Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took the witness stand in her defamation trial against The New York Times; Three San Francisco school board members could be removed in a recall election; Mexico’s highest court halted the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, and more.

National

Sarah Palin tells jurors New York Times lies and capitalizes on ‘horrific violence’

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin called herself a modern-day David challenging The New York Times’ Goliath as she took the witness stand on Thursday morning to hold the famed newspaper liable for defamation.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin leaves federal court on Feb. 4, 2022, in New York. On her first day of testimony Wednesday in her defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, Palin gave the jury a folksy overview of her family life in Alaska and ascent in Republican politics. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Lawmakers look to ax time limit for civil child sex abuse cases

In an effort to empower victims of child sex abuse, the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended Thursday that the Senate pass a bill to give survivors unlimited time to file civil claims in federal court.

Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin speaks during a meeting on a bill to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases in federal civil court on Feb. 10, 2022.

NY Times gets green light to publish Veritas attorney memos

The door is open for The New York Times to publish documents related to a defamation lawsuit that Project Veritas filed against the newspaper.

James O'Keefe of Project Veritas speaks at the "SMU: Stopping Bias in American Mainstream Media" event hosted by SMU Young Americans for Freedom at Hughes-Trigg Student Center on the SMU campus in Dallas, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Regional

Police union agreement leaves questions about Portland Street Response program

A successful new program that sends medical and mental health clinicians to emergency calls instead of police will enter its second year unable to respond to calls involving suicide and incidents inside residences, because of provisions in a draft agreement with a police union.

New video shows officer telling superior Floyd was breathing

Thomas Lane's body camera footage shows the officer telling a homicide lieutenant that George Floyd was breathing, omitting Derek Chauvin's neck restraint entirely.

In this image from police body camera video shown as evidence in court, Minneapolis police officers attempt to place George Floyd in a police vehicle on May 25, 2020, outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis. (Minneapolis Police Department via AP, File)

San Francisco gears up for vote on school board recall

On Feb. 15, San Francisco voters will decide whether three members of the city school board should keep their jobs in a special election that has been simultaneously characterized as a grassroots effort by fed-up parents and a power grab by moneyed interests.

The San Francisco Board of Education convenes online on April 6, 2021, to decide whether to rescind its prior decision to rename 44 public schools. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

International

Extreme poverty, inequality spike across Latin America as pandemic deepens social and health crises

Five million more people now live in extreme poverty than in 2020, affecting 13.8% of Latin Americans — a problem compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, an annual United Nations report reveals.

Mexico Supreme Court sets precedent for environmental impact assessments

Mexico’s highest court set a legal precedent Wednesday when it halted the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, citing threats to human rights due to a flawed environmental impact assessment.

Port of Veracruz, Mexico. (Pixabay image via Courthouse News)

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.