Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including Capitol Hill is already digging in for a partisan fight over Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement; The EU’s top court rejected claims for compensation by a business that says it has suffered financial losses due to bloc-wide conservation measures; The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Republican legislators were within their rights to enter into contracts with private attorneys to advise them on redistricting before litigation began, and more.

National

Sharply divided Senate awaits Biden’s Supreme Court nominee

The White House is keeping quiet about who will be put forward to fill the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer upon his planned retirement from the Supreme Court, but Capitol Hill is already digging in for a partisan fight.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., joined by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., speaks during a news conference after the weekly Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Justice Stephen Breyer announces his retirement

In a letter to the White House, the Supreme Court’s most senior liberal, Justice Stephen Breyer, officially announced his plans Thursday to retire at the end of the term and once his successor had been named and confirmed.

Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Bill Clinton, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

‘He stole from me and lied to me,’ Stormy Daniels testifies of her ex-lawyer Avenatti

“Very, very angry, shocked, disbelief, hurt,” the porn star Stormy Daniels testified in Manhattan federal court on Thursday afternoon, describing how she felt upon finding out that her personal attorney had forged her signature and for months had been diverting hundreds of thousands from her $800,000 advance for a 2018 book deal.

Michael Avenatti arrives at federal court in Manhattan on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Testimony in George Floyd civil rights case turns to training

Testimony in the federal civil rights trial for three officers involved in the deadly arrest of George Floyd turned Thursday to the Minneapolis Police Department’s policies and training, a critical issue in prosecutors’ argument that the trio had an obligation to halt their colleague Derek Chauvin’s hold on Floyd’s neck.

From left, former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Regional

Wisconsin justices OK Republican redistricting attorney contracts

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday found Republican legislators were within their rights to enter into contracts with private attorneys to advise them on redistricting before litigation began, a decision arriving months after the contracts were tossed by a lower court.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, speaks at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison on Jan. 12, 2021. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)

Audit: $7.4 billion needed for California K-12 school repairs

To retrofit California’s crumbling classrooms, a new state audit released Thursday predicts voters will have to approve over $7.4 billion in bonds to pay for overdue safety and technological upgrades at K-12 schools.

International

EU court nixes compensation claims over Latvian nature preserve

A Latvian carp farm inside a natural preserve does not deserve additional compensation for damages it claims it suffers from the protection of migratory birds, the European Union's top court ruled on Thursday.

A forest in Latvia. (12019/Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Spain can’t require declaration of overseas assets

Spain violated EU regulations when it imposed harsh penalties on Spanish residents who failed to declare property and bank accounts they held abroad, the bloc’s top court ruled Thursday.

(Image by Carabo Spain from Pixabay via Courthouse News)