A giant inflatable rat called "Scabby" is constitutionally accepted free speech
CBSN
A giant inflatable rat commonly used by unions at picket sites can continue to see the light of day, a labor regulator has decided.
For decades, the balloon rodent, affectionately known as "Scabby" by labor groups, has been a common fixture at worksites and at union protests, with its snarling fangs and scab-covered belly a reliable signal that a union has a dispute with a nearby company or worksite. The rat, and its lesser-known cousins, a "fat cat" and a "greedy pig," range in size from 6 feet to 25 feet high. Judges have long held that this menagerie constitutes protected free speech and can be used in public as long as the balloons don't block entrances and exits to a job site.Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.