Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including Russia claimed it captured the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol; President Biden announced a new round of military aid to Ukraine; The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas ordinance regulating billboards based on their location, and more.

National

Biden amps aid, unveils new immigration policy for Ukrainians as war shifts to the Donbas

President Joe Biden announced a new round of military aid to Ukraine Thursday as Russian forces set their sights on Ukraine’s Donbas region, marking a new phase in the nearly two-month invasion.

A crater is seen following Russian bombing as firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a damaged factory in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Supreme Court revives fight over Pissarro painting stolen by Nazis

Spain cannot dictate what laws should govern a suit it faces over the acquisition of Nazi-looted art, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, saying foreign states are not owed any special consideration in cases that do not raise federal claims.

The impressionist painting called "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," painted in 1897 by Camille Pissarro, has been on display for decades at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. (Image via Courthouse News)

Puerto Ricans seeking federal disability benefits strike out at Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled it constitutional Thursday to exclude residents of Puerto Rico from U.S. disability benefits programs.

(Image by Birga from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Feds, conservationists go head-to-head over protections for sage grouse

Conservationists faced off with the federal government in Zoom court Thursday in the latest chapter of a prolonged legal fight over whether the sage grouse, an iconic prairie bird with a waning population, deserves Endangered Species Act protection.

A greater sage grouse. (Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management via Courthouse News)

Regional

High court rules Texas billboard law doesn’t violate First Amendment

In a 6-3 opinion released Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Austin, Texas, law regulating billboards based on their location, reversing a Fifth Circuit decision that found the rules violated the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Ninth Circuit reinstates retaliation lawsuit by Oregon Senator Boquist

Oregon state Senator Brian Boquist can proceed with his retaliation lawsuit against the state Senate’s Democratic leadership over a requirement he provide 12-hour advance notice before showing up at the Oregon Capitol.

FILE - In this March 20, 2007, file photo, Rep. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, addresses the Oregon House during debate about a resolution urging President Bush and Congress to withdraw troops from Iraq as soon as possible in Salem, Ore. A formal complaint has been filed against an Boquist, an Oregon Republican senator who drew criticism for threatening state police amid a GOP walkout over climate legislation. (Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian via AP, File)

International

Russia claims capture of Mariupol, fighting rages in eastern Ukraine

Russia on Thursday claimed it had captured the besieged city of Mariupol, the scene of horrific suffering and fighting for the past two months, even though some 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers continued to hold out inside a sprawling steelworks plant.

Local civilians walk past a tank destroyed during heavy fighting in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Siding with Nicaragua, top UN court orders Colombia to curb Caribbean naval activity

The International Court of Justice faulted Colombia on Thursday for harassing Nicaraguan fishing vessels in the Caribbean Sea, chastising Bogota for failing to respect an earlier court ruling.

View of the ICJ courtroom at the Peace Palace in The Hague, on April 21, 2022. (Wiebe Kiestra/courtesy of the International Court of Justice)