Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including American employers added a remarkably strong 339,000 jobs; A Florida judge recused himself from the federal case brought by Disney against Governor Ron DeSantis; Activists are taking to the streets to protest against gold mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and more.

National

Hiring surges as US employers add 339,000 jobs

Undeterred by the Federal Reserve’s campaign to slow down the economy, American employers added a remarkably strong 339,000 jobs in May.

A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Biden to address country on debt ceiling deal

After weeks of negotiations, President Joe Biden will sign a bipartisan deal to raise the federal government’s self-imposed debt ceiling, averting a national default.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy meets with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Judge steps back from Disney case against DeSantis

A Florida judge has recused himself from the federal case brought by Disney against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and a state oversight board.

Guests watch a show near a statue of Walt Disney and Micky Mouse at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Jan. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Regional

What makes a horse wild? Advocates push back against ‘feral’ classification of historic equids

Roughly 500 horses inhabit an area along the Black River in eastern Arizona. Some say the herd descends from Spanish colonial horses. Others say the herd is more recent and doesn’t belong on the land it now grazes.

A dark brown mustang named Alpine stands between human visitors and his 12-member band. His is one of the dozens of bands that make up the roughly 500-horse Alpine herd in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. (Joe Duhownik/Courthouse News)

Arizona claims immunity in negligence case over foster home sex abuse

A child sex abuse victim argued for partial summary judgment Friday in a negligence suit against the state of Arizona over its placement of foster children.

Federal law enforcement personnel walk past the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Courthouse in Phoenix on Sept. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

‘No emotion – except hatred’: A firsthand look at a prison being transformed

Over 400 inmates have been executed at San Quentin State Prison since it opened in 1852, but now it is being remade into a rehabilitation facility.

General population inmates walk in a line at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

International

Ecuadorians take stand against illegal gold mining

Although Ecuador was the first country in the world to grant rights to nature, gold mining is a growing problem in the Amazon. In the town of Tena, local activists are taking to the streets weekly.

Lawyer and ombudsman Andrés Rojas walks in front as local activists protesting against illegal gold mining in the streets of Tena, Ecuador. (Mette Mølgaard Henriksen/Courthouse News)

Op-ed

Making America Soviet

So now the book banners have come for Amanda Gorman. Well, poets are dangerous, aren’t they? Especially if they’re young, gifted and Black.

Amanda Gorman steps to the podium to recite her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II via Courthouse News)

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