Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the federal case against Texas’ near-total abortion ban met its end; Russia expanded its attacks in Ukraine by firing missiles at airfields in the western part of the country as its troops and tanks moved closer to Kyiv; Wall Street saw another week marked by high volatility, and more.

National

Roe supporters say its reversal would be dead canary for democracy

With state legislatures acting as if the post-Roe world is already here, civil liberties experts say it signals a lot more than just the loss of reproductive rights.

Anti-abortion protesters wait outside the Supreme Court for a decision, Monday, June 29, 2020 in Washington on the Louisiana case, Russo v. June Medical Services LLC. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Wall Street losing streak persists on coattails of inflation and Russia crisis

In another week marked by high volatility, investors were given no safe harbor from inflationary pressures or the rising price of oil due to the conflict in Ukraine.

New York Stock Exchange specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the trading floor, Friday, March 11, 2022. (Allie Joseph/New York Stock Exchange via AP)

Russia to lose favored trading status with Western nations

U.S. President Joe Biden called for a freeze on normal trade relations with Russia on Friday, a move that the U.S. is taking in lockstep with European countries to raise the cost of Russian imports and isolate the Russian economy from global trade.

President Joe Biden calls on Congress to freeze permanent normal trade relations with Russia during a speech on March 11, 2022. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

Regional

Texas Supreme Court shuts down challenge to restrictive abortion law

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that medical licensing officials cannot enforce the state’s six-week ban on abortions, ending a federal challenge to the controversial law.

Protesters demonstrate against a six-week abortion ban at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Sept. 1, 2021. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Sutter Health cleared of wrongdoing in landmark antitrust trial

Northern California’s largest hospital chain prevailed in a landmark federal antitrust lawsuit claiming its contracting practices with insurers drove up the cost of premiums for millions of Californians.

Final brief filed by Courthouse News in Eighth Circuit First Amendment battle

Briefing is complete as of Thursday in the appeal of a federal judge’s ruling in St. Louis that said the First Amendment could not be enforced against state court clerks who are restricting access to new court filings.

International

Russia ramps up invasion of Ukraine, closing in on Kyiv

Russia's assault of Ukraine ramped up on Friday with missiles fired into the western part of the country and it moved troops and tanks against Kyiv, the capital, as fighting was reported on the outskirts of a city where Ukrainians have dug in for a hard and bloody battle.

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian army tank fire in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday, March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

UK response to Ukraine refugee crisis sparks outcry

The United Kingdom government has been forced on the defensive this week following public outcry over a slow and inflexible system of taking in Ukrainian refugees.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., Vadym Prystaiko, right, walks next to British Home Secretary Priti Patel outside the Ukrainian embassy in London on March 6, 2022. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File)