Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including lawsuits were filed challenging federal and local vaccine mandates; The World Health Organization issued a dire warning amid a worrying rise in coronavirus infections in Europe; A Capitol rioter who boasted that white, blond women like herself don't go to jail learned otherwise, and more.

National

Right-wing news outlet asks court to block employer vaccine mandate

Within hours of the federal government formally issuing a vaccine mandate for all companies with more than 100 employees, the Daily Wire and conservative nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom filed a petition asking the Sixth Circuit to halt enforcement of what they call a "gross overreach" by the Biden administration.

A sign notifies customers that Covid-19 vaccinations are available at a pharmacy in a grocery store in Monument, Colo., in October 2021. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Texas abortion ban drives wedge at House days after justices sketch law’s defeat

The House Judiciary Committee brought abortion providers to Capitol Hill on Thursday to detail the toll on constitutional rights in Texas during the two-plus months since the state enacted what are the strictest obstacles to abortion in the country.

Screenshot shows a House Judiciary Committee meeting held Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, where Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, co-executive director of the Florida Access Network, and Catherine Glenn Foster, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, were sworn in to discuss a Texas law that effectively bans abortion in the state. (Courthouse News)

Capitol rioter who said she wouldn’t go to prison is going to prison

A Texas real estate agent who boasted that white, blond women like herself don't go to jail learned otherwise on Thursday as a federal judge said her sentencing would signal to the country that the court is taking Jan. 6 cases seriously.

The government's evidence against Capitol rioter Jenna Ryan includes these two photos her in the melee on Jan. 6, 2021. (Photo via Courthouse News)

Russian informant for Trump dossier charged with lying to FBI

A Russian analyst who supplied information for the infamous Steele dossier on research into ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia was arrested Thursday on charges of lying to the FBI about his sources.

The FBI's J. Edgar Hoover headquarter building in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Regional

Wyoming passes law opposing federal vaccine mandates

Following seven days of debate, the Wyoming Legislature passed a law Wednesday night designed to challenge federal vaccine mandates.

A registered nurse fills a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site in Staten Island, New York, in April 2021. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Firefighters sue LA County over vaccination mandate

A group of 574 Los Angeles County firefighters has filed a lawsuit over the county's Covid vaccination mandate. Though the plaintiffs represent just 12% of the fire department's total personnel, the lawsuit is the latest in a series of suits filed by rank-and-file firefighters and police officers in the LA area aimed at overturning the vaccination mandates passed by local governments.

LA County Firefighters change a flat tire (Polihale / Wikimedia)

International

With 5M deaths worldwide, pandemic surges again in Europe

The World Health Organization on Thursday issued a dire warning that a worrying rise in coronavirus infections in Europe could lead to hundreds of thousands of more deaths unless governments take quick action to rein in the pandemic.

A woman walks past an abandoned coronavirus test center in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Michael Probst/AP)

Venezuela protest deaths draw International Criminal Court probe

The chief prosecutor of the International Court announced Thursday he will open an investigation into what was a violent crackdown by the Venezuelan government forces against protesters in 2017.

FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. The Trump administration will announce Thursday, March 26, 2020, indictments against Maduro and members of his inner circle for effectively converting Venezuela's state into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

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