Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land in decades won federal approval; The Uzbek immigrant who carried out a truck attack on a lower Manhattan bike path will spend the rest of his life in federal prison; The family of a protester killed by police in Atlanta is demanding answers, and more.

National

Biden sign-off on Willow drill deal marks detour from climate goals

The largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land in decades, an expansive project in Alaska’s northern reaches, won federal approval Monday, bringing the Biden administration a rare round of applause from right-wing members of Congress.

The National Petroleum Reserve is located in Alaska's Northern Slopes Region. The Biden administration approved three new drilling sites there in March 2023. (Credit: Bureau of Land Management via Courthouse News)

11th Circuit refuses to revive Venezuelan oil giant’s antitrust case

A panel of the 11th Circuit on Monday rejected an attempt by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company to intervene in a racketeering and antitrust lawsuit, dashing its hopes of pursuing claims that major international energy trading firms cheated the company out of billions in a bribery and price-fixing conspiracy.

The sun sets behind an oil well in a field near El Tigre, Venezuela. (AP file photo/Fernando Llano,)

Biden urges faith in banking system after Silicon Valley failure

Under fire from some economists about his administration's role in two record-breaking bank failures last week, President Joe Biden assured the American public Monday that the country's financial system is sound.

President Joe Biden speaks about the banking system in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Regional

Family of ‘Cop City’ protester killed by Atlanta police demands answers

Relatives of Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán, who was shot and killed by task office officers in January while demonstrating against a police training facility in Atlanta, said Monday they are still fighting for answers about what happened that day.

A woman holds a photo of her slain partner, Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán, in Atlanta on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/R.J. Rico)

NYC bike path attacker spared death penalty in rare trial

The Uzbek immigrant who carried out a truck attack on a lower Manhattan bike path in 2017, killing eight, will spend the rest of his life in a U.S. federal prison after a federal jury was divided on whether he should be the first killer in decades put to death in the state.

This courtroom sketch shows Sayfullo Saipov, left, seated at the defense table with eyes closed during government summations as a photo of one of his victims is displayed on a monitor during the penalty phase off his federal trial in New York on March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

Waterlogged California battens down for more atmospheric rivers

Another series of severe storms pushed many California counties to a state of emergency Monday, with experts warning areas are at high flood risk with more intense storms taking aim at the state.

Another atmospheric river storm's path is charted on its way into the state of California and onward into the east as of Monday. (Image via Center For Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego)

International

Qualcomm accuses EU of mismanagement, bias at antitrust hearing

San Diego-based tech giant Qualcomm complained about the length of an antitrust investigation on the first day of hearings before the European Union’s second-highest court on Monday, accusing Brussels of pursuing claims of anticompetitive behavior despite having no evidence.

European Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager speaks at a news conference about a fine against U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm in Brussels on July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Ecuador expands oil drilling despite fierce opposition from locals

Petroleum is Ecuador’s top export commodity, but the industry has wreaked havoc on the environment and small communities in the Amazon.

An oil tanker sailing on the Napo River in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park. (Mette Mølgaard Henriksen/Courthouse News)

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