Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top eight CNS stories for today including Hurricane Laura has strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it moves closer to landfall; As Belarusians hold mass demonstrations against their authoritarian leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also threatened by growing unrest and weakening support; Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in half-a-dozen key battleground states but Trump’s approval ratings saw a slight boost, and more.
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National
1.) Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in half-a-dozen key battleground states according to fresh polling data, though Trump’s approval ratings saw a slight boost with more voters saying they’re less concerned about the state of the coronavirus pandemic.
2. )The National Association of the Deaf urged a federal judge in Washington on Wednesday to protect the civil rights of deaf Americans and order the Trump administration to include live American Sign Language interpretation in White House briefings on Covid-19.
3.) As authorities increasingly recover untraceable “ghost guns” from crime scenes, Chicago and three other U.S. cities took aim in a federal complaint Wednesday at the government’s failure to crack down on build-it-yourself kits.
Regional
4.) Hurricane Laura has strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it moves closer to landfall, National Hurricane Center forecasters warned Wednesday afternoon.
5.) A positive coronavirus test within the California Senate brought business to a halt Wednesday morning, potentially complicating an already hectic final week of the legislative session.
6.) A 17-year-old Illinois resident was charged with murder Wednesday, accused of fatally shooting two people and injuring another during protests over the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, before fleeing across state lines.
International
7.) As Belarusians hold mass demonstrations against their authoritarian leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also threatened by growing unrest and weakening support.
8.) The former military leader known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” told a United Nations appeals court on Wednesday that the case against him “has gone down the drain.”
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