Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court ruled for Tennessee in a dispute with Mississippi over groundwater; A federal judge in Vermont enjoined local court clerks from withholding access to e-filed complaints; The Netherlands is recovering from a weekend of violent protest against new Covid-19 restrictions, and more.

National

Supreme Court drains Mississippi’s $615M demand in water war with Tennessee

The Supreme Court handed a unanimous win to Tennessee on Monday morning in the first ruling of the term, a dispute over groundwater between the state and its neighbor, Mississippi.

This visual representation of the Middle Claiborne Aquifer appears in a November 2020 report from a court-appointed special master. The aquifer is overlaid on a map that contains state boundaries to demonstrate its interstate nature. The shading is based on the altitude of the top of the aquifer. (Image via Courthouse News)

Capitol rioter’s 2-month sentence is harsher than what prosecutors sought

A federal judge gave a 60-day prison sentence Monday to a man who chartered buses that brought 200 people to the Stop the Steal rally ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Frank Scavo poses in front of a painting at the U.S. Capitol during a riot that sought to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021. (Image via Courthouse News)

Suits with Project Veritas, Carmen Electra denied high court treatment

The Supreme Court opted not to take up any new cases Monday, releasing a list of orders that included rejections for the far-right group Project Veritas and former "Baywatch" star Carmen Electra.

The Supreme Court is seen on what is its first day of the new term, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Biden nominates Powell for second term as head of Federal Reserve

President Joe Biden on Monday nominated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second term leading the central bank and picked Democratic board member Lael Brainard to serve as second-in-command.

President Biden nominates Jerome Powell, left, and Lael Brainard, right, to serve as chair and vice chair of the Federal Reserve, respectively, during a news conference on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. (Image via Courthouse News)

Regional

Waukesha police identify suspect in Christmas parade attack

Police in Waukesha on Monday identified a suspect in custody who they say drove an SUV through a Christmas parade taking place downtown in the small Wisconsin city late Sunday afternoon, leaving five dead and dozens injured.

Police canvass the streets in downtown Waukesha, Wis., after a vehicle plowed into a Christmas parade, hitting more than 20 people, on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. (Jeffrey Phelps/AP)

Federal judge enjoins Vermont clerks from withholding First Amendment access

Like water in the desert, a federal judge has given life to a press campaign to stop state court clerks around the nation from blocking access to new e-filed complaints until the news in them has disappeared.

International

Outrage in Netherlands after new pandemic curbs spark riots

The Netherlands is nursing a hangover after a weekend of violent protest against new Covid-19 restrictions, with the worst involving live ammunition fired into a crowd by Dutch police.

Demonstrators protest Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, against restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Media TV Rotterdam via AP)

Trial opens in Paris for hotel driver accused of complicity in Rwandan genocide

The trial of a former driver charged with assisting genocide in Rwanda began in Paris on Monday, a decade after the case was first opened.

Family photographs of some of those who died hang on display in an exhibition at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

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.