US Domestic News Round-Up: Republicans,Bill Cosby, Kavanaugh

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Republicans fear Democratic 'blue wave' spreading to once-safe districts

The last time U.S. congressional elections were held in this central Virginia district, Meg Sneed voted for the Republican incumbent, Representative Dave Brat. Her friend, Cheryll Lesser, did not vote at all. Last week, the two women sat in the second row at a campaign event in a martial arts studio listening to the Democrat running against Brat, Abigail Spanberger. They nodded in agreement with much of what she had to say.

Local gun groups flex muscle in state politics, sidestepping the NRA

When Missouri Senate Bill 656 was introduced in 2016, it was relatively modest legislation that proposed capping the amount county sheriffs could charge for a concealed handgun permit. By the time it passed, with both houses of the state legislature overturning the governor's veto, it had become one of the most expansive gun-rights laws in the country.

Bill Cosby seeks new sexual assault trial, reduced prison sentence

Citing new evidence, Bill Cosby has asked the Pennsylvania judge who sent him to prison for up to 10 years for sexual assault to grant him a new trial, or to reduce his sentence because of alleged procedural errors. In court papers filed late on Friday, Cosby's lawyers said the judge abused his discretion by failing to adequately consider the 81-year-old entertainer's age and failing eyesight and should have recused himself from sentencing. Cosby's attorneys have previously taken issue with the judge's wife being a psychiatrist who works with sexual assault victims.

Kavanaugh says he's unchanged by bitter Supreme Court confirmation

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said on Monday he was not changed by a "contentious and emotional" battle over his confirmation to the nation's highest court, which was imperilled by sexual misconduct allegations. Speaking at a White House ceremony, Kavanaugh said: "Although the Senate confirmation process tested me as it has tested others, it did not change me."

Trump to announce pro-ethanol measure on Tuesday ahead of Iowa trip: sources

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce the lifting of a federal ban on summer sales of higher-ethanol blends of gasoline on Tuesday in Washington DC ahead of a trip to Iowa the same day, according to two sources familiar with the planning of the event. The move, expected sometime around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, is aimed at helping Republicans in competitive elections in the nation's farm belt. Iowa is the largest U.S. producer of ethanol.

Former Trump aide Hicks joins Fox as communications chief

Hope Hicks, the former communications director of President Donald Trump, has been appointed as communications chief at Fox, the company being spun off from Twenty-First Century Fox's merger with Walt Disney Co. Hicks, one of Trump's longest-serving and most trusted aides, resigned from her White House job earlier this year.

Limo in deadly New York crash failed inspection: Governor

The limousine involved in an upstate New York crash that killed 20 people over the weekend failed inspection last month, and its driver did not have the proper license to operate the vehicle, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday. Saturday's accident, which killed two pairs of newlyweds, four sisters from one family and two brothers from another, was the deadliest U.S. transport crash in nearly a decade, according to federal authorities.

Trump seeks dismissal of Stormy Daniels hush money lawsuit

U.S. President Donald Trump asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss adult film actress Stormy Daniels' lawsuit challenging the validity of a $130,000 hush money agreement over a tryst she claimed they had more than a decade ago. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Trump's lawyer said the lawsuit by Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is moot because Trump never signed the agreement and has said he will not try to enforce it.

Hurricane Michael menaces Florida after killing 13

Florida's governor mobilized National Guard troops and ordered Gulf Coast residents to evacuate as Hurricane Michael churned toward shore on Monday, with "life-threatening" storm surges, winds and flooding feared when it makes landfall on Wednesday. Michael was expected to become a major Category 3 storm by Tuesday with winds over 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour), making it the most powerful storm to hit the Panhandle of Florida in over 15 years.

Trump advocates 'stop-and-frisk' to curtail Chicago crime

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to end a "crime spree" in Chicago and called for loosening restrictions on police in the third-largest U.S. city to allow stopping and frisking suspects for weapons and other contraband. Chicago police agreed in August 2015 to outside monitoring of stop-and-frisk searches after an American Civil Liberties Union report that found officers stopped a disproportionate number of black people and relied on the practice more heavily than departments in other cities.