Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including New York’s lieutenant governor was arrested on a federal indictment charging him with a campaign donation scheme; President Biden announced a plan to lift restrictions on a biofuel that will be cheaper than gasoline for Americans to buy at the fuel pump; Russia was accused of a chemical attack on far-right Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, and more.

National

Attorneys trade accusations in opening remarks of Depp v. Heard trial

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s competing versions of their relationship are at the center of a high-profile trial that began with opening arguments Tuesday morning.

Actor Johnny Depp, center, leaves the Fairfax County courthouse in Fairfax, Va., after jury selection on Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US to soften stance on high-ethanol gas, usually banned in summer months

President Joe Biden flew to Iowa on Tuesday to announce a new economic gambit in the face of 40-year inflation highs, saying the government will lift restrictions on a biofuel that will be cheaper than gasoline for Americans to buy at the fuel pump.

Supporters hold signs as President Joe Biden arrives at POET Bioprocessing in Menlo, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Regional

New York lieutenant governor charged with campaign bribery

Brian Benjamin, the second-highest official in New York, was arrested Tuesday morning on a federal indictment charging him with a campaign donation scheme.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul waves alongside her lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin. (Image courtesy of New York governor's website via Courthouse News)

More than a dozen injured in Brooklyn subway shooting

Details are still unfolding after at least 28 people were injured, five critically, in a shooting Tuesday morning at a Brooklyn subway station.

State Rep. Neil Rafferty, the only openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature, speaks during a debate on transgender youth bills during a legislative session in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, April 7, 2022. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Marines injured in Camp Pendleton gas explosion ask Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit

A Ninth Circuit panel will decide whether to revive claims brought by three U.S. Marines injured in a 2017 gas line explosion at Camp Pendleton.

The main gate of Camp Pendleton Marine Base at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2013. A human smuggling investigation by the military led to the arrest of 16 Marines Thursday, July 25, 2019 while carrying out a battalion formation at California's Camp Pendleton, a base about an hour's drive from the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

Federal judge urged to scrap redistricting maps for Washington state Legislature

Attorneys for Latino residents of Yakima Valley in Washington state asked a federal judge to block the redistricted maps for the Legislature from going into effect.

The Washington State Capitol in Olympia.

International

Russia accused of chemical attack in Mariupol, city on brink of capture

Russia was accused of launching a possible chemical attack Monday night against the last Ukrainian forces still fighting in the devastated southeastern port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian officials say tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.

A woman pulls her bags past houses damaged during fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday, April 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Physician convicted of assisted suicide loses rights appeal

Denmark didn’t violate a doctor’s freedom of expression by jailing him for helping patients end their lives, Europe’s top rights court ruled Tuesday.

This map shoes the status of euthanasia around the world as of 2022. Marked in dark blue are the countries in which active voluntary euthanasia is legal: Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the states of Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Light blue marks countries where passive euthanasia (refusal of treatment/withdrawal of life support) is legal. Active euthanasia is illegal, and passive euthanasia is not legislated or regulated in the countries marked gray. Red indicates the countries where euthanasia is illegal in all forms.

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