Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. names three killed in Syria blast claimed by Islamic State

The United States on Friday identified three Americans killed in a suicide attack in northern Syria this week that the U.S. government said was likely carried out by the Islamic State militant group. Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida; Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon Kent, 35, identified as being from upstate New York, and Scott Wirtz, a civilian Department of Defense employee from St. Louis, died during the Wednesday attack in Manbij, Syria, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

Trump tells anti-abortion marchers he will support them

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke in a prerecorded video to thousands of anti-abortion activists in Washington on Friday for the 46th March for Life, vowing to veto any legislation that "weakens the protection of human life." The event is the largest annual gathering in the United States of opponents of the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. That ruling found that certain state laws outlawing abortion were an unconstitutional violation of a woman's right to privacy, effectively legalizing abortion nationwide.

Obama donor imprisoned for $292 million bank fraud seeks early release

An Iranian-American businessman who gave money to Democrats including former President Barack Obama should be released early from his 12-year prison term for a $292 million bank fraud and moved to home confinement, his lawyers said on Friday. Lawyers for Hassan Nemazee, 68, who has spent nearly 8-1/2 years in prison, said he qualified for early release under a prison reform law signed by President Donald Trump last month.

Supreme Court silent on 'Dreamers' appeal, other big cases

It is looking increasingly likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Trump administration appeals involving the "Dreamers" immigrants, transgender troops and gay rights during its current term, meaning rulings in these major cases may not come until next year. With time running out for the justices to take cases to decide in their current term that ends in June, they took no action on Friday in those high-profile appeals. If they eventually agree to hear the cases but not until the nine-month term that begins in October, chances of rulings being issued this year are slim, a blow to President Donald Trump.

Striking Los Angeles teachers rally near City Hall as talks resume

Tens of thousands of striking Los Angeles teachers rallied near City Hall on Friday, joined by parents and students as contract talks the mayor called "productive" resumed behind closed doors after a marathon negotiating session the day before. Some 30,000 teachers walked off the job on Monday in their first strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District in 30 years, demanding higher pay, smaller classes and more support staff. They also have called for curbs on the steady expansion of independently managed charter schools, arguing that they divert resources from traditional classroom instruction.

Judge sentences ex-Chicago policeman to nearly seven years jail

A judge on Friday sentenced white former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke to nearly seven years in prison after a landmark verdict last fall found him guilty of murder in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan sentenced Van Dyke to 81 months in prison and said he would have to serve at least two years before he was eligible for parole.

$11 toothpaste: Immigrants pay big for basics at private ICE lock-ups

Detained in a California lockup with hundreds of other immigrants seeking asylum, Duglas Cruz faced a choice. He could content himself with a jailhouse diet that he said left him perpetually hungry. Or he could labor in the prison's kitchen to earn money to buy extra food at the commissary.

House Speaker Pelosi accuses Trump of endangering U.S. troops, lawmakers

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday accused President Donald Trump of putting American troops and civilians working in Afghanistan in danger by publicizing a planned congressional trip to the war-torn country, as tensions between the leaders spiked on the 28th day of a partial government shutdown. Trump later on Friday signaled he would turn his attention from the fight over congressional travel back to the budget standoff that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks, posting on Twitter that he would make a "major announcement" on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on the "humanitarian crisis" on the country's southern border and on the partial shutdown.

Winter storm disturbs travel as it rolls toward U.S. Midwest, Northeast

A major winter storm was expected to clobber a large swath of the northern United States with heavy snow, gusty winds and frigid temperatures making travel difficult and dangerous starting on Friday and through the weekend, forecasters said. The storm system will dump 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of snow in the Plains and Midwest on Friday night and Saturday and as it moves east at least a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in several advisories.

U.S.-born Iranian TV anchor's arrest confirmed by U.S. court

An American-born Iranian television anchor has been arrested as a material witness in an undisclosed U.S. federal investigation, according to a federal court order granted on Friday. At the request of the Justice Department, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued the order, the first official U.S. confirmation of reports of the arrest of Marzieh Hashemi, an anchor for Iran's English-language Press TV news channel.