Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Houston’s 2.3 million residents were advised to boil water for drinking, food prep, bathing and brushing teeth; The Supreme Court seemed sympathetic to a New York developer’s argument that Congress never intended to criminalize the type of wire fraud he was convicted of; Jurors heard testimony from a female inmate on the first day of a former federal prison warden's trial on sexual assault charges, and more.

National

Justices protective of lobbying in appeal of ex-Cuomo aide convicted on bribes

Stemming from the bribery conviction of the former right-hand man of an ousted New York governor, the justices searched Monday for a way to condemn bribery without criminalizing political lobbying.

Joseph Percoco, center, a former top aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused of bribery, leaves the New York federal courthouse on March 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Cuomo donor convicted of fraud finds friendly ears at high court

The Supreme Court seemed sympathetic Monday to the argument from a well-connected New York developer that Congress never intended to criminalize the type of wire fraud of which he was convicted.

People gather to hear the first arguments of the Supreme Court’s new term on Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Survivor ‘look-back’ law broadens Trump sex abuse quagmire

Accused of raping a magazine columnist in a department store dressing room, Donald Trump could face greater civil penalties in his protracted fight with the writer E. Jean Carroll under a newly minted law aimed at holding sexual abusers accountable for long-ago crimes.

Columnist E. Jean Carroll leaves federal court in New York on Feb. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister)

Regional

Millions of Houston residents warned to boil tap water

Houston’s mayor said early Monday he expects a boil-water notice affecting all the city’s 2.3 million residents to end Tuesday.

People shop for bottled water at a Walmart in Houston after a boil-water notice was issued for the entire city on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Trial of prison warden accused of sexually assaulting inmates begins in California

On the first day of a former federal prison warden's trial on sexual assault charges, a female inmate told jurors how she felt the first time she was attacked in the prison.

The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., on July 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Cop who shot Philando Castile gets new chance at teaching license

The police officer who made national headlines in 2016 for shooting and killing Black motorist Philando Castile will get a second chance at receiving a substitute teaching license, courtesy of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

A memorial including a photo of Philando Castile adorns the gate to the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., on July 25, 2016, as part of a protest over the shooting death of Castile by police officer Jeronimo Yanez. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

Science

Multiple factors potentially reduced the mussel population in the River Thames by 95%, study says

A new study reveals that the mussel population in the River Thames has declined by 95% since 1964, one species is gone, and it is a warning for the state of the environment.

Anodonta cygnea, also known as the Swan mussel, is one of the mussel species gathered in the River Thames survey. (Isobel Ollard/University of Cambridge)

Opinion

Tough ticket

You probably can't get into a U.S. Supreme Court session without knowing someone. Also, does it count as undue influence if you lobby someone who's already on your side?

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)

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