Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Great Britain recorded its hottest temperatures ever; The 10th Circuit found neither increased public health risks nor controversy in a proposed trail change at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge; The Senate gave its seal of approval to two federal court judges, and more.

National

Biden nominee is first Hispanic woman confirmed to Illinois federal judgeship

The Senate gave its seal of approval Tuesday to two federal court judges, including one appointee who will be the first Hispanic woman to ever serve as a federal judge in Illinois.

Nancy Maldonado testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at her confirmation hearing on May 11, 2022. Maldonado was confirmed to serve as a district judge for the Northern District of Illinois on July 19, 2022. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

Biden takes aim at countries that wrongfully detain Americans

Taking a stand against what he called “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the country’s national security, foreign policy and economy, President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday crafted to better protect Americans from wrongful detentions abroad and help bring home those already imprisoned or held hostage.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, July 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Regional

Challenge to new trail at nuclear bomb factory hits dead end at 10th Circuit

In rejecting an environmental group’s challenge, the 10th Circuit found neither increased public health risks nor controversy in a proposed trail change at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, built around the site of a former nuclear weapon production facility in Golden, Colorado.

Signage at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge near Arvada, Colorado. (Amanda Pampuro/Courthouse News)

Federal judge urged to block gender-balance rule for Iowa judicial selection panel

A lawyer representing a pair of Iowans suing the state urged a federal judge Tuesday to issue a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a law mandating an equal number of male and female elected members of the commission that interviews applicants for the state’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

The Iowa Judicial Branch building in Des Moines, home of the Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeals. (Rox Laird/Courthouse News)

Ohio high court rejects redrawn congressional maps

Ohio’s Supreme Court tossed out the state’s most recent proposed congressional electoral maps for a second time Tuesday morning, finding that a Republican-majority redistricting commission had failed to fix a partisan lean that led the court to reject another set of maps in January.

Members of the Ohio Senate Government Oversight Committee hear testimony on a new map of state congressional districts at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Nov. 16, 2021. (Julie Carr Smyth/AP)

International

Britain bakes in record heat as high temps kill hundreds of Europeans

Great Britain recorded its hottest temperatures ever on Tuesday as a wave of heat from North Africa left Britons baking in homes without air conditioning and desperately looking for ways to cool down.

A man refreshes his face at a fountain in Trafalgar Square in central London on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Inflation soars near double digits in EU

Inflation continued to rise across the European Union through June, averaging a wallet-busting 9.6%, according to data published by Eurostat on Tuesday.

A large pile of 500-euro notes. (Gerd Altmann/Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Italian art squad thwarts illegal sale of famous painting

Italian police have recovered a 17th century Italian painting depicting the legend of Cimon and Pero before it was illegally sold at auction in Austria.

This undated image provided by Italian authorities shows 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi's “Caritas Romana,” or “Roman Charity.” (Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Squad via AP)

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