US Domestic News Roundup: Challenging judges' orders, Trump aims to enlist Supreme Court; Politics cloud felon voting rights restoration in Florida

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

No immediate health coverage changes from Obamacare ruling: government

There will be no immediate health coverage impact from a federal judge's ruling that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional, as it is expected to be appealed through higher courts, a government official said. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday sided with a coalition of 20 states that argued requiring people to pay for insurance coverage is illegal because a change in tax law last year eliminated a penalty for not having health insurance.

After outcry over appointment, Trump's top law enforcer treading lightly

Matthew Whitaker flew to Dallas last week to deliver his latest speech since U.S. President Donald Trump installed him as acting attorney general, an appointment embroiled in criticism and court challenges. In the aftermath of the blow-up, Whitaker's public remarks in the last five weeks have been notable for what they lacked - any hint of controversy.

As Zinke departs, Trump says he will name new interior secretary next week

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who has aggressively sought to roll back Obama-era environmental protections, will be leaving his post at the end of the year, President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday, the latest high-profile departure from his administration. Trump did not give a reason for Zinke's departure. However, the former Navy Seal and ex-congressman from Montana has faced scrutiny of his use of security details, chartered flights and a real estate deal.

Dead Guatemalan girl dreamed of sending money home to poor family

The 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant girl who died after being detained by U.S. border agents this month was inseparable from her father and had looked forward to being able to send money home to support her impoverished family, relatives said on Saturday. Nery Caal, 29, and his daughter Jakelin were in a group of more than 160 migrants who handed themselves in to U.S. border agents in New Mexico on Dec. 6. Jakelin developed a high fever while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and died two days later at a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Hondurans who fled political violence fear for lives if sent home

The Pineda family trudged northward for more than a month with a caravan of Central American migrants who are now stuck at the U.S. border. But they were on the run in Honduras much longer than that due to fears of political persecution. According to the family's account, masked men in military uniforms came in November 2017 to their door in the town of Peña Blanca, brandishing handguns and giving them two options: leave or be killed. They chose to leave, taking refuge with friends and family for nearly a year, they said, before joining thousands of others in a 2,800-mile (4,500-km) journey to the United States in October.

Politics cloud felon voting rights restoration in Florida

Elections officials across Florida say they expect former felons to flock to their offices to register to vote next month when a newly passed ballot initiative launches one of the largest enfranchisement efforts in modern U.S. history. But partisan politics and logistical questions are clouding the Jan. 8 rollout of a state constitutional amendment that could restore voting rights to more than 1 million ex-felons in Florida.

Challenging judges' orders, Trump aims to enlist Supreme Court

President Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to suspend nationwide orders by federal judges blocking two of his major policies in an unusual step but one in line with an aggressive White House litigation strategy. The Supreme Court traditionally has been viewed as the court of last resort in the United States, but Trump's Justice Department increasingly has tried to enlist it in paring back or halting unfavorable rulings by lower courts on signature Trump policies, often at early stages of litigation. In another tactic, the administration has asked the justices to review disputes even before lower appeals courts have acted.

(With inputs from Reuters)