Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court gutted the Biden administration's pandemic-response strategy; Texas demanded Planned Parenthood return $10 million in Medicaid reimbursements; An expansion of oil and gas drilling in the waters off the beautiful coasts of southern Italy moved closer to reality, and more.

National

Supreme Court blocks federal mandate for private workers to vaccinate or test

The Supreme Court gutted the Biden administration's pandemic-response strategy Thursday in a split decision that puts a vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses on ice.

President Joe Biden announces the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (Image via Courthouse News)

Social media giants subpoenaed by Jan 6 committee

The congressional committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed four large Silicon Valley social media companies Thursday, saying the companies had failed to furnish requested items vital to the investigation.

Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump riot outside the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The law and the profits: Inside kratom’s political underbelly

In the final part of our series on the botanical supplement kratom, the lobbyist who made a senator nearly 50 years ago keeps cashing in — even as kratom fatalities mount.

Ball-and-stick model of the mitragynine molecule, an indole alkaloid extracted from the coffee plant relative kratom. (Jynto/Wikipedia via Courthouse News)

Biden doubles 500 million order for at-home Covid-19 tests

As Covid-19 cases continue to soar across much of the globe, U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday his administration will purchase an additional 500 million rapid Covid-19 tests to mail to Americans.

President Biden says his administration is ordering 500 million more rapid Covid-19 tests to be sent to Americans via mail for free, speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Image via Courthouse News)

Regional

Texas Republicans demand Planned Parenthood return $10 million in Medicaid payments

Texas Republicans continued their years-long quest to defund Planned Parenthood in federal court on Thursday, demanding the return of $10 million in Medicaid reimbursements paid by the state.

Software engineer beats conviction for theft of fishing secrets at 11th Circuit

An Alabama software engineer and avid angler who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing fishing reef coordinates scored a win on Wednesday when an 11th Circuit panel tossed out his conviction for theft of trade secrets because he was prosecuted in the wrong federal court.

International

Syrian official sentenced to life for crimes against humanity in landmark German trial

A German court in the small, southwestern city of Koblenz convicted a senior Syrian official on Thursday for crimes against humanity for the murder and torture of political prisoners during the Syrian Civil War.

Syrian woman Yasmen Almashan holds the pictures of her five in Syria died brothers before the verdict in front of the court in Koblenz, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. The German court has convicted a former Syrian secret police officer of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

EU court OKs offshore drilling work in Adriatic Sea

The European Union's top court cleared the way Thursday for the acceleration of offshore drilling off the coasts of Italy, another blow to nature lovers, environmentalists and fishermen.

The beach at Lido San Basilio where the Trans Adriatic Pipeline crosses the Adriatic Sea and comes ashore in Puglia, a region on the bootheel of the Italian peninsula. The natural gas pipeline is a source of controversy in Italy and Europe because it undermines the European Union's commitments to combat climate change. (Courthouse News photo/Cain Burdeau)

Categories / Closing Arguments

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.