Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top eight stories for today including supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol during a violent clash with police; Democrats took control of the Senate with a pair of wins in Georgia; President-elect Joe Biden will select U.S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland be the nation’s attorney general, and more.
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National
1.) One person has been shot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building during a violent clash with police, forcing a lockdown of the ceremony to confirm Joe Biden’s win in the November election.

2.) Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff has won his Georgia runoff contest against Republican Senator David Perdue, giving President-elect Joe Biden’s party control of the chamber.

3.) President-elect Joe Biden will select U.S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland — blocked from the Supreme Court by the GOP during the final year of the Barack Obama administration — to be the nation’s attorney general.

4.) A hospital worker who was fired for complaining to a newspaper about staffing practices got a sympathetic ear at the First Circuit Wednesday, in a case that has drawn national attention due to the large number of health care workers who have recently been terminated for speaking out about inadequate protection during the pandemic.

Regional
5.) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to legalize recreational cannabis this year, giving a preview to his upcoming State of the State address.

6.) Two Louisville detectives were fired Wednesday for their roles in the raid that left Breonna Taylor dead, while Kentucky’s largest city also announced the hiring of Atlanta’s former police chief as the new head of its force.

7.) Slamming the East Ramapo School District for acting in bad faith throughout litigation, the Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday that at-large elections diluted minority votes for the Hudson Valley school board.
International
8.) European Union regulators on Wednesday approved the use of a second vaccine against the novel coronavirus, this one manufactured by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Moderna, but the announcement will do little to quiet rows erupting across Europe over a sluggish rollout of vaccinations.

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