Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Ukrainian troops made significant advances against Russian forces in two key regions; The Supreme Court began its new term with a hearing over the government’s authority to regulate wetlands; An appeals court heard arguments over Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal contract workers, and more.

National

Supreme Court wades into wetlands to open new term

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not waste time during her first day on the bench as the Supreme Court began its new term Monday with a challenge against the government’s authority to regulate wetlands.

Wetlands in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Chris Marshall/Courthouse News)

Supreme Court takes up challenge to protections for tech companies

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case later this term challenging a law giving tech companies sweeping legal immunity from lawsuits over their user-generated content, setting the high court up for a decision that could broadly impact the future of social media.

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

High court rejects push to lift ban on bump stocks

Gun rights enthusiasts expressed disappointment Monday after the Supreme Court declined to hear cases that challenged the legality of a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire continuously.

A bump stock is attached to a semiautomatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah, in 2017. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

Fifth Circuit hears debate over federal contractor vaccine mandate

A federal appeals court heard arguments Monday over whether a lower court judge erred in blocking the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements for federal contract workers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Indiana.

Pharmacist Brian Kiefer draws saline while preparing a dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, Pool)

Regional

Supreme Court declines to wade into Raiders move to Las Vegas

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the city of Oakland's challenge against the National Football League over the Raiders' 2020 move to Las Vegas.

Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. (JediRich, Creative Producer/Wikipedia via Courthouse News)

Tenth Circuit hears Courthouse News First Amendment argument

In the august setting of the historic Tenth Circuit courthouse in Denver, a trio of judges challenged a Courthouse News lawyer on three main fronts during a First Amendment hearing over New Mexico’s policy of delaying access to court records.

International

Ukraine reclaims territory as Russia struggles on the battlefield

Ukrainian troops made significant advances by Monday against Russian forces in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, the two main fronts of a war that is escalating after Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territories and apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.

Ukrainian servicemen sit on T-80 tank that they claimed had been captured from the Russian army in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Inna Varenytsia)

Lula and Bolsonaro to go head-to-head in Brazil presidential election

Brazilians will go to the polls again at the end of the month for a runoff presidential election after leftist candidate Lula da Silva won 48.4% of the vote and far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro took 43.2% over the weekend.

Followers of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for president again, react to partial results after general election polls closed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

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