Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the House Ways and Means Committee released Donald Trump’s tax returns; The EU has tracked a 29% hike in sparkling wine exports since the Covid-19 pandemic began; A suspect was arrested in the slaying of four University of Idaho students, and more.

National

House committee releases Trump’s tax returns

The House Ways and Means Committee released former President Donald Trump’s tax returns Friday morning, the long-fought result of a campaign over three years in the making.

President Donald Trump talks on the phone to Vice President Mike Pence from the Oval Office of the White House on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. (House Select Committee via Courthouse News)

Biden ends the year by handing out 6 pardons

Five men convicted on drug and alcohol charges and a woman who killed her abusive husband received pardons from President Joe Biden on Friday.

President Joe Biden waves as he arrives on the South Lawn of the White House on Marine One in Washington on Dec. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Should auld Fed chairmen be forgot? Investors carry recession fears into new year

Successes from the last 12 months failed to carry over to equities as investors traded their concerns about inflation for concerns about a pending recession.

Second anniversary of Jan. 6 will come at a sea change

Nearly 900 foot soldiers of the insurrection have been prosecuted to date. Not among them is the former president held up as the plot's mastermind by a bipartisan panel set set for dissolution with the coming of the next Congress.

President Donald Trump looks at video monitors showing the crowd gathered on the Ellipse on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, before he spoke. Two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, are pictured at right. (House Select Committee via Courthouse News)

Regional

Arrest made in murders of four University of Idaho students

Pennsylvania state police have arrested a suspect in the slaying of four University of Idaho students, brutal murders that terrorized a college town and stumped local police for nearly two months.

This photo provided by Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility shows Bryan Kohberger. (Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility via AP)

LA cop loses immunity bid in fatal gym shooting

A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Friday denied a Los Angeles Police Department officer request for so-called qualified immunity over a fatal shooting in the locker room of a 24-Hour Fitness gym in Hollywood four years ago.

Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown LA. (Nathan Solis/Courthouse News)

International

Post-pandemic demand for EU sparkling wine spiked. Will the trend continue in 2023?

The world rings in the New Year with two important economic indicators: Champagne and fireworks. The European Union has tracked a 29% hike in sparkling wine exports since the Covid-19 pandemic began but took in 63% fewer fireworks during the same period, according to data published by Eurostat on Friday.

The EU exported 636 million liters of sparkling wine in 2021. (Eurostat infographic via Courthouse News)

Op-ed

Surely we can do better than this

My dogs get better medical care and cleaner water than most people on planet Earth. I count that as a blessing. And though it is that, for Titus and Cleo, what else does it mean?

The view of downtown Detroit from the 20th floor of Lafayette Towers Apartments after a light dusting of snow, 2014. (Andy Olesko/Courthouse News Service)

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