Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the Supreme Court authorized Texas abortion providers to proceed in their challenge of the state’s near-total abortion ban; President Biden sought to rebuild democratic momentum around the globe through a virtual summit; New Yorkers will be temporarily required to wear a mask in all indoor public places, and more.

National

Abortion providers get Supreme Court backing to fight Texas ban

The Supreme Court authorized Texas abortion providers on Friday to proceed in their challenge of the state’s near-total ban on abortions, a rule that will remain in place while the case proceeds.

Ava Stevenson, 20, left, of Montgomery County, Md., rallies for abortion rights with her mother Jenni Coopersmith, center, outside the Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, as arguments are set to begin about abortion by the court, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Thomas court

After 30 years of waiting, Justice Clarence Thomas has seniority and a court shaped in his likeness.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a 2018 group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Investors latch onto promising omicron studies, largely ignoring inflation data

Markets tanked last week but took little time to right themselves, making back much of what has been lost since Thanksgiving.

People look at televisions during a Black Friday sale at a Best Buy store in Overland Park, Kan., on Nov. 26, 2021. Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing and other items left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate since 1982. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Regional

Vermont to give timely public access to new complaints

In the slip stream of a federal injunction, Vermont’s state court administrator announced that on Friday she will begin making new complaints public when they are submitted.

U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss of the District of Vermont.

Full appeals court hears challenge to school dress code mandating skirts for girls

The en banc Fourth Circuit was asked Friday to decide if a charter school’s policy requiring female students to wear skirts is constitutional, after a three-judge panel held that it is.

Students walk down a stairwell between classes at the now-shuttered Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore. (Andre F. Chung/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Masks return for New Yorkers during winter surge

In an effort to slow a winter surge of Covid-19, New Yorkers will be temporarily required to wear a mask in all indoor public places, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday.

A sign requiring proof of vaccination is seen on the wall at Madame Marie's here in Astoria, Queens, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. Establishments that require such proof are exempt from temporary new rules in New York to wear masks indoors. (Barbara Leonard/Courthouse News)

International

Biden rallies democracies with virtual summit, but draws criticism

At a two-day virtual summit ending on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders acknowledged the poor health of democracy around the globe and pledged to take steps to fight creeping authoritarianism over the next year.

President Joe Biden speaks from the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, for the opening of a virtual summit for democracy. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Assange faces extradition to US after British court ruling

Putting stock in a promise that the cyber activist will not endure harsh U.S. prison conditions, a British appellate court ruled on Friday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges.

A poster of Julian Assange is attached to an entrance gate outside the High Court in London on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Frank Augstein/AP)

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