Top Eight

Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top eight CNS stories for today including the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump dove headlong into opening arguments; Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden look to be the national front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination; U.N. investigators tied the hack of billionaire Jeff Bezos’ phone to The Washington Post’s connections with slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and more.

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National

1.) It was a long day’s journey into night, but the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump dove headlong into opening arguments Wednesday, with highly restrictive Senate rules leaving unclear whether evidence collection will follow.

2.) Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard brought a federal complaint Wednesday against Hillary Clinton, claiming that the former secretary of state’s labeling of Gabbard as a “Russian asset” was defamatory.

3.) With less than two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2020 primary season, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden look to be the national front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination according to a pair of polls released Wednesday.

4.) Montana tax officials courted Supreme Court defeat Wednesday at a hearing where Justice Brett Kavanaugh traced the state’s ban on public funding of religious schools to “grotesque religious bigotry against Catholics.”

International

5.) President Trump gave a surprise press conference Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he again called the impeachment trial a hoax while touting his economic record and ability to negotiate trade deals.

6.) Paying to delay the production of generic drugs violates European Union competition regulations, an adviser to the EU’s highest court said Wednesday.

7.) Months after billionaire Jeff Bezos stared down would-be extortion, U.N. investigators on Wednesday tied the hack of Bezos’ phone to The Washington Post’s connections with slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

8.) Canadian prosecutors said Wednesday that fraud, not U.S. sanctions, is at the heart of the extradition case against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, urging a judge to only consider the potential “Canadian criminality” of the offense when determining if she should be handed over to the United States.

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