Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including fears of a major catastrophe are growing after parts of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant were struck by rockets; The Senate headed into recess having passed a massive climate and health care bill that few saw getting done this session; Alabama’s process for allocating district and circuit judicial seats is facing its first constitutional challenge, and more.

National

Sweeping budget package could give Senate Democrats a midterm boost

After months of interparty wrangling, tense backroom negotiations and a marathon weekend session to get the legislation across the Senate finish line, Democrats sent a climate and health care bill over to the House that fulfills a longstanding campaign promise of President Joe Biden and could boost the party's prospects as November midterms draw ever-nearer.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gives a thumbs-up in his office after the Senate approved Democrats' big election-year economic package on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Lisa Mascaro)

Rapper Fetty Wap jailed for FaceTime threat, gun possession

Facing federal drug charges, rapper Fetty Wap is back behind bars after allegedly threatening over FaceTime to kill an unnamed victim and brandishing a gun, violating his release agreement.

In this Aug. 26, 2019, file photo, Fetty Wap arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP,File)

Regional

Bringing sea otters back to Oregon faces ideological challenges

Restoring sea otters to the Oregon coast could aid in the fight against climate change, but opponents say maintaining status quo of local fisheries is more important.

Sea otter in British Columbia. (Photo courtesy of James Thompson)

Judge asked to reverse relocation of Alabama court seat

The relatively new process by which Alabama allocates district and circuit judicial seats is facing its first constitutional challenge.

The Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. (Pixabay image via Courthouse News)

Father and son sentenced to life for hate crimes in Arbery killing, neighbor gets 35 years

The father and son convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Monday in Georgia federal court to life imprisonment for violating the 25-year-old jogger’s civil rights and targeting him because he was Black, adding to their life sentences for aggravated assault and murder.

This photo combo shows, from left, Travis McMichael, William "Roddie" Bryan and Gregory McMichael, who were all convicted of murder on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, for the death of Ahmaud Arbery. (Pool, file)

International

Rights groups call on US to tackle systemic racism

The United States and six other countries are defending their record on combating racial discrimination before a United Nations committee in Geneva this month and human rights groups are calling for major changes.

The United Nations branch in Geneva, Switzerland, which houses the U.N. Human Rights Council. (William Dotinga/Courthouse News)

Nuke plant comes under attack as fighting rages in Ukraine

In an extremely dangerous development, Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was at the center of intense fighting on Monday with reports the plant was damaged after it came under attack over the weekend.

A rocket fragment is seen near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in territory under Russian military control in southeastern Ukraine on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Science

Spread of illnesses can be exacerbated by climate change, study finds

Amid a seemingly never-ending global pandemic, many people have searched for an answer as to how diseases can persist in our communities for so long. In a study published Monday, scientists at the University of Hawaii link disease to the similarly never-ending effects of climate change.

FILE - This electron microscope image made available and color-enhanced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md., in 2020, shows Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, orange, isolated from a patient. (NIAID/National Institutes of Health via AP)

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