Your Monday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top eight stories for today including the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 passed 500,000; The Supreme Court refused to block a New York subpoena of former President Donald Trump’s tax records; The European Union is imposing new sanctions on Russia over the arrest and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and more.
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National
1.) As the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 passes 500,000, experts in epidemiology and public health discuss how medicine is changing in response to the pandemic — and what to expect in months ahead.

2.) Divisions in American society that have seemingly reached their breaking point shaped the start of a hearing Monday for Judge Merrick Garland, whom President Joe Biden has tapped to lead his Justice Department.

3.) Former President Donald Trump lost another attempt to declare himself immune from criminal investigations, with the Supreme Court refusing Monday to block a New York subpoena of his tax records.

4.) The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a dispute between Florida and Georgia over whether the Peach State’s use of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin should be limited, leaving justices weighing the interests of Florida’s oystermen against those of Georgia’s farmers.

Regional
5.) Facing a recall effort and threats of litigation, the San Francisco School Board is putting a controversial push to rename 44 schools on hold so it can focus on a more pressing task: getting school buildings reopened.

6.) An independent review into the death of an unarmed black man stopped by police in Aurora, Colorado, raises concerns and offers systemic solutions.

International
7.) The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Monday said the bloc was imposing new sanctions on Russia over the arrest and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

8.) With China and Russia scoring political points as they ship their coronavirus vaccines around the world, the Biden administration is joining European leaders in pushing to get Western-made vaccines out to the rest of the world too.

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