Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including The Supreme Court sided with Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups on Wednesday to reinstate a Trump administration policy that shores up energy projects capable of polluting waterways; Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they would not file charges in connection with the shooting death of Amir Locke; The Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against a Russian oligarch accused of violating U.S. sanctions and more.

National

Trump-era water rule’s new flow draws out Roberts, liberal justices

The Supreme Court sided with Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups on Wednesday to reinstate a Trump administration policy that shores up energy projects capable of polluting waterways.

(Image by Marg Strickland from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Barrett’s caution to ‘read the opinions’ puzzles those who do

Justice Amy Coney Barrett catalyzed a debate this week on legal elitism with advice for Americans who struggle to understand the reasoning behind the Supreme Court’s decisions.

Amy Coney Barrett answers questions during the second day of her 2020 confirmation hearing for her U.S. Supreme Court appointment. (Susan Walsh/AP, Pool)

Dating in the age of Covid no romantic picnic, poll finds

Between deciding whether Covid vaccination is a bright-line requirement of potential romantic partners and the political chasm that seems to mark every inch of our lives today, singles agree love in the time of the pandemic is complicated.

Newlyweds Jennifer and Paul Raffa pose for a photograph under the Robert Indiana "LOVE" sculpture at John F. Kennedy Plaza in Philadelphia on Valentine's Day, 2021. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Regional

No charges to be filed in Amir Locke killing

Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they would not file charges in connection with the shooting death of Amir Locke, a Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police executing an early-morning no-knock warrant in February.

A protester holds a sign demanding justice for Amir Locke at a rally in Minneapolis on Feb. 5, 2022. (Christian Monterrosa/AP)

Public access barriers in Maine courts send 1st Circuit into overtime

In a lawsuit brought by Courthouse News, media outlets sparred Wednesday with the Maine court system over whether dawdling by the state in the public release of newly filed lawsuits violates the First Amendment.

Central Californians head to the polls to fill Devin Nunes’ vacant congressional seat

It will be a Donald Trump supporter and a Democrat who currently works for the California Department of Water Resources facing off to replace former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes in representing California’s 22nd Congressional District — a seat that will cease to exist due to redistricting come January.

Republican Connie Conway speaks at the Capitol in Sacramento, California, on Aug. 29, 2014. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

International

Russian oligarch hit with charges for sanction violations

For the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against a Russian oligarch accused of violating U.S. sanctions.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives at a news conference at the Justice Department on April 6, 2022, with Andrew Adams, director of the Justice Department's Klepto Capture Task Force. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Largest darknet marketplace shut down by US, German law enforcement

The United States and Germany took down the world’s largest and longest-running online criminal marketplace Tuesday, as the U.S. indicted a Russian man accused of keeping the illegal sales hub running for almost seven years.