Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the war in Ukraine saw more bloodshed and chaos; Courthouse News sued to challenge a Texas blackout on access to new cases while they are being docketed; A former West Virginia state lawmaker pleaded guilty to engaging in civil disorder for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and more.

National

What to expect when you’re expecting a Supreme Court confirmation hearing

For the last few weeks, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been privately meeting with members of the Senate. Now, the American public will get to hear from the high court nominee.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., left, sits down for a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, right, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Insurrectionist lawmaker pleads guilty, will cooperate with feds

Derrick Evans, whose participation in the Capitol riot forced him out of office, pleaded guilty Friday to engaging in civil disorder in connection with the deadly attempt to overthrow America's government.

West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans exits the Sidney L. Christie U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building after being arraigned on federal charges Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, in Huntington, W.Va. (AP Photo)

Appeals court plumbs Nasdaq objections to securities rule

An attorney for Nasdaq urged the D.C. Circuit on Friday to vacate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s market data rule, arguing it will exacerbate the competition and efficiency problems it seeks to fix.

A United States flag is reflected in the window of the Nasdaq studio, which displays indices and stocks down, in Times Square, New York, on March 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Regional

Texas court administrator hit with First Amendment complaint

A committee of judges and clerks in Texas decided once upon a time to create a subcommittee to discuss public access, but then the subcommittee never met. A First Amendment action filed Thursday by Courthouse News has been a long time coming

Louisianans take stand against gas export terminal on vanishing coast

Dozens of opponents of a proposed air permit for another natural gas export terminal along what has become a rapidly eroding and hurricane-battered edge of the Pelican State spoke against the terminal during a public hearing before the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

FILE - In this June 8, 2017 file photo, fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the pipeline near St. Ignace as Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in Mackinaw City, Mich. Enbridge Inc. applied Wednesday, April, 2020, for state and federal authorization to construct an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the Michigan waterway that connects two of the Great Lakes. (Dale G Young/Detroit News via AP)/Detroit News via AP)

Smollett attorney still on the hook in defamation case brought by Osundairo brothers

The legal saga surrounding Jussie Smollett turned a new page Friday morning when a federal judge in Chicago released a ruling declaring that defamation claims against one of Smollett's attorneys can proceed to trial.

Abimbola Osundairo, right, prays with his brother Olabinjo Osundairo, center, along with their bodyguard and attorney upon their arrival at Chicago’s Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Dec. 2, 2021, for day four of actor Jussie Smollett's trial. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

International

Ukraine sees another bloody day of fighting, civilian deaths

Russia launched another missile strike into western Ukraine on Friday, hitting an aircraft maintenance facility, and claimed to have seized parts of the southern port city of Mariupol during another day of intense fighting.

A police officer walks at the site of a bombing that damaged residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, March 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

EU trade deficit continues to spike, hitting $40 billion in January

The increasing costs of importing energy drove the European Union’s international trade deficit to 36 billion euros ($39.7 billion) in January, up 18.9% from the previous year, according to data released by Eurostat on Friday.