Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Kidnapped children make headlines, but abduction is rare in U.S.

A 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who escaped her captor this week nearly three months after her parents were killed and she was kidnapped has drawn international headlines, but abductions of children by strangers remain rare, according to U.S. data. On average, fewer than 350 people under the age of 21 have been abducted by strangers in the United States per year since 2010, the FBI says. From 2010 through 2017, the most recent data available, the number has ranged from a low of 303 in 2016 to a high of 384 in 2011 with no clear directional trend.

Monster snowstorm to blanket more than half of United States

A massive winter storm hit the U.S. Rockies and Plains on Friday then punched east, with snow set to assault a 1,800-mile (1,609 km) corridor through the weekend, creating transportation "havoc" in the middle of the country. The system started as rain from Mexico and turned to snow as it met icy air. Up to 18 inches (45 cm) of snow were expected in the Sangre de Cristo mountains south of Denver, according to the National Weather Service.

Amtrak works to modernize, speed up trains in busiest U.S. rail corridor

Amtrak is gearing up to introduce new high-speed Acela trains as it plans to spend billions of dollars in upgrades on the busiest U.S. rail corridor. The national U.S. passenger railroad on Friday gave reporters a tour by train of the busy northeast corridor from Washington to New York, showing off places where the rail system needs upgrades, including an 1873 Baltimore rail tunnel with water infiltration issues that will cost $4.5 billion to replace and the 1906 Susquehanna River Bridge whose replacement is estimated to cost $1.7 billion.

'Jayme is the hero' sheriff says of Wisconsin girl who escaped captor

A 13-year-old girl's escape from a rural home, where she was held captive for three months by a 21-year-old Wisconsin man charged with murdering her parents, helped break the case and she should be treated as a hero, the local sheriff said on Friday. Thousands of volunteers and hundreds of law enforcement officers had searched around the clock around the small town of Barron after Jayme Closs' parents were found shot dead in their home, the front door open and the girl gone.

Florida pardons wrongly accused 'Groveland Four' after 70 years

Four black men wrongly accused of raping a white teenager 70 years ago were pardoned by top Florida officials on Friday, a long-sought step in a case seen as a historic racial injustice. While none of the men known as the "Groveland Four" remain alive, family members and supporters appealed their innocence to the Florida Clemency Board, composed of the state's governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner.

Texas tent city that holds migrant teens to close

A tent city in Texas for migrant teens will close, the U.S. government said on Friday, and the children held in what had become a controversial symbol of President Donald Trump's migration policy will be transferred to sponsors or other shelters. The shelter in Tornillo, Texas opened in June to house migrant children, many of whom were Central Americans who crossed the border alone. Immigration advocates raised concerns about how long the minors were staying in the tents and some protesters had set up camp near the facility.

Florida governor suspends sheriff for response to school massacre

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday suspended the local sheriff criticized for the police response to last year's mass shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. DeSantis said Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel showed leadership failures in the shooting that left 14 students and three adults dead at the hands of a lone gunman on Feb. 14, 2018.

Trump stops short of emergency declaration in border wall fight

President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not declare a national emergency "right now" to end a standoff over border security that has idled large swaths of the U.S. government, all but guaranteeing that he will preside over the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The dispute has disrupted everything from air travel to tax collection and suspended pay for 800,000 government workers.

Trump touts plan to change visas for skilled foreign workers

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he plans changes to the H-1B program that grants temporary visas for specialty occupations such as technology or medicine, but his administration said later he was referring to changes that were proposed last year. "H1-B (sic) holders in the United States can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship," Trump said on Twitter. "We want to encourage talented and highly skilled people to pursue career options in the U.S."

Ginsburg's recovery 'on track' but will miss more U.S. high court arguments

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who missed three days of oral arguments this week, will miss another three days next week but her recovery from lung cancer surgery is "on track," a court spokeswoman said on Friday. Ginsburg, 85, will continue to work from home and participate in all the cases she has missed, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in a statement.