Top Eight

Top eight stories for today including Pennsylvania’s highest court tossed out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction; Former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison in the NXIVM sex-cult case; The former head of the Serbian State Security Service and his top deputy were convicted of war crimes, and more.

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National

1.) Pennsylvania’s highest court tossed out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction Wednesday, finding the comedian’s 2005 agreement with a prosecutor prevented him from being charged over the same conduct.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sentencing hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

2.) A former “Smallville” actress who recruited members to join a sex cult that disfigured female member’s genitals with branding irons and collected naked photos as collateral was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison.

Actress Allison Mack leaves Brooklyn federal court Monday, April 8, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

3.) Amid a sweltering heat wave, President Joe Biden met with Western state governors on Wednesday promising to bolster wildfire prevention and federal firefighter pay.

President Joe Biden listens during an event in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, with cabinet officials and governors from Western states to discuss drought and wildfires. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

4.) Robinhood Financial agreed Wednesday to pay $57 million in fines and more than $12 million in restitution to settle claims that it misled customers and inappropriately allowed them to trade.

FILE - This Dec. 17, 2020 file photo shows the logo for the Robinhood app on a smartphone in New York. The online trading platform Robinhood is moving to restrict trading in GameStop and other stocks that have soared recently due to rabid buying by smaller investors. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

5.) President Joe Biden announced eight new nominations to the judicial branch Wednesday, bringing his tally to 32 since taking office. Keeping in step with Biden’s promise to diversify the federal bench, the latest round consists mostly of women and individuals of various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Regional

6.) Abortion rights groups scored a victory in court Wednesday when a federal judge stopped a controversial new Indiana law mere days before it was set to take effect.

Abortion protesters attempt to hand out literature as they stand in the driveway of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Indianapolis on Aug. 16, 2019. (Michael Conroy/AP)

7.) As Texas Governor Greg Abbott floats plans to finish building a border wall, former President Donald Trump visited the Lone Star State on Wednesday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addresses former President Donald Trump during a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Weslaco, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP)

International

8.) The conviction Wednesday of the former head of the Serbian State Security Service and his top deputy brings to an end to the world’s longest-running war crimes case.

Former head of Serbia's state security service Jovica Stanisic, centre, and his subordinate Franko "Frenki" Simatovic, right, appear in court at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday June 30, 2021. A UN court is delivering judgments in the retrial of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, accused of organizing, arming and supporting Serb paramilitaries that committed atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia as Yugoslavia crumbled in the early 1990s. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP)

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