Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Feeling unwelcome, Amazon ditches plans for New York hub

Amazon.com Inc abruptly scrapped plans to build a major outpost in New York that could have created 25,000 jobs, blaming opposition from local leaders upset by the nearly $3 billion in incentives promised by state and city politicians. The company said on Thursday it did not see consistently "positive, collaborative" relationships with state and local officials. Opponents of the project feared congestion and higher rents in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, and objected to handing billions in incentives to a company run by Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man. U.S. court allows 'No-Fly List' lawsuits, dissenters warn of danger

A divided federal appeals court on Thursday said American Muslims who landed on the "No-Fly List" because of their refusal to become government informants can sue FBI agents for damages, prompting dissents that said the decision was dangerous and defied U.S. Supreme Court precedents. In a 7-3 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan refused to revisit its May 2018 decision by a three-judge panel allowing Muhammad Tanvir, Jameel Algibhah and Naveed Shinwari to seek monetary damages for being put on the list, despite no evidence they threatened airline or passenger safety. U.S. issues new rules requiring rail oil spill response plans

The U.S. Transportation Department on Thursday issued final rules requiring railroads to develop oil spill response plans and to disclose details of shipments to states and tribal governments after a series of high-profile incidents. The department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the rules, first proposed in July 2016, would "improve oil spill response readiness and mitigate effects of rail accidents and incidents involving petroleum oil and high-hazard flammable trains." Pineapple Express's biggest punch, set to hit water-logged California

The worst of the rain, snow, and winds carried by the so-called Pineapple Express, a river of warm air loaded with moisture, will hit California on Thursday and stick around at least through Friday, forecasters said. The weather system, headed east from near Hawaii, is the wettest storm on the U.S. West Coast this season. It has swamped cars, flooded vineyards and forced hundreds of Californians to evacuate their homes Wednesday to escape the threat of mudslides. After year of action, silence to mark Florida school shooting

One year after the Valentine's Day massacre inside a Florida school, students and families leading a nationwide push for gun safety will pause on Thursday for the anniversary of the deadliest U.S. high school shooting. Many students were expected to stay home from a shortened class day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student with an assault gun killed 17 people on Feb. 14, 2018. First stop for migrant kids: For-profit detention center

For a growing number of migrant children, this is their first home in America: a sprawling campus dotted with beige buildings, massive white tents and metal trailers, next door to a U.S. Air Force base. The federal government is holding nearly 1,600 migrant children here, at what it calls a “temporary influx” shelter. It has added 250 beds in the last two months and could soon house 2,350 children who crossed the nation’s southern border on their own. As Amazon drops New York City project, progressives claim a major coup

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wasted no time on Thursday in calling Amazon's decision to scrap plans to build a major New York outpost with nearly $3 billion in city and state incentives a big victory for progressive politicians. The democratic socialist congresswoman has become the face of the Democratic Party's ascendant left wing, thanks in part to her upset victory last year in a district near the proposed Amazon.com Inc development. Congress advances border security bill without Trump border wall

The U.S. Congress on Thursday aimed to end a dispute over border security with legislation that would ignore President Donald Trump's request for $5.7 billion to help build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border but avoid a partial government shutdown. Late on Wednesday, negotiators put the finishing touches on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, along with a range of other federal agencies. U.S. sends first families to Mexico to await asylum, rights groups sue

The United States began sending Central American families seeking asylum back to Mexico this week, a Mexican immigration source said on Thursday, while U.S. human rights groups sued the Trump administration, saying the policy puts migrants in danger. Five families with a total of 16 people, including children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Wednesday, according to a person who works in migration for the Mexican government who asked not to be named. Trump puts on a few pounds, enters obese range: medical report

U.S. President Donald Trump has gained weight over the past year and is now in the obese range, although he remains in "very good health overall," according to results of an annual presidential physical examination conducted last week. Trump, known for his love of hamburgers and well-done steaks and an aversion to the gym, was warned by his doctor last year that he needed to change his diet and start to exercise.