Top Eight

Top eight CNS stories for today including the Ninth Circuit ruled that President Donald Trump illegally circumvented Congress’ “power of the purse” by transferring $2.5 billion to construct portions of the border wall; California Governor Gavin Newsom asked Imperial County officials to reimpose stay-at-home orders as coronavirus cases spike; Europeans are letting their guard down despite experts and leaders sounding the alarm about a potential resurgence of the virus, and more.

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National

1.) President Donald Trump illegally circumvented Congress’ “power of the purse” by transferring $2.5 billion in Department of Defense funds to construct portions of the border wall in California, Arizona and New Mexico, the Ninth Circuit found Friday in a pair of rulings.

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019 file photo, government contractors erect a section of Pentagon-funded border wall along the Colorado River in Yuma, Ariz. The White House says construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall will move forward after a federal appeals court ruling that frees up construction money. The 2-1 ruling on Wednesday halted a federal judge’s ruling in December that had prevented the government from spending $3.6 billion diverted from 127 military construction projects to pay for 175 miles of border wall. (AP Photo/Matt York)

2.) A federal judge in Virginia awarded $2 million in attorney fees against two Virginia court clerks in a First Amendment action brought by Courthouse News on behalf of the press corps.

3.) The surge of new Covid-19 cases has forced once-optimistic governors to once again shutter economies, and Wall Street’s jitters have turned to real worries about the economic ramifications.

NYPD officers walk along a sparsely populated Wall Street, Friday, May 1, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Regional

4.) California Governor Gavin Newsom asked Imperial County officials to reimpose stay-at-home orders Friday, after the Southern California border county saw a 23% positivity rate in Covid-19 testing in the past two weeks.

FILE - In this June 9, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wears a protective mask on his face while speaking to reporters at Miss Ollie's restaurant during the coronavirus outbreak in Oakland, Calif. Gov. Newsom's administration on Thursday, June 18, 2020, mandated that Californians wear masks in most indoor settings as the state continues to battle the coronavirus.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool, File)

5.) The Minneapolis City Council took an early step toward its promised reimagining of the city’s police department Friday morning, voting unanimously in favor of a proposal to change the city charter.

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A police vehicle passes a building on East Lake Street that was destroyed during protests two days prior, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

6.) Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday ordered bars closed and reduced restaurant capacity back down to 50%, in an about-face from his push to reopen the state as Covid-19 cases have spiraled out of control.

Tubers float the Comal River despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

International

7.) Europeans are letting their guard down despite experts and leaders sounding the alarm about a potential resurgence of the new coronavirus.

Crowds gather on the beach in Bournemouth as the UK experience a heat wave, in Bournemouth, England, Thursday, June 25, 2020. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)

8.) With Covid-19 cases increasing in El Salvador after the supreme court and Legislative Assembly overturned President Nayib Bukele’s strict quarantine orders, the Salvadoran army is delivering emergency care packages to remote villages, where landless people rent land to gamble on the corn harvest.

Lake Suchitlan, seen from Suchitoto, Cuscatlán Province, looking across to Chalatenango Province. Both provinces saw heavy fighting and massacres during the Salvadoran civil war. (Miguel Patricio photo/Courthouse News)

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