Reuters US Domestic News Summary

On his 102nd day in office, Adams, a former police captain, faced the latest challenge in his efforts to allay New Yorkers' fears: A gunman opened fire on a subway car Tuesday morning, shooting 10 people. As inflation surges, Biden's approval rating drops to 41% - Reuters/Ipsos poll U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating fell to 41% this week, a blow to his Democratic Party's hopes of retaining control of Congress in November's elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Yelp to offer U.S. workers abortion travel benefit

Yelp, Inc said on Tuesday it will cover expenses for its employees and their dependents who need to travel to another state for abortion services starting next month, making it the latest U.S. company to offer similar benefits to its workers. The crowd-sourced review platform for restaurants and other businesses will provide travel benefits to its U.S. employees who need to travel out of states like Texas and Oklahoma that have restricted access to abortion services.

New York lieutenant governor resigns after bribery charges

New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, the state's No. 2 official after Governor Kathy Hochul, resigned on Tuesday after being charged with bribery and fraud for allegedly directing state funds toward a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. Hochul, who handpicked Benjamin for the lieutenant governor's job last August, announced the resignation a few hours after the 45-year-old Benjamin pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges in a five-count indictment.

U.S. judge declines to jail two men accused of impersonating federal agents

A U.S. judge on Tuesday declined to jail two men accused of impersonating federal agents and supplying Secret Service personnel with gifts, dealing a blow to prosecutors who had argued that the defendants pose a danger and should be detained.

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, were arrested last week and are accused of providing gifts worth thousands of dollars such as rent-free apartments and iPhones to Secret Service agents, including one who protected first lady Jill Biden. The Secret Service is the agency responsible for protecting the president and other top U.S. officials.

Gilbert Gottfried, boundary-pushing comedian, dead at 67

Gilbert Gottfried, a stand-up comic with a screwy voice and a penchant for pushing boundaries with jokes about the Sept. 11 attacks and the Japanese tsunami, has died at age 67, his family said on Tuesday. Gottfried, a former cast member on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and the voice of a sarcastic parrot in the animated Disney film "Aladdin," suffered a long, unspecified illness, the family statement said.

New York subway shooting new test of mayor's promise to police gun violence

Eric Adams ran for mayor of New York City with campaign ads featuring old photographs of him in his police uniform and a vow to secure a pandemic-scarred metropolis against the gun violence that surged alongside COVID-19. On his 102nd day in office, Adams, a former police captain, faced the latest challenge in his efforts to allay New Yorkers' fears: A gunman opened fire on a subway car Tuesday morning, shooting 10 people.

As inflation surges, Biden's approval rating drops to 41% - Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating fell to 41% this week, a blow to his Democratic Party's hopes of retaining control of Congress in November's elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Sagging under the weight of higher consumer costs, the 41% approval rating was just above Biden's all-time low of 40% hit in mid-March, one of the lowest levels of support in his presidency. The drop suggests that the small burst of momentum Biden briefly enjoyed last week, when he hit 45%, has stalled.

Athletics-Boston to boost police presence at subways ahead of marathon

Boston officials will increase the number of police around subway stations ahead of Monday's Boston Marathon after a mass shooting in a New York subway but stressed there was no known threat to the race and voiced confidence in it going ahead. A gunman wearing a gas mask set off a smoke bomb and shot 10 people in a New York City subway car during Tuesday's morning commute, authorities said. None of the wounded had life-threatening injuries, they added, and a manhunt for the perpetrator was underway.

Trucker protests expand at U.S.-Mexico border over lengthy wait times

Mexican truck drivers blockaded bridges at the U.S. border for a second day on Tuesday to protest an order by the Texas governor meant to increase safety inspections that has snarled traffic and led business groups to warn of supply chain disruptions. Mexico's government said in a statement it "rejects" the inspections imposed by Texas, estimating that two-thirds of normal trade was being held up and costing "significant revenue" for both U.S. and Mexican businesses.

Trial date set in defamation suit against Fox News over U.S. election claims

An April 2023 jury trial has been scheduled in Dominion Voting Systems Inc's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of trying to boost its ratings by falsely claiming the voting machine company rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential election against former President Donald Trump. In a short written order issued on Friday, Delaware state court judge Eric Davis said he was scheduling Denver-based Dominion's lawsuit for trial on April 17, 2023. Fox, part of Fox Corp, had asked Owens for a trial date in early 2024.

Manhunt under way for gunman in NYC subway attack that injured nearly 30

Police mounted an intense manhunt on Tuesday for a gunman who set off a smoke bomb and opened fire in a New York subway car, injuring at least 17 people in a morning rush-hour attack that prompted new calls to fight a surge of violence in the city's transit system. Police said the perpetrator, who was seen wearing a gas mask and was believed to have acted alone, immediately fled. The attack unfolded as a Manhattan-bound subway train on the N line of the underground rail system was pulling into a station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.