Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Brussels continued its campaign against multinational sweetheart tax deals; Donald Trump appeared virtually for a hearing in his New York criminal case; The Illinois attorney general released a report detailing decades of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, and more.

National

Amid debt standoff, top Dem on House spending panel blasts budget bill holding pattern

The top Democrat on the House’s appropriations committee called out the panel’s GOP leadership on Tuesday as congressional Republicans and the White House struggle to reach a deal to avoid an impending debt crisis.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., left, and Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, the ranking member of Appropriations, appear before the House Rules Committee in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021, as they field questions about the politics of the federal debt. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Frown-faced Trump logs in for hearing on New York criminal case

Seven weeks after former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to hush-money charges, he returned to a New York courtroom, albeit virtually, for the judge to set the date for what will be the historic trial of the first U.S. president to ever face criminal charges.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Convention in Indianapolis, on April 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Lawyer for megadonor Harlan Crow condemns Justice Thomas probe as unconstitutional

A lawyer representing the conservative megadonor who has for decades footed the bill on secret transactions benefitting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued in a letter that lawmakers have no legal grounds to force the high court to adopt a code of ethics — or even to put a spotlight on the underlying controversy.

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Oct. 7, 2022. Standing beside her in the back row, from left are Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan are seated in front. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Regional

West Virginia GOP governor sued for refusing to release schedule

Senate Democrats filed suit against West Virginia's Republican Governor Jim Justice on Tuesday, claiming the newly announced senatorial candidate has refused to hand over public records regarding his schedule.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks during an announcement for his U.S. Senate campaign on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson)

Illinois AG accuses hundreds of Catholic priests of child sex abuse over decades

The Illinois Attorney General's Office released a report on Tuesday detailing decades of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

Parishioners pass by a portraiture of Rev. Michael Pfleger after a Sunday church service at St. Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago on March 7, 2021, when Pfleger was facing sexual abuse allegations. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)

Negligence cases over public housing murders will get jury trials

New York’s highest court opened the door to liability Tuesday in two murder cases involving broken locks in New York City housing projects.

Residents of the NYCHA Grant Houses wait for the elevator after picking up donated food on May 18, 2020, in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

International

Apple returns to top EU court with billions at stake

Brussels continued its campaign against multinational sweetheart tax deals on Tuesday, fighting in a day of hearings before the European Court of Justice to reinstate a billion-euro fine against Apple.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, photographed on Oct. 5, 2015. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Closing arguments begin in trial over Mali war crimes

Prosecutors told the International Criminal Court in their closing statements on Tuesday that an ex-Islamic militia leader was a “central figure” in widespread torture, rape and sexual slavery in Timbuktu a decade ago.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud walking to his seat during the opening of closing statements on May 23, 2023 before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands. (Photo courtesy of ICC via Courthouse News)

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