Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the U.S. is exploring retaliation against Beijing after finding that the enormous balloon shot down off the East Coast had proven ties to the Chinese military; A judge kept alive California's bid to force the federal government to crack down on ghost guns; A corporate malfeasance case almost 15 years in the making came before the Seventh Circuit, and more.

National

Active sensors to collect intel discovered in shot-down balloon

The U.S. is exploring what retaliation to take at Beijing after finding that the enormous balloon shot down by the military off the East Coast last week had proven ties to the Chinese military and multiple antennas “likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications.”

U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via Courthouse News)

Retired players sue NFL over rejected disability claims

As football fans across the country prepare for Super Bowl parties, 10 former players are suing the NFL's benefit plan for what they say are wrongful denials of disability benefits.

New York Giants' Daniel Jones runs during the second half of an NFL wild card football game against the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Regional

California dodges dismissal in fight with feds over ghost gun rules

A federal judge on Thursday kept alive California's bid to force the federal government to crack down on ghost guns.

A display of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers, that have been linked to a rise in violent crime across the U.S. (Haven Daley/AP)

New southern aluminum plants bet big on evolving domestic market

The nation’s first new flat-rolled aluminum mills in 40 years are being built as the domestic aluminum market bounces back from global saturation and embraces sustainability.

A woman wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus collects aluminum foil mess tins for export at a factory in Suixi, China, in February 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)

Is spent lead ammunition solid waste? The Ninth Circuit will decide

For the third time in 10 years, the Ninth Circuit took up the fight between the Center for Biological Diversity and the U.S. Forest Service, which was sued in 2013 under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for failing to regulate the disposal of lead bullets on public lands in northern Arizona.

A California condor. (Credit: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)

AT&T subsidiary denies overcharging schools at Seventh Circuit

A corporate malfeasance suit almost 15 years in the making came before the Seventh Circuit on Thursday, centered on a federal whistleblower's allegations that AT&T subsidiary Wisconsin Bell overcharged schools and libraries in the Badger State for over a decade.

The AT&T logo is seen above one of its retail stores in New York. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Missouri judge rules waiting list for public defenders is unconstitutional

Missouri’s practice of placing poor criminal defendants on a waiting list for a state-appointed attorney is unconstitutional, a judge ruled while rejecting the state’s motion to dismiss as moot on the basis that the list is not currently used.

Oregon Supreme Court denies bid to unblock gun control law

Oregon’s new gun restrictions face roadblocks once again as the state Supreme Court upheld an order Thursday morning blocking the state’s recently passed Measure 114 from taking effect.

A semiautomatic handgun is displayed with a 10 shot magazine, left, and a 15 shot magazine, right, at a gun store on June 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

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