Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer, 75, is oldest American to scale Mount Everest; fake claims made of SCOTUS justice's arrest
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Retired lawyer is oldest American to climb Mount Everest
Retired Chicago lawyer Arthur Muir became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest last month. Muir, 75, tried to climb the mountain in 2019, but he had to turn back after hurting his ankle. Muir took up mountain climbing seven years ago. “It’s been a wonderful experience, but I’m as surprised as anybody, let me tell you,” he told NBC’s Today. (The Associated Press, NBC’s Today)
Fact-check: Justice Barrett is not under house arrest
Articles published by two online websites had claimed that the military put U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett under house arrest. The source was said to be someone involved in “Trump’s Deep State battle.” The claim is false, USA Today reports. Barrett has been seen in public since the claim was made. And the claim originated on a website that said it publishes “humor, parody and satire.” (USA Today)
DOJ urges tossing of protester suits
The U.S. Department of Justice urged U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia on Friday to toss four lawsuits alleging a conspiracy to violate the constitutional rights of demonstrators cleared from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., in June 2020. Former President Donald Trump and former U.S. Attorney General William Barr are among the defendants. The DOJ said U.S. officials are immune from suits over police actions to protect a president. The DOJ also asserted that the suits should be dismissed because future violations are unlikely given the change in administration. (The Washington Post)
3M wins second bellwether trial
Federal jurors in Pensacola, Florida, have ruled for 3M, a multinational conglomerate corporation, in the second of three bellwether trials seeking to hold the company liable for covering up alleged design defects in earplugs sold to the military. Jurors ruled against 3M in the first trial, held as part of multidistrict litigation. Lead plaintiffs lawyers Bryan Aylstock and Christopher Seeger said in a statement they “continue to believe that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that 3M knew their CAEv2 earplugs were defective, yet allowed our servicemembers who relied on them for hearing protection to suffer from preventable hearing loss and tinnitus.” A 3M spokesperson said the company is pleased with the verdict, and its earplugs are safe and effective. (Reuters, Law360, the Minneapolis Star Tribune)
