Reuters US Domestic News Summary

US weekly jobless claims fell to 215,000, indicating a stable labor market, while a Senate committee prepares to vote on a bill to strengthen the ban on Chinese vehicles entering the US market.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US weekly jobless claims fall amid stable labor market conditions

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable despite a slowdown in job growth in June. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ended July 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 218,000 claims for the latest week.

Senate committee to vote on ​bill to tighten US ban on Chinese vehicles

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will vote on July 15 on bipartisan legislation to toughen a U.S. government ban on Chinese automakers entering the American market. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan proposed legislation in April to codify a regulation imposed by the Biden ​administration that effectively bans all Chinese automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the U.S. and takes other steps to prevent China from entering the U.S. light-duty market.

Trump rescinds Syria state sponsor of terrorism designation

U.S. President Donald ‌Trump has notified Congress of his decision ​to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, a senior U.S. administration official said on Wednesday. The move requires Congress to conduct a 45-day review to make the decision final.

Trump flies old Air Force One out of Turkey, switches to new jet in Britain for trip home

President Donald Trump unexpectedly left Turkey on Wednesday aboard an older Air Force One rather than the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet that brought him there, but later boarded the new plane in Britain for the flight to Washington. The trip to Turkey for the NATO summit, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey.

Judge says E. Jean Carroll can collect $5 million damage award from Trump

A U.S. judge on Wednesday authorized the payment of a multimillion-dollar verdict to magazine writer E. Jean Carroll to satisfy a 2023 civil verdict in which a jury found President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ordered the disbursement of nearly $5.8 million to the former Elle magazine advice columnist, representing the original $5 million ‌verdict plus interest.

Apple to spend $30 billion on Broadcom chips as it boosts US sourcing

Apple plans to spend more than $30 billion under a multi-year chip supply deal with Broadcom, bolstering its U.S. sourcing as President Donald Trump's administration pushes to expand domestic chip manufacturing. Broadcom shares rose more than 4%, while Apple shares were down marginally.

Judge rejects Kalshi bid to block New York gambling enforcement law

A federal judge denied Kalshi's bid to block New York from enforcing its gambling laws against the prediction markets platform, amid a growing battle between federal and state regulators over authority to police the fast-growing industry. In a decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said Kalshi did not deserve a preliminary injunction, because the federal Commodity Exchange Act did not supersede New York's gambling laws as applied to Kalshi’s sports-event contracts.

Two more Guatemalan men plead guilty in smuggling deaths of 55 migrants in Texas

Two more Guatemalan nationals pleaded guilty in Texas on Wednesday to human smuggling charges stemming from the December 2021 crash of a tractor-trailer truck in Mexico that killed 55 of the 160-plus migrants crammed inside the vehicle. Jorge Agapito Ventura, 34, who was arrested in Texas in December 2024, and Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 26, one of five co-defendants extradited to the United States the following year to face charges in the case, each faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Explainer-How can Trump 'cut off all trade' with Spain?

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order for a trade embargo on Spain on Wednesday, asking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all trade ... including visits" with ‌the country amid tensions over defense spending. The Treasury, Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative's office will work to present Trump with "a menu of Spanish products that may be embargoed in the coming days," a U.S. official told Reuters. The comments suggest a trade ban could be partial.

Trump says he will ask Supreme Court to rehear birthright citizenship case

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case challenging his executive order curtailing birthright citizenship, a long-shot bid to reverse the court's rejection of one of his signature policies. The court last month rejected Trump's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship in the U.S., ruling that his directive violated language in the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment that ‌confers citizenship to those born in the United States who are "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."

US traffic deaths fell sharply in early 2026

U.S. traffic deaths fell to the lowest rate since 2014 in the first three months of the year after a sharp rise in road fatalities during the COVID pandemic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday traffic deaths had dropped 4.3% to 7,770 in the three-month period ending March 31, the lowest number since 2015. The fatality rate fell to 0.99 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the lowest quarterly figure since 2014.

Analysis-Trump cut to food security survey could make measuring US hunger harder

President Donald Trump's cancellation last year of a government food security survey could make it difficult to assess whether his cuts to the food stamp program lead to a rise in U.S. hunger, especially among children. Trump's tax and spending law signed last July shifted significant Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending to states and expanded work requirements, among other changes.

Trump CDC nominee Schwartz set for July 15 US Senate confirmation hearing

Erica Schwartz, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on July 15 for her confirmation hearing, the committee said on Wednesday. In April, Trump nominated Schwartz, who had served as deputy surgeon general during the COVID-19 pandemic, to become director of the CDC following multiple leadership shakeups at the health agency.

Fed policymakers' inflation concerns grew at June meeting, minutes show

Concern about high inflation mounted at the U.S. central bank's meeting last month, as officials followed Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's lead to a more stripped-down policy statement even amid concerns that price increases were broadening and might require interest rate hikes. A "few participants" at the June 16-17 meeting said there was already a case to raise borrowing costs, even though they ultimately agreed with ⁠their colleagues to hold rates steady "at this meeting."

Soccer-Giuliani ​defends White house handling of Iran at World Cup

The White House has defended its handling of Iran's visa restrictions during the World Cup, with top official Andrew Giuliani saying the team's decision to base ⁠themselves in Tijuana, Mexico, instead of Tucson was mutually beneficial. Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, said the cross-border logistics worked smoothly for all parties despite Iran's complaints during the group stage and after they were knocked out of the tournament.

US Justice Department tells state officials they could be prosecuted over noncitizen voting

The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to all 50 U.S. states warning that election officials could face criminal charges for allowing noncitizens to remain on their lists of eligible voters. The letters, sent on Tuesday, are the latest attempt by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to pressure states ahead of November’s midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress.

Judge authorizes payment of multi-million dollar award to E. Jean Carroll in Trump case

A judge on Wednesday authorized payment of a damages award that totals around $5.8 million to magazine writer E. Jean Carroll to satisfy ⁠a 2023 civil verdict in which a jury found President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

Former Wisconsin judge spared prison in Trump immigration case

A former Wisconsin judge was sentenced to no prison time and fined $5,000 on Wednesday after a jury found she obstructed a planned immigration arrest outside her courtroom, in a case that became a flashpoint over the Trump administration's use of courthouses to detain migrants. Hannah Dugan, 67, a former Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, drew national attention as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deter interference with its immigration enforcement efforts.

Smithsonian head says White House report unfairly characterized US history museum

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch said a White House report that accused the institution's National Museum of American History of "thinly veiled anti-Americanism" and "extreme political activism" was an unfair characterization of its work. "While there will always be room for improvement, this ​report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History," Bunch said in a memo to staff on Tuesday. The memo was confirmed to Reuters by the institution on Wednesday and first reported by the Washington Post earlier in the day.

Trump invokes communism 81 times in two weeks as aides test midterms message

U.S. President Donald Trump has sharply escalated his warnings about the dangers of communism in the past two weeks, a Reuters analysis found, as his political team tests whether the message resonates beyond his core supporters ahead of November's midterm elections. Trump's use of the term accelerated after June 23, when a ⁠string of left-wing Democratic candidates won primary contests in New York, the analysis of his public comments and social media posts found.

US court says Trump name must stay off Kennedy Center during appeal

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's name must remain off the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts while he challenges a judge’s order that required its removal. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the Trump administration's request to pause the lower court order in a lawsuit brought by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board member.

Companies must address self-driving car interference with emergency vehicles, U.S. says

The head of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that self-driving car companies must quickly address a "clear pattern" of driverless vehicles interfering with law enforcement and other first responders. Jonathan Morrison, who heads the U.S. vehicle regulatory agency, said in a letter to the industry ⁠that NHTSA has ​documented multiple instances of AVs driving into active emergency scenes, and other incidents when the vehicles "blocked the paths of ambulances and firefighters, or failed to recognize and respond to basic safety conditions like flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones."

Midtown Manhattan high-rise stable after columns buckled, officials say

A Midtown Manhattan high-rise being converted into 1,600 apartments has been stabilized after buckling support columns triggered evacuations and fears of a collapse, but officials and engineers were still trying on Wednesday to determine what went wrong. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that emergency crews had installed temporary shoring and steel beams from the 18th to the 23rd floors and that there had been no further movement of the structure since Tuesday morning, when two columns buckled and several floors began to sag.

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner suspends his campaign

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner said on Wednesday he was suspending his campaign. "We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be me and for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations," he said in a video posted on social media website X.

Soccer-France, Morocco bring post-colonial ties and family feel to Boston

France and Morocco meet in a World Cup quarter-final on Thursday with their post-colonial ties coursing through the fixture, from Morocco players born and developed in France to the close friendship between Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi, forged during their time together at Paris St Germain. With the build-up, match and aftermath subject to a heavy security presence in France, the Boston setting may ⁠lend the occasion a more familial feel: a meeting between countries whose histories are inseparable, but whose footballers and supporters are often connected by migration, language, family and friendship.

Fatal ICE shooting in Houston sparks mass protest, demands for transparency

More than a thousand protesters chanting "ICE out of Houston" marched on Wednesday near the spot where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man driving to work, the latest in a spate of lethal encounters from increasing deportation raids nationwide. The demonstrators, many waving Mexican flags and carrying signs that read, "Stand with immigrants," and "ICE Melts in Texas," also echoed mounting demands for an independent inquiry into Tuesday's shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a Mexican national living in ⁠the U.S. illegally for three decades.

Platner ends Senate campaign, forcing Democrats to pivot in crucial Maine race

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine on Wednesday promised to formally withdraw from the race, after a string of controversies ⁠including an accusation of sexual assault plunged one of the most competitive races in the 2026 midterm elections into turmoil. The suspension by the former U.S. Marine and oysterman, announced in a video posted on social media, is likely to complicate Democrats' efforts to win control of the Senate in the November 3 elections. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority.

SpaceX and AI startup wealth fuels demand for private jets

Aviation lawyer Amanda Applegate skipped her annual vacation last month as a surge of wealth from AI startups and SpaceX sent a wave of tech investors shopping for private jets, burying her in paperwork for aircraft-purchase agreements. The Cleveland-based attorney attributed the rush to a handful of major "liquidity events" in the tech industry.

Obamacare insurers ask for second-highest premiums increase in nearly a decade

Companies offering Obamacare health insurance plans next year are requesting payment rates representing a 14% median increase to premiums over 2026 rates, according to data from health policy research group KFF. The proposed rate for 2027 represents the second-highest increase since 2018, KFF said. Insurers must submit proposals to regulators by July 15, detailing expected costs and planned ‌price changes ahead of the new year.

Judge in Charlie Kirk case blocks parts of roommate video

A Utah judge on Wednesday barred parts ‌of a recorded interview with the roommate of Charlie Kirk's alleged killer from being played in court after a defense lawyer said prosecutors would portray the clips as "confessions” and jeopardize the defendant's right to a fair trial. In response to the defense concerns, District Court Judge Tony Graf called for several cuts to what could be played in court, but noted he would consider the ​entire recording in determining whether prosecutors had made a case to try Tyler Robinson, 23. Robinson faces seven criminal charges, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.