Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son; The EU’s trade deficit with Russia has fallen by nearly two-thirds; Amazon argued before a federal appeals court that it is not responsible for third-party sellers importing illegal products, and more.

National

Judicial veto of student debt forgiveness plan will have a familiar ring for Biden

After the justices teed themselves up to shoot down President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan by way of the major questions doctrine, legal experts say the separation of powers may be off balance.

Student debt relief advocates gather outside the Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Amazon denies liability for illegally imported products

Amazon argued before a federal appeals court Friday that it is not responsible for third-party sellers importing illegal products into the United States.

People arrive for work at the Amazon distribution center in Staten Island, New York, on Oct. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

Army solider who plotted unit ambush with satanic neo-Nazi cult sentenced to 45 years

The former U.S. Army private who plotted with a satanic neo-Nazi cult to ambush his unit in a mass-casualty attack was sentenced Friday to 45 years in federal prison.

In an iCloud account for Ethan Melzer, authorities found images such as the one at left, titled “Harvest of the Soldiers," a supposed accounting Islamic State group attacks. A knife and a book about a neo-Nazi group called Order of Nine Angles are pictured on the right. The complaint against Melzer notes that skull masks are a "known neo-Nazi symbol."(Justice Department via Courthouse News)

Regional

Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son

Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the murders of his wife and son, ending a nearly two-year saga that captured national attention while shining a spotlight on the ex-attorney's unusual influence in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison after conviction in double murder trial during his sentencing at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on Friday, March 3, 2023 after he was found guilty on all four counts. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Hard out there for a pup: Newborn elephant seals face daily struggle to survive

Sharks, starvation, disease, getting crushed by 5,000-pound males — early life for elephant seals is filled with peril.

An elephant seal pup cries out on a crowded beach in San Simeon. (Pat Pemberton/Courthouse News)

Rez Radio brings Cupeño music, culture, and history to the world

A small radio station on the Pala Band of Mission Indians territory in northern San Diego County broadcasts music and cultural programming that interests and reflects the history, culture, and language of the Cupeño people.

A closeup of Pala Rez Radio's psychedelic school bus painted by high school students for the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, sits in the parking lot of the radio station, a freeform FM radio station owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians that hosts music, public affairs, news and cultural programing, in Pala, California. (Sam Ribakoff/Courthouse News Service)

International

EU trade with Russia dropped $12 billion in first year Ukraine invasion

As Russian tanks rolled through Ukraine, the European Union’s trade with Russia plummeted. Over the last year, the EU’s trade deficit with Russia fell by nearly two-thirds, as the value of Russian imports was cut in half, according to data published by Eurostat on Friday.

People walk past a currency exchange office screen displaying the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and euro to Russian rubles in Moscow, on Feb. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

Belarusian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner gets 10-year jail term

Belarusian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize co-winner Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday by a Minsk court on charges that he funded mass anti-government protests and smuggled money into the country.

Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian human rights group Viasna, sits in a defendants' cage during a court session in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (Vitaly Pivovarchyk/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)

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