Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. border officials don't share Trump's zeal for border wall: lawmakers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday described a multi-pronged strategy for tightening the southern border with Mexico that did not focus mainly on a massive wall President Donald Trump demands, according to lawmakers who attended a classified briefing. A group of 17 Republican and Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives are trying to beat a Feb. 15 deadline for passing legislation to fund U.S. border security operations over the next eight months. U.S. political activist linked to Russian agent charged with money laundering, fraud

A conservative U.S. political activist romantically linked to admitted Russian agent Maria Butina has been indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Dakota said on Wednesday. Paul Erickson, 56, was indicted on 11 counts of wire fraud and money laundering on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges in an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Moreno, the office said in a statement. Erickson's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jury in third day of deliberations in 'El Chapo' trial

Jurors in the U.S. trial of accused Mexican drug cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman began their third day of deliberations on Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn. Guzman, 61, is accused of leading Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, which became one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. He twice escaped from prison in Mexico, and will face the possibility of life in a U.S. prison if convicted. U.S. court blocks execution of Muslim inmate who requested imam

A U.S. federal court blocked Thursday's scheduled execution of a Muslim inmate in Alabama on grounds the state may be violating his religious rights by refusing to allow an imam to be present at his death. The 11th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals said on Wednesday it had granted an indefinite stay for Dominique Ray, 42, a day before he was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection for the killing of a 15-year-old girl more than 23 years ago. On abortion, Trump agenda likely leads to Supreme Court, not Congress

President Donald Trump urged lawmakers in his State of the Union address to put new limits on abortion, but partisan division in the U.S. Congress means the Supreme Court likely will set the agenda on the divisive issue, as it has for decades. Bolstered by Trump's appointment of two conservative justices, the nine-member court could soon begin to pare back abortion rights, starting with a major case from Louisiana that is one of several similar pending appeals. 'Do something:' After school shooting, Florida mother chooses action

After screaming out on national television for President Donald Trump to "please do something" to prevent another school shooting like the one that had just killed her daughter, Lori Alhadeff heeded her own call for action. She was powerless when gunfire silenced 14-year-old Alyssa on Feb. 14, 2018. But in the year since 17 people died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Alhadeff ran for the local school board and won. She started a non-profit. She raised money to equip schools with bulletproof glass and emergency medical stop-the-bleed kits. Caravan migrants stalled at Texas border eye other routes

Some Central American migrants seeking entry into the United States but stalled near a Texas crossing said on Wednesday they are considering moving to another part of the border, where they may have a better chance of lodging a speedy asylum claim. Mulling their next move from the dusty Mexican town of Piedras Negras, just south of the Eagle Pass crossing on the U.S. side, the latest group of around 1,700 caravan migrants want to avoid a potentially months-long wait for a chance to plead their case for asylum. U.S. Justice Department orders investigation of frigid Brooklyn jail: media

The U.S. Department of Justice late on Wednesday ordered an investigation into a Brooklyn jail where inmates said they spent days in frigid, dark cells after a fire cut power and heat during a cold snap in New York City, media reports said. In a statement published by the New York Times, the DOJ said its watchdog Office of the Inspector General will examine whether or not the Bureau of Prisons responded appropriately to the incident at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. California utility PG&E vows more power shutdowns to prevent wildfire

California utility PG&E Corp plans to increase the controversial practice of shutting off the power to communities at risk of wildfire when dangerous conditions such as high winds and dry heat are present. In a report to state regulators https://bit.ly/2SevTIZ, PG&E said it would also remove 375,000 trees near electricity lines, trim vegetation over 2,500 square miles (6,475 square km) and conduct thousands of inspections to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires. Deepening Virginia political crisis threatens Democrats' hold on governorship

Virginia's political crisis showed no immediate sign of let-up on Thursday as Governor Ralph Northam and two fellow high-ranking Democrats faced the prospect of a Republican abruptly ascending to the pinnacle of state government in Richmond. The upheaval deepened on Wednesday when the attorney general admitted to wearing blackface at a college party, and a woman came forward to level an accusation of sexual assault against the lieutenant governor, who has denied the allegation.