Nightly Brief

Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including Rick Gates testified that his ex-boss and former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort claimed to have told an FBI investigator the truth; The New York City Council passed a package of bills that made it first major city in the U.S. on Wednesday to put a cap on new vehicles for hire, like Uber and Lyft; A Florida newspaper is facing a possible contempt charge after publishing details that were meant to be redacted in a report about a school district’s examination of the Parkland school shooting suspect, and more.

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National

1.) Recalling his chat with Paul Manafort after they both were called in by the FBI, Rick Gates testified Wednesday that the former Trump campaign chair claimed to have told the investigator the truth.

2.) The New York City Council passed a package of bills Wednesday that made it first major city in the U.S. on Wednesday to put a cap on new vehicles for hire, like Uber and Lyft.

3.) The Electronic Frontier Foundation has claimed a victory in the fight for transparency after the Federal Circuit said it will now allow the public immediate access to briefs filed with the court.

Regional

4.) While a major California utility company agreed to pay $119.5 million in penalties to settle California’s case over a massive methane leak at one of its storage facilities in 2015, state officials stressed Wednesday this does not address the claims of thousands of residents who were forced to flee their homes for months.

5.) New York Republican Congressman and early Trump supporter Chris Collins was charged Wednesday with securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements for tipping friends and family with inside information.

6.) A Florida newspaper is facing a possible contempt charge after publishing details that were meant to be redacted in a report about a school district’s examination of the Parkland school shooting suspect.**

7.) Southern California residents packed a California State Lands Commission meeting to protest the plan to demolish the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

**  Science

8.) The majority of online daters slide into the direct messages of potential mates who are more attractive or desirable than themselves – often with very little success, according to a study on heterosexual online dating networks in four major U.S. cities.