie Olsen/Courthouse News)

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