Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96; The Justice Department appealed the appointment of a special master to review records seized from Donald Trump’s Florida home; A New York prosecutor charged former Trump campaign strategist Steve Bannon with six criminal counts, and more.

National

With Roe out the door, the next big abortion battle is already on the Supreme Court steps

When the conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled that the right to abortion did not exist in the Constitution, they opened the door to questions about what rights do — or rather, in the case of a new petition before the court, whom they apply to.

Demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the conservative majority issued a 6-3 split decision overturning Roe v. Wade, striking down the federal right to abortion on Friday, June 24, 2022. (Emily Zantow/Courthouse News)

DOJ appeals order to appoint special master for seized Trump records

The Department of Justice on Thursday appealed a federal judge’s decision to appoint a special master to review records seized from former President Donald Trump’s south Florida resort home.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (Sean McKeag/The Citizens' Voice via AP)

Regional

‘Glimmer of hope’ for Los Angeles as homeless population increases only slightly over the last two years

The number of unhoused people living in Los Angeles has risen only slightly since 2020, according to officials from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, who announced the results of their annual homeless "point-in-time" count on Thursday.

In this Oct. 28, 2017, photo, a homeless man takes food from a trash can in Los Angeles' Skid Row area, home to the nation's largest concentration of homeless people. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Steve Bannon hit with state charges in NY for wall-building fundraiser fraud

A state prosecutor charged former Trump campaign strategist Steve Bannon on Thursday with six criminal counts related to a fraudulent fundraiser called We Build the Wall.

Conservative media strategist Steve Bannon arrives outside of the Manhattan district attorney's office on Sept. 8, 2022, to surrender himself on a six-count indictment in connection with allegedly defrauding donors to the We Build the Wall crowdfunding campaign. (Josh Russell/Courthouse News Service)

International

Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, dead at 96

Queen Elizabeth II, the beloved British monarch, died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. She was the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II waits in the Drawing Room before receiving Liz Truss for an audience at Balmoral in Scotland on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, where Truss was invited to become prime minister and form a new government. (Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Blinken visits Kyiv, Ukraine northern offensive makes gains

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday, a symbolic show of support for Ukraine that came on the same day that the White House pledged about $675 million more in military aid for the besieged country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a gift to Marina, 6, during a visit to a children’s hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. (Genya Savilov, Pool Photo via AP)

Scorching summer in Europe was hottest on record

The agency tasked with monitoring weather and climate for the European Union announced Thursday the continent experienced its hottest summer ever recorded this year.

Sunflowers suffer from lack of water under an unusually extreme heat wave in Beaumont du Gatinais, 60 miles south of Paris, France, on Aug. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

French blood bank wrong to track sexual orientation of donors, rights court rules

Europe’s top rights court on Thursday sided with a man who was repeatedly turned away from donating blood in France after he refused to disclose information about his sex life nearly 20 years ago.

Vials of blood from donors for testing at the Blood Bank of Delmarva Christiana Donor Center in suburban Newark, Delaware, on April 15, 2020. (New York Blood Center Enterprises via Courthouse News)

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