US Domestic News Round-up: Dispute over Ross, Trump in sanctuary city, Utah man charged

A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump Administration from placing conditions on public safety grants to further its crackdown on illegal immigration, and he ordered the grant money to be released to California "sanctuary cities.

Supreme Court sidesteps dispute over Ross questioning in census suit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to halt an order compelling Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to answer questions by lawyers for a group of states suing over a Trump administration decision to ask respondents to the 2020 census whether they are citizens. In a one-sentence order, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg denied the Trump administration's request to stay a lower court's ruling that allowed for the deposition of Ross and another administration official while a federal appeals court in New York reviews the dispute.

Court rules for California over Trump in sanctuary city case

A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump Administration from placing conditions on public safety grants to further its crackdown on illegal immigration, and he ordered the grant money to be released to California "sanctuary cities." However, while Judge William Orrick in San Francisco found that the conditions placed last year on public safety grants by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions were unconstitutional, he stayed a nationwide injunction pending appeal.

Backing from senators puts Kavanaugh on track for U.S. Supreme Court

President Donald Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, looked headed for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday after two crucial senators said that sexual misconduct accusations against the judge would not prevent them from voting to confirm him. If Kavanaugh is approved in a final Senate vote, likely on Saturday, Trump will have achieved a victory in his drive to consolidate conservative dominance of the nation's highest court and move the American judiciary rightward.

Chicago police officer guilty of murder in 2014 shooting of black teen

White Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder on Friday for the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald, touching off celebratory street demonstrations in a case that had laid bare tensions between the black community and police. Van Dyke, 40, was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery, one count for each of the shots fired. McDonald, 17, was killed while armed with a knife as he walked down the centre of a street in the third-largest U.S. city.

Utah man charged with ricin mail threat against Trump, Mattis

A U.S. Navy veteran from Utah was charged on Friday with threatening President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis, the FBI director and an admiral by mailing them letters containing castor beans, from which the deadly poison ricin is derived. The criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, charged William Clyde Allen III with one count of threatening to use a biological toxin as a weapon and four counts of mailing threatening communications.

JBS sued by Kentucky woman over ground beef in salmonella recall

A Kentucky woman is suing the U.S. arm of Brazil's JBS SA, alleging she was hospitalized after consuming ground beef produced by the company that was tainted with Salmonella, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in Arizona state court. The lawsuit comes one day after the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that JBS Tolleson Inc was voluntarily pulling 6.5 million pounds of ground beef and other raw beef products that had been shipped to stores across the country. JBS Tolleson is part of JBS USA, the U.S. arm of the world's largest meatpacking company.

'Jersey Shore' star Sorrentino sentenced to eight months for tax evasion

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, star of the reality television show "The Jersey Shore," was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to tax evasion. Prosecutors said Sorrentino, 37, and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, 39, who was sentenced to two years, had hidden millions of dollars Mike made from the MTV series "Jersey Shore."

Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court: sparks or harmony?

When Clarence Thomas took a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, he had only barely survived a series of bitter Senate hearings on allegations of sexual harassment that divided the country. But he said he was quickly welcomed by his eight fellow justices.

Special Report: The Trump trap - Republicans duck president in key House races

Leonard Lance is a Republican congressman seeking re-election in a Republican district. But he has little to say about the Republican president. Lance's campaign website, which outlines his positions on immigration, taxes and other hot issues, offers no statement of support for President Donald Trump.

Exclusive: U.S. Commerce head Ross sees wage increases for steel workers

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Friday that wage increases are a likely outcome of the current contract talks between U.S. steel companies and the United Steelworkers union, and said that they would be a bellwether for the broader U.S. labour market. "In many ways, the current negotiations between the steel companies and the USWA (United Steelworkers) probably will be a bellwether," Ross said in an interview with Reuters. "It wouldn't be surprising if there are some wage increases coming from that," he added.