Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation amid scandal and discord; A Silicon Valley jury found a former Theranos executive guilty on 12 counts of fraud; Justice Brett Kavanaugh is positioning himself to hold the most important vote on the Supreme Court, and more.

National

Kavanaugh makes a play for the high court’s swing vote

Justice Brett Kavanaugh is positioning himself to hold the most important vote on the Supreme Court.

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, for the third day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers has come forward to The Washington Post. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Roy Moore loses Sacha Baron Cohen defamation appeal

Roy Moore may not have liked being the butt of the joke, but that doesn’t earn him a $95 million defamation case over a mock interview cooked up by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

This clip shows former Alabama judge Roy Moore in a 2018 interview that turned out to be a comedic ambush for the Showtime series "Who Is America?" Disguised at right as an Israeli counterterrorism expert, Sacha Baron Cohen demonstrates a gadget that he says will beep when waved at a pedophile. (Image courtesy of Showtime via Courthouse News)

Subway still on hook for claims of no tuna in its tuna sandwiches

A federal judge on Thursday denied sandwich giant Subway’s bid to dismiss consumers’ claims the tuna served in its restaurants isn’t tuna at all.

FILE- In this Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, file photo, a 422 lb. Atlantic bluefin tuna is hoisted from a boat at the South Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Regional

Jury finds Theranos executive Sunny Balwani guilty in fraud case

A Silicon Valley jury has found former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani guilty of all 12 counts of fraud, amid the collapse of the $9 billion blood testing company.

Former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, right, stands near his legal team outside Robert F. Peckham U.S. Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., in March 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Liedtke)

Maine can’t stop out-of-staters from collecting ballot petition signatures

Maine’s requirement that only people who live in the state and are registered to vote there can collect signatures for ballot initiatives likely infringes on the First Amendment, the First Circuit said Thursday in upholding a preliminary injunction.

Election workers begin uploading results trickling in from across the state in Augusta, Maine, in 2018. (AP Photo/Marina Villeneuve, File)

Wisconsin justices block name change for transgender woman on sex offender registry

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a transgender woman who had to register as a sex offender as a teenager has no legal avenue to change her name to match her gender identity, as all sex offenders are banned from legally changing their name.

Wisconsin Supreme Court justices convene in the court’s hearing room in Madison on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, for arguments in a case in which a transgender woman claims her free speech rights are violated by the state banning her from legally changing her name because she was registered as a sex offender as a juvenile. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

International

Amid scandal and chaos, Boris Johnson forced to resign

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the colorful but abrasive mop-haired Conservative leader who led the United Kingdom out of the European Union, was forced to announce his resignation Thursday amid scandal and discord.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson reads a statement outside 10 Downing Street in London, formally resigning as Conservative Party leader, on July 7, 2022. Johnson said he will remain as British prime minister while a leadership contest is held to choose his successor. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

EU court adviser rejects Airbnb challenge to Italy short-term rental tax

An adviser to the European Union’s highest court said Thursday that Italy can force Airbnb to collect a rental income tax and share information about its transactions with tax officials.

The login page for Airbnb's iPhone app is seen in front of a computer displaying Airbnb's website in 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

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