Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The U.S. Treasury said that it could run out of money to pay all of the government's bills as soon as June without a debt limit increase, prompting Biden to call for the meeting with leaders including Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on May 9. Illinois dust storm blinds drivers, 6 die in chain-reaction crashes A dust storm that cut visibility to near zero on Monday triggered a series of chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles on an Illinois highway, killing six people and injuring at least two dozen others, authorities said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump accuser defends rape claim after judge rejects Trump's mistrial request

E. Jean Carroll, the writer accusing Donald Trump of rape and defamation, on Monday denied making up her claims to drive publicity for her memoir. Testifying in Manhattan federal court after the judge denied Trump's request for a mistrial, Carroll said she wasn't seeking attention through appearances on TV and podcasts, while acknowledging they were an important driver of book sales.

Florida board picked by DeSantis countersues Disney

A district board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oversee development around Walt Disney Co's Florida theme parks sued the company on Monday to void "backroom deals" favorable to the entertainment giant. The state court lawsuit escalates tensions between Disney and the Republican governor and likely presidential candidate. It comes in response to a case Disney filed last week in federal district court against DeSantis and members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight district board.

Hollywood writers, studios talk as midnight strike deadline looms

Negotiators for Hollywood writers and film and television studios engaged in 11th-hour contract talks on Monday to try and avert a strike that would disrupt TV production across an industry grappling with seismic changes. The Writers Guild of America could call a work stoppage as early as Tuesday if it cannot reach a deal with companies such as Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. A strike would be the first by the WGA in 15 years.

Seven bodies, including two missing teens, found in Oklahoma town

The bodies of seven people, including two missing teens and a convicted sex offender, were found Monday afternoon on a property in the small Oklahoma city of Henryetta, the county sheriff said. Corpses believed to be 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer were found when officers searched the property where the sex offender, Jesse McFadden, lived, Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said at a news briefing posted online by television station KOTV in Tulsa.

Schumer sets expedited process to consider clean debt ceiling suspension

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday set in motion an expedited process for the chamber to consider a clean two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling, a Schumer spokesman said. The top Senate Democrat also opened the door to talks aimed at crafting a bipartisan agreement on spending and revenue.

US to end COVID vaccination requirements on May 11 for foreign travelers, federal workers

The United States will end its COVID-19 vaccination requirements for international travelers and federal workers on May 11, when the coronavirus public health emergency ends, the White House said on Monday. In February, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to lift the requirement that most foreign air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the few remaining pandemic travel restrictions still in place.

Texas man accused of killing five neighbors was deported four times

A Texas man accused of killing five neighbors after being asked to stop shooting his assault-style rifle because of the noise had been deported from the U.S. four times since 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday. The suspect in the shooting in the rural community of Cleveland, Texas, Francisco Oropesa, 38, is a Mexican who was deported in March 2009 after being ordered removed by an immigration judge, ICE said in a statement. He was apprehended and deported again in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016, ICE said.

US Supreme Court spurns challenge to Indiana abortion cremation or burial law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the legality of an Indiana requirement that abortion providers bury or cremate embryonic or fetal remains following the procedure, sidestepping another dispute involving a contentious Republican-backed state policy concerning abortion. The justices turned away an appeal by an Indianapolis abortion clinic and two women who underwent abortions at the facility of a decision by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate Indiana's requirement after a federal judge had invalidated it.

US may default June 1 without debt ceiling hike; Biden calls McCarthy to meet

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday summoned the four top congressional leaders to the White House next week after the Treasury warned the government could run short of cash to pay its bills as soon as June. The U.S. Treasury said that it could run out of money to pay all of the government's bills as soon as June without a debt limit increase, prompting Biden to call for the meeting with leaders including Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on May 9.

Illinois dust storm blinds drivers, 6 die in chain-reaction crashes

A dust storm that cut visibility to near zero on Monday triggered a series of chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles on an Illinois highway, killing six people and injuring at least two dozen others, authorities said. Roughly 40 to 60 passenger cars and 30 commercial vehicles, including numerous tractor-trailer trucks, were involved in the pileup around 11 a.m. CT (1200 ET) on Interstate 55 in southern Illinois, state police said in a news release.