Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including President Biden kicked off his campaign for a second term in office; Brazil’s president is visiting Portugal and Spain as his foreign policy draws criticism from the West; Ed Sheeran appeared in federal court for the kickoff of a $100 million copyright trial, and more.

National

Four more years: Biden unveils reelection plan

Distinguishing himself from what he calls MAGA extremists who want to take away America's freedoms, President Joe Biden kicked off his campaign Tuesday for a second term in office.

President Joe Biden speaks at the fourth virtual Major Economies Forum on energy and climate, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House on April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Federal ban on bump stocks rejected by appeals court panel

The latest twist in the ongoing legal saga regarding the legality of bump stocks – used to increase the rate of fire on semiautomatic weapons – is a win for gun owners, after a Sixth Circuit panel unanimously found Tuesday the government cannot enforce a rule that bans the devices.

A bump stock is displayed in Harrisonburg, Va., in March 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

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Regional

Critics of traffic ticket late fees tout end of discrimination suit

Five months after it agreed to stop charging drivers $300 fines when they pay traffic tickets late, the San Mateo Superior Court has reached a settlement with legal groups that said the practice disproportionately affected people of color in the Bay Area.

San Mateo County Superior Court. (Image by mliu92, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Courthouse News)

To grow or not to grow: A look at the no-longer-small towns of Idaho

As Idaho and its capital continue to boom, small towns peppered around Boise’s borders grapple with growth many never anticipated — and accept hard truths they never thought they’d face.

The welcoming sign to Star, Idaho. (Carson McCullough/Courthouse News)

Ed Sheeran all smiles at NYC trial opening on ‘Let’s Get It On’ copyright

The English singer accused of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye’s monumental seductive hit “Let’s Get It On” appeared in federal court Tuesday, in a dark suit with a light blue tie, for the kickoff of the $100 million civil copyright trial.

Ed Sheeran performs at Z100's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball on Dec. 10, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

Orioles strike out in long-running TV revenue spat with Nationals

The New York Court of Appeals on Tuesday called strike three on most of the Baltimore Orioles’ arguments involving a long-running television spat with the neighboring Washington Nationals, but sent a small part of the case to extra innings.

Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins (31) and Jorge Mateo (3) celebrate after scoring during the fifth inning of an opening day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

International

Brazil’s Lula visits EU amid US document leak drama

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is currently visiting Portugal and Spain as his foreign policy draws criticism from the West, with a leaked document revealing concerns among European Union foreign ministers about Brazil’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brazilian president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva next to his wife Rosangela da Silva and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in Lisbon on Saturday, April 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Op-ed

The Second Circuit and the First Amendment

A hearing before Second Circuit judges Richard Sullivan and Pierre Leval raised a question about where consideration of our First Amendment case stood in the context of history and reality in the Second Circuit itself.

Home of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse is located at 40 Foley Square in lower Manhattan. (Nina Pullano/Courthouse News Service)

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