Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the House approved a short-term spending plan Tuesday evening that would keep the government funded through mid-March, Minnesota police arrested a teenager Monday in connection with a homicide investigation that led to last week’s police killing of 22-year-old Minneapolis resident Amir Locke, Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud began trial Tuesday on charges that sold women into sexual slavery and tortured anyone who refused to comply and more.

National

House approves short-term spending plan as shutdown deadline approaches

The House approved a short-term spending plan Tuesday evening that would keep the government funded through mid-March and avoid a shutdown as lawmakers continue negotiations on a long-term spending deal.

The House voted 272-162 to pass a short-term bill that will keep the government funded through mid-March on Feb. 8, 2022. (C-SPAN via Courthouse News)

Scientists slam Big Oil’s eco strategy as ‘rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic’

At a congressional hearing scrutinizing Big Oil's commitments to curb climate change, there was one glaring absence: representatives of the fossil fuel companies themselves.

Outside the Exxon Mobil shareholders meeting in Dallas on May 31, 2006, a slow-melting ice sculpture fashioned by protesters demonstrates their view of how ExxonMobil's policies are affecting the environment. (LM Otero/AP)

Former Times editor takes stand in Palin defamation trial

An erstwhile opinion editor of The New York Times offered a mea culpa on the stand Tuesday as he insisted that there was no political malice at play when he penned the editorial that sparked a lawsuit from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin despite his swift efforts to correct the piece.

Reporters gather as Sarah Palin leaves the Southern District of New York courthouse on Feb. 4, 2022. (Nina Pullano/Courthouse News)

Bipartisan report pushes for new game plan to tackle US opioid problem

America’s opioid crisis is now claiming more lives every year than firearms, suicide, homicide or car crashes, according to a report released Tuesday from the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking.

Graph shows multiple-cause-of-death data from 2000 to 2020, by drug category. (CDC Wonder data via Courthouse News)

Regional

Teen sought in Amir Locke warrants charged with murder

Minnesota police arrested a teenager Monday in connection with a homicide investigation that led to last week’s police killing of 22-year-old Minneapolis resident Amir Locke.

A protester holds a sign demanding justice for Amir Locke at a rally in Minneapolis on Feb. 5, 2022. (Christian Monterrosa/AP)

UCLA to pay $246 million to settle gynecologist sex abuse case

The University of California announced Tuesday it has reached a settlement with more than 200 plaintiffs suing the university in Los Angeles Superior Court on claims of sex abuse by former UCLA gynecologist, Dr. James Heaps.

Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles. (Pixabay image via Courthouse News)

Fraud trial against Chicago political dynasty’s heir kicks off with opening arguments

Attorneys read their opening arguments Tuesday morning in Chicago in the trial of Patrick Daley Thompson, the Chicago City Council member who stands accused of tax fraud and other federal crimes.

International

Ex-police chief at center of Malian war crimes trial accused of persecuting women

Facing 13 counts of crimes against humanity, Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud began trial Tuesday on charges that, as the head of the Islamic police force in the ancient city of Timbuktu, he forced women to wear headscarves, sold them into sexual slavery and tortured anyone who refused to comply.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud listens to opening arguments in the start of his trial at the International Criminal Court on On Feb. 15, 2021, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Timbuktu, Mali. (Photo courtesy of ICC 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.