US Domestic News Roundup: Manafort denies ever meeting with Wikileaks' Assange; Oklahoma tribal sovereignty dispute

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Quick ruling expected as U.S. census trial wraps up

Lawyers for the U.S. government on Tuesday wrapped up their defense of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, saying he has broad latitude to run the decennial survey. The judge hearing the case in federal court in New York promised a quick ruling.

New York top court: Jury trials needed when deportation a risk

New York State's highest court said on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution guarantees jury trials to noncitizens charged with crimes that could subject them to deportation, in a divided ruling that prompted a call for the Supreme Court to weigh in. The Court of Appeals rejected an argument by Bronx county prosecutors that deportation is merely a civil consequence of criminal convictions, and the Sixth Amendment did not require jury trials for defendants charged with minor yet deportable crimes.

Top Democratic lawmaker to probe hate crimes and surveillance of minorities

The presumed incoming Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday he plans to investigate the drastic spike in U.S. hate crimes and whether federal investigators have wrongfully targeted racial and ethnic minorities instead of focusing on white supremacist groups. In a letter to the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, Congressman Jerrold Nadler complained that the agencies had all failed to address prior inquiries by Democrats about hate crimes and surveillance activities when Republicans controlled the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. voting rights trampled in Georgia governor's race: lawsuit

Advocates for Democrat Stacey Abrams filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday alleging far-reaching U.S. voting rights violations during the Georgia governor's contest she lost this month to a Republican who ran the election as secretary of state. Abrams, who sought to become the nation's first female African-American governor, pledged to fight for electoral changes after a protracted vote count saw Brian Kemp win the race by little more than 1 percent of nearly 4 million votes cast.

Ex-Trump campaign head Manafort denies ever meeting with Wikileaks' Assange

President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, staunchly denied ever meeting with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday, after the Guardian newspaper published a story alleging the two met at least three times, including once in 2016. "This story is totally false and deliberately libelous. I have never met Julian Assange or anyone connected to him," Manafort said through a spokesman.

Trump to meet with New York governor on stalled tunnel project

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Wednesday with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over the fate of a key northeast rail tunnel. Cuomo said in a radio interview Tuesday he is tentatively set to meet with Trump and U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. "This is one of those pressing, practical issues that we need resolution on for the good of New York and the entire northeast," Cuomo told WNYC Radio. "I am going to keep hammering away."

U.S. justices wrestle with Oklahoma tribal sovereignty dispute

U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared cautious on Tuesday about potentially broad consequences in a death penalty case in which they are being asked to declare huge swathes of the state of Oklahoma as officially part of a Native American reservation. Patrick Murphy, sentenced to death for the 1999 roadside mutilation slaying of his girlfriend's former lover, has asked the high court to throw out his murder conviction because the crime occurred in a location, Henryetta, that should be viewed as reservation land outside the reach of Oklahoma criminal law.

TransCanada asks Montana court to allow preliminary work on Keystone XL

TransCanada Corp has asked a Montana court to allow it to resume pre-construction activities on its Keystone XL oil pipeline after a U.S. judge blocked construction on the $8 billion project earlier this month. The Calgary, Alberta-based company has temporarily halted all pre-construction work in the United States on the pipeline project as a result of the ruling, TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said on Tuesday.

Atrium Health says data of about 2.65 million patients involved in breach

Atrium Health, previously Carolinas HealthCare System, said on Tuesday data of about 2.65 million patients including addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers may have been compromised in a breach at its third-party provider AccuDoc Solutions. Atrium, which provides healthcare and wellness programs throughout the Southeast region in the United States, said a review revealed an unauthorized access to AccuDoc's databases between Sept. 22 and Sept. 29.

Chicago policemen conspired to shield officer convicted of murder -prosecutor

Three Chicago policemen conspired to protect a fellow officer after he fatally shot a black teenager in 2014, a prosecutor said on Tuesday, even though there was a video of the shooting that helped to convict former officer Jason Van Dyke. Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes said in her opening statement that the defendants, David March, Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney, offered accounts of the deadly incident that conflicted with video evidence. Laquan McDonald, 17, was armed with a knife when he was shot 16 times.

(With inputs from Reuters)