Your Tuesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News
Top eight CNS stories for today including fears over the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t stop Texas voters from flocking to the polls for competitive runoff elections; Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden promised to pass a sweeping infrastructure bill; Spain was rocked by allegations that the government may have hacked a smartphone used by the pro-independence president of the Catalan parliament, and more.
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National
1.) Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continued to make overtures to American workers Tuesday, promising to pass a large infrastructure bill that not only refurbishes the nation’s ailing infrastructure but also makes investments in clean energy technologies.

2.) A federal judge ordered pretrial detention Tuesday for Ghislaine Maxwell, who was indicted last week for helping the late Jeffrey Epstein build a sex-trafficking empire.

3.) Calling it possible that the clearing of protesters outside the White House last month was illegal, the ACLU urged Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday to appoint a special prosecutor.

Regional
4.) Fears over the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t stop Texas voters from flocking to the polls Tuesday to pick nominees in competitive runoff elections after record early voting turnout, including the race to decide which Democrat will challenge Republican Senator John Cornyn in November.

5.) The fight to revive a lawsuit over how California portrays Hinduism in public school lessons largely hinges on whether state educational standards are policies — which can be reviewed by courts — or curriculum, which cannot be.

International
6.) Spain was rocked Tuesday by allegations that the government may have hacked a smartphone used by the pro-independence president of the Catalan parliament and spied on him and others during a tense period in the run-up to a politically explosive trial against Catalan leaders.

7.) An accused Islamic militant refused to enter a plea on the 13 counts of crimes against humanity he faces before the International Criminal Court as his trial officially began Tuesday.

8.) An airspace blockade dispute among several Persian Gulf nations should be resolved by an international aviation agency, the United Nations’ high court held Tuesday in a win for Qatar.

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