Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including a federal jury found the first Capitol rioter to go to trial guilty on all five charges against him; Efforts to evacuate large numbers of Ukrainians in cities under siege by Russian troops faltered after Ukraine accused Russia of violating a ceasefire; Courthouse News filed a First Amendment complaint against court clerks in Maryland over their blackout of new civil complaints, and more.

National

First trial of Capitol rioter ends in conviction on all charges

After just 2 1/2 hours of deliberations, a federal jury returned with a unanimous verdict Tuesday for the first Capitol rioter to go to trial, finding Guy Reffitt guilty on all five of the charges against him.

This artist sketch depicts Guy Wesley Reffitt, joined by his lawyer William Welch, right, in Federal Court, in Washington, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. Reffitt, a Texas man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun on his waist, is the first Jan. 6 defendant to go on trial. (Dana Verkouteren/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

US to ban imports of Russian oil as war in Ukraine rages

President Joe Biden announced a U.S. ban Tuesday on the import of Russian oil and natural gas, acceding to pressure by Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers on the Hill.

President Joe Biden announces sanctions banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on March 8, 2022. (Screenshot via Courthouse News)

Juror admission could trigger retrial for Ghislaine Maxwell

“I made an inadvertent mistake, one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” one of the jurors on the panel that convicted Ghislaine Maxwell in December explained in court Tuesday as a judge considers whether the error should spark a retrial for the disgraced British socialite.

The main jury panel sits in the jury box waiting to be dismissed after deliberating during Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial on Dec. 21, 2021 in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Regional

Courthouse News files First Amendment action against Maryland clerks

Courthouse News filed a First Amendment complaint late Monday against court clerks in Maryland over their blackout of new civil complaints until administrative work is finished and the news has gone stale.

Beto O’Rourke faces defamation suit from Texas oil tycoon

A Texas oil tycoon is accusing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke of defaming him on the campaign trail with a “relentless and malicious attack” of a $1 million political donation he made to Republican Governor Greg Abbott months after the state’s deadly winter storm.

Texas Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a primary election gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

GOP sues Houston-area election official after county misses 10,000 ballots

As Democratic candidates for Texas attorney general wait for the counting of 6,000 ballots that will determine who moves on to a runoff, Houston-area Republicans sued the election administrator in charge of those ballots accusing her of gross mismanagement of the primaries.

People make a line to vote in primary elections at the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on March 1, 2022. (Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Chronicle via AP)

International

Ceasefire in Ukraine breaks down, blocking civilians from evacuating cities

Hopes to evacuate large numbers of civilians in Ukrainian cities under siege from Russian forces were smashed on Tuesday after both sides accused each other of violating a ceasefire and fighting and bombing continued to rage across eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee across the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Through end of 2021 in EU, gross domestic product and employment climbed

The gross domestic product of the European Union increased by 5.3% in 2021, recovering from a downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat.

This Eurostat infographic published March 8, 2022, shows how the GDP growth rate compared to the previous quarter faced disruption following the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. and EU. (Eurostat chart via Courthouse News)