Courthouse News
![Budget squeezes hindering US efforts to save endangered species](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2018/01/lynx.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Budget squeezes hindering US efforts to save endangered species
While the Endangered Species Act represents one of the strongest laws for imperiled species conservation in the world, a new study suggests the agency responsible for listing and protecting species is starved for resources.
![Napa winemaker balks at county demand to replant wildfire-prone trees](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2022/10/attachment-California-Wine-Fire.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Napa winemaker balks at county demand to replant wildfire-prone trees
A winemaker claims Napa County has ordered him to replant high fire-risk trees on the portions of his vineyard that were burned in the 2020 Glass Fire, and to stop building a new, low-disturbance vineyard in their place.
![Californians unlikely to sign off on legal sports betting](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2022/02/sports-bet.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Californians unlikely to sign off on legal sports betting
More than half the states in the country have legalized gambling on sporting events, in some capacity or another. California appears unlikely to join them any time soon.
![Newsom calls special legislative session with eye toward windfall tax on Big Oil](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2016/01/oil-gas.Par_.93747.Image_.500.375.1-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Newsom calls special legislative session with eye toward windfall tax on Big Oil
California lawmakers will go back to work in a special session in December to discuss levying a windfall tax on oil companies as residents are again paying record prices for gasoline.
![US payrolls rise by 263,000 as jobless rate drops to 3.5%](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2021/04/Employment.jpg?w=980&q=75)
US payrolls rise by 263,000 as jobless rate drops to 3.5%
American employers added 263,000 jobs in September, a sign that the labor market remains resilient but may be cooling off heading into the winter months.
![Worldwide tsunami accompanied the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2022/10/attachment-Ryugu-asteroid.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Worldwide tsunami accompanied the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs
The asteroid that took out the tyrannosaurus and the triceratops didn’t just unleash a billion tons of explosive energy and disrupt the Cretaceous climate for years afterward, but it also triggered a tsunami so enormous that it reached all the way across the world, according to a new University of Michigan study.
![Further erosion of voter protections signaled by Supreme Court](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2017/05/court.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Further erosion of voter protections signaled by Supreme Court
A longstanding framework used to determine racial gerrymandering is likely to see changes after the Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on Alabama redistricting found to diminish the voting power of Black communities.
![Supreme Court wades into wetlands to open new term](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2022/10/attachment-Yellowstone-Water-Wetlands.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Supreme Court wades into wetlands to open new term
Kelsey Reichmann
WASHINGTON (CN) — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not waste time during her first day on the bench as the Supreme Court began its new term Monday with a challenge against the government’s authority to regulate wetlands.
“Why is it t...
![Rising gas prices in Oregon reflect potential long-term problem for US energy resources](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2022/09/attachment-Oregon-Traffic.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Rising gas prices in Oregon reflect potential long-term problem for US energy resources
As the West Coast endures soaring gas prices yet again, some experts believe the pattern of long spikes and short dips is here to stay.
![Covid linked to personality alterations in young adults](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2020/11/Virus.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Covid linked to personality alterations in young adults
More than two years of social distancing, masking, lockdowns and distance learning has taken its toll on young adults in ways researchers didn't expect — the pandemic has altered their personalities.