Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including experts say the infrastructure bill reimagines America's fight against climate change and could boost Democrats in the 2022 elections; The Czech Republic argued a century-old Polish coal mine steals its drinking water and pollutes its air; The Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed a $465 million verdict against opioid maker Johnson & Johnson, and more.

National

Infrastructure bill touted as revolutionary in fight against climate change

A monthslong saga of political maneuvering ended last week in a defining moment for Joe Biden's presidency with the passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Experts say in the long term the historic legislation not only reimagines America's fight against climate change but potentially boosts Democrats' chances in the 2022 elections.

President Joe Biden points out someone in the audience as he arrives for an event to welcome the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team to the White House to celebrate their 2021 NBA Championship, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

White House reverses Trump-era gut of spotted owl habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed a Trump administration rule that would have opened more than a third of the northern spotted owl’s protected habitat in Oregon, Washington state and California to logging.

A northern spotted owl flies after an elusive mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Oregon. (Don Ryan/AP)

Biden pushes for marine sanctuary off Central California coast

The Biden administration proposed the conservation of more than 7,000 square miles of marine habitat off the coast of Central California as it seeks to follow through on its conservation goals.

The sun prepares its dive into the Pacific Ocean northwest of San Simeon State Beach, California. The town of San Simeon, population 462, sits almost exactly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and is best known as the home of Hearst Castle, a delightful monument to the monstrous excesses of the early 20th century built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. (William Dotinga/Courthouse News)

13 senior Trump officials violated the Hatch Act during 2020 campaign

During the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, 13 senior Trump officials abused their roles as federal employees to further a political agenda, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel reported Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pats his head during a press conference with the Israeli Prime Minister and Bahrain's Foreign Minister after their trilateral meeting in Jerusalem on November 18, 2020. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / POOL / AFP)

Regional

Oklahoma justices reverse $465 million opioid verdict against Johnson & Johnson

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a bellwether $465 million verdict against opioid maker Johnson & Johnson, finding the trial judge misinterpreted the state’s public nuisance law.

An arrangement of oxycodone pills. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Judge tosses claims over King’s Hawaiian rolls packaging

King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls haven’t been made in Hawaii for some time, but a federal judge found the company doesn’t mislead consumers about the fact.

(Image by Pexels from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

International

Poland and Czech Republic face off over border coal mine at EU high court

The Czech Republic argued Tuesday that a century-old Polish coal mine steals its drinking water and pollutes its air, while Poland countered the mine is necessary for its economy and energy grid.

The Turów coal mine in southwestern Poland. (Anna Uciechowska/Wikipedia via Courthouse News)

EU court backs family-oriented reading of German asylum law

Europe's highest court on Tuesday said Germany should grant refugee status to a girl born in Germany whose mother, a Tunisian, was not eligible for asylum but whose father, a Syrian, was afforded international protection.

The European Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is the European Union’s supreme court in matters concerning EU law. (Molly Quell/Courthouse News)

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