Top Eight

Your Thursday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service need not disclose what proved to be the “last word” about how a proposed policy might harm endangered species; California lawmakers approved a $6.6 billion education plan that incentivizes districts to quickly reopen; The European Court of Justice gave a red card to a Spanish tax scheme for professional soccer clubs, and more.

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National

1.) Endorsing government secrecy in a 7-2 ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service need not disclose what proved to be the “last word” about how a proposed policy might harm endangered species.

2.) General Motors argued on Thursday before the Sixth Circuit that nearly a decade of bribes by competitor Fiat Chrysler to a union shared by both automakers are sufficient to support racketeering claims, despite a federal judge’s ruling to the contrary.

Regional

3.) The rush to resume classes after a year-long hiatus is underway in California as lawmakers approved a $6.6 billion education plan Thursday that incentivizes districts to quickly reopen.

4.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency let Montana excuse itself from requirements to protect world-class trout streams from pollution that creates toxic algal blooms. The reason? It would simply cost too much to protect rivers to the degree the law requires, attorneys told judges for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday.

5.) Amid new reports that coronavirus vaccines made their way to a wealthy Florida enclave back in January, a state official invited the FBI on Thursday to investigate whether Governor Ron DeSantis has been playing favorites in the pandemic.

International

6.) A magistrate for the European Union’s high court said Thursday that the Romanian Constitutional Court was justified in finding the composition of certain panels on the country’s Supreme Court was unlawful, but it shouldn’t have required specialized panels to hear corruption cases.

7.) The European Court of Justice gave a red card to a Spanish tax scheme for professional soccer clubs on Thursday, overturning a lower court ruling that allowed four clubs, including Fútbol Club Barcelona, to pay a lower tax rate. 

8.) After a rare request from the public prosecution service, a Dutch court has dismissed the criminal case against a man accused of holding his children hostage for nearly a decade. 

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