Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. appeals court deals blow to Democrats' bid to get testimony from ex-White House lawyer McGahn A U.S. appeals court on Monday, in a victory for the Trump administration, ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Democratic-led House of Representatives panel seeking to enforce a subpoena issued to former White House Counsel Donald McGahn.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Oregon state police called to Portland as officials warn of escalating violence

Oregon state police were poised on Monday to return to Portland after a fatal shooting this weekend, as clashes escalated between an armed right-wing group and protesters demanding racial justice and police reforms. Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, released a plan Sunday night in response to violence that she said was stoked by an armed right-wing group called Patriot Prayer. In addition to bringing in state police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney would commit more resources to prosecuting criminal offenders. White House: Trump to meet law enforcement in Kenosha, no plans to see Blake family

President Donald Trump does not have plans to meet with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin when he visits the city on Tuesday but will visit law enforcement officials, the White House said on Monday. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Trump planned to survey the damage resulting from protests in the aftermath of the shooting and meet with business owners, making the trip despite encouragement from state and local leaders to forgo travel there while the city seeks to heal. Trump pushes to keep tax returns from NY prosecutor, eyes possible Supreme Court appeal

President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal appeals court not to let Manhattan's top prosecutor have his tax returns, saying "the deck was clearly stacked against" him, and said he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if necessary. The argument was made in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which on Tuesday will hear arguments on Trump's bid to delay Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's subpoena for the tax returns during Trump's appeal. Trump administration proposes easing oil and gas permitting in national forests

The Trump administration on Monday issued a proposal that would make it easier to permit oil and gas drilling operations in national forests, angering environmental groups who said the move would harm wildlife and increase greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Forest Service, an arm of the Department of Agriculture that oversees 192 million acres of national forests and grasslands, released proposed rules that would speed timelines for approving drilling leases and permits and for determining which lands are available to lease. U.S. appeals court deals blow to Democrats' bid to get testimony from ex-White House lawyer McGahn

A U.S. appeals court on Monday, in a victory for the Trump administration, ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Democratic-led House of Representatives panel seeking to enforce a subpoena issued to former White House Counsel Donald McGahn. In a 2-1 decision that Democrats vowed to appeal, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the House Judiciary Committee's lawsuit had to be dismissed because Congress had never passed a law authorizing such litigation. U.S. appeals court tosses Trump bid to roll back fuel efficiency penalties

A U.S. appeals court on Monday overturned the Trump administration's July 2019 rule that sought to suspend a regulation that more than doubled penalties for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements. Automakers had protested the hike adopted in 2016 by the Obama administration, saying it could increase industry compliance costs by $1 billion annually. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a 3-0 decision on Monday said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did not make a timely decision to reconsider the penalties. U.S. judge sets May trial date for Bannon, co-defendants on border wall fraud charges

A U.S. judge on Monday set a May 2021 trial date for Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, and three co-defendants on charges of defrauding donors in a scheme to build the president's signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal prosecutors on Aug. 20 accused Bannon, U.S. Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage and two others of orchestrating a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of dollars in connection with a $25 million crowdfunding campaign called "We Build the Wall." New Jersey, California allow indoor dining to resume, with limits

New Jersey and California on Monday took a big step toward resumption of their pre-pandemic economies by allowing restaurants to begin limited indoor dining, as coronavirus cases abated nationwide even as some new hotspots emerged. The two states are among the few that have continued to ban indoor dining while most others have lifted restrictions, according to the National Governors Association. In battleground Pennsylvania, Biden accuses Trump of stoking violence

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted, and slammed President Donald Trump for stoking violence in American cities gripped by protests over police brutality and racial inequality. Biden's speech in battleground state Pennsylvania was his most forceful counter yet to accusations by Trump that he is weak on crime and that leaders in his Democratic Party have lost control over the mass demonstrations that in some instances have turned violent. U.S. agrees to pay South Carolina $600 million and dispose of plutonium

The U.S. Energy Department said on Monday it has reached a settlement with South Carolina on removing weapons-grade plutonium by 2037 from a Cold War-era site and shipping most of it to a disposal facility in New Mexico. South Carolina, which had sued the energy department, will receive an upfront payment of $600 million. The state will waive its right to bring any more lawsuits over the plutonium until 2037.