Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including a U.S. military fighter jet shot down an object flying over Alaska; EU leaders welcomed Ukraine’s president but made no promises on his country’s membership; San Francisco property owners sued over the city’s new vacancy tax, and more.

National

Days after popping Chinese spy balloon, US military downs flying object over Alaska

A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an object flying over Alaska, national security officials announced Friday afternoon, emphasizing that the action was taken out of an abundance of caution and to safeguard against interference with civilian flights.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby briefs the press on February 10, 2023, with regard to a flying object the U.S. shot down over Alaska earlier in the day. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

Nasdaq falls but other indices tread water, keeping flame alive for soft landing

For Wall Street this week, relatively no news was bad news, as markets fell while still digesting last week’s jobs report and awaiting soon-to-be-released inflation data.

The New York Stock Exchange on June 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Regional

How personal injury lawyers took over the LA skyline

They are the most famous lawyers in the city. Many of them haven't seen the inside of a courtroom in years.

Two billboards in Los Angeles tout Sweet James, aka James Bergener (Hillel Aron/Courthouse News)

Alex Murdaugh trial sidetracked by bomb threat, GoFundMe drive

The third week of Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial was punctuated by several unusual controversies as court officials grappled first with a bomb threat and then an online campaign to raise donations for a witness in the high-profile case.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian talk with Alex Murdaugh in Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, February 10, 2023. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Property owners sue San Francisco over voter-backed vacancy tax

San Francisco property owners claim a new voter-approved law to tax people owning homes that remain vacant throughout the city violates their constitutional property and privacy rights.

San Francisco, as seen from the Marin headlands. (Chris Marshall/Courthouse News Service)

R. Kelly asks to serve Chicago and New York sentences at same time

R. Kelly's lead attorney filed a sentencing memo in Chicago federal court Friday morning, asking a judge to show leniency when considering an appropriate punishment for the singer's conviction last year on child porn and sexual enticement charges.

In this courtroom sketch, R. Kelly and his attorney Jennifer Bonjean, left, appear during his June 29, 2022, sentencing hearing in New York federal court. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

International

Zelenskyy, tighter borders and subsidies take center stage at EU summit

At a Brussels summit, European Union leaders agreed to pour funds into hardening borders to keep migrants out. They also welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but made no promises on EU membership.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, waves as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, right, applauds during an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Where’s the far-right Meloni? Defying expectations, Italy’s leader keeps lid on radical politics

In her first 100 days, Giorgia Meloni, Italy's first female prime minister, has kept her far-right rhetoric in check, stuck with pro-EU policies and won the respect of Brussels with her cautious style.