Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored the U.S. to ramp up efforts to protect sovereign skies from Russian attacks; The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years; A feathered headdress some say belonged to Aztec emperor Moctezuma is the centerpiece of Mexico’s yearslong dispute with Austria over cultural artifacts, and more.

National

Zelenskyy urges US to enforce no-fly zone in Ukraine amid Russian siege

In an impassioned virtual address to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine and supply fighter jets supporting the Ukrainian military as the country remains under siege by Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a virtual address to Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Sarah Silbiger, Pool via AP)

In face of rampant inflation, Federal Reserve raises interest rates for first time since 2018

Citing massive inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years while also predicting more rate hikes to come.

Traders work on the floor, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. (David L. Nemec/New York Stock Exchange via AP)

Jackson recusal questions betray the high court’s bigger problem

As the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson moves to the Senate for consideration, some lawmakers are already urging Jackson to withdraw, should she win confirmation, from an upcoming major case involving her alma mater.

Students walk near the Widener Library in Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., in 2019. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Regional

Woman sues over delivery of chocolate penis

In an unequivocal sign of the impending apocalypse, a company called Dick at Your Door got sued in Ventura County, California, Superior Court by a woman who complained she received a five-inch chocolate penis that she did not order.

Balwani trial delayed due to Covid exposure

The eagerly anticipated opening arguments in the trial of former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani slated for Wednesday morning in San Jose were delayed due to a Covid exposure during jury selection.

Former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, right, stands near his legal team outside Robert F. Peckham U.S. Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., in March 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Liedtke)

International

Ukraine, Russia negotiate peace terms, but fighting carries on

After three weeks of war in Ukraine, talks to end the fighting intensified on Wednesday even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the U.S. Congress to intervene to stop Russia's invasion and a bomb was dropped on a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.

Damaged vehicles and buildings in the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Dorogoy)

UN high court orders Russia to halt invasion of Ukraine

The United Nations' top court ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, granting a request made by Kyiv last month.

A woman wrapped in the Ukrainian flag shouts through a megaphone during a demonstration in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Phil Nijhuis)

Mexico-Austria dispute over artifacts about more than ‘Moctezuma’s headdress’

A feathered headdress some say belonged to Aztec emperor Moctezuma is the centerpiece of Mexico’s yearslong dispute with Austria over cultural artifacts taken during the colonial period.

This shield, believed to have belonged to Aztec emperor Ahuízotl, is among the collection of cultural heritage artifacts that originated in Mexico and are now held at the Weltmuseum Wien, Austria's biggest anthropological museum in Vienna. (Adrian Hernández/Wikipedia 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.