Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump administration bans abortion referrals at U.S.-funded clinics

The Trump administration said on Friday that taxpayer-funded family planning clinics which primarily serve low-income Americans will no longer be able to refer patients for abortions, a move that critics vowed to challenge in court. The new regulation was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of Title X, a government family planning program that serves about 4 million people. Record-setting snowstorm buries parts of Arizona

A winter storm in the U.S. Southwest that dumped snow on Arizona made travel treacherous on Friday as strong winds pushed powdery snow into drifts and forecasters predicted the blizzard would continue into the night. AccuWeather predicted two to four feet (61 cm to 122 cm) of new snow would pile up in the higher elevations of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado on Friday and warned of whiteout conditions on roads. 'El Chapo' to seek new trial after juror admits breaking rules

Convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman intends to seek a new trial after one of the jurors who convicted him told Vice News that jurors read media about the case despite the judge's instructions not to, a lawyer for Guzman said in a court filing on Friday. "Mr. Guzman intends to file motion for a new trial based on the disclosures in the article and to request an evidentiary hearing to determine the extent of the misconduct," lawyer Eduardo Balarezo said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, who presided over the trial in Brooklyn federal court. Actor Jussie Smollett arrested in Chicago: police spokesman

Actor Jussie Smollett has been arrested after he was charged with lying to police when he claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs, Chicago police said on Thursday on Twitter. Smollett, a 36-year-old black, openly gay actor on the hip-hop TV drama "Empire," ignited a firestorm on social media by telling police on Jan. 29 that two apparent supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump had struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him. NASA clears SpaceX test flight to space station

NASA gave its final go-ahead on Friday to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX company to conduct its first unmanned test flight of a newly designed crew capsule to the International Space Station on March 2. The approval cleared a key hurdle for SpaceX in its quest to help NASA revive America's human spaceflight program, stalled since space shuttle missions came to an end in 2011. Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged in Florida prostitution sting

Robert Kraft, owner of the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots, was charged in Florida with soliciting prostitution after he was captured on video engaging in sex acts with a worker at a massage parlor, police said on Friday. Kraft, 77, a billionaire businessman who built the Patriots into the National Football League's most dominant franchise, was swept up in a police sting targeting sex-trafficking in day spas and massage parlors in several Florida counties. The operation has led to hundreds being charged. Singer R. Kelly charged with sexually abusing teenage girls

Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly was charged on Friday with criminal sexual abuse of at least three teenagers under age 17, the local state's attorney said, following years of allegations against the 52-year-old R&B singer. An attorney for the singer did not immediately return a call or email seeking comment. Time's Up leader resigned after sexual allegation against son

The leader of the Time's Up group set up last year to fight sexual harassment resigned after her own son was accused of sexual misconduct, the organization said on Friday. Lisa Borders announced her resignation as Time's Up's first president and chief executive on Monday after four months in the job, saying in a statement that she needed to address unspecified "family concerns." California couple plead guilty to torturing their 13 children

A Southern California couple accused of beating, shackling and starving their 13 children held captive in the family's home pleaded guilty on Friday to multiple charges including torture, child abuse and false imprisonment. David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise Turpin, 50, who were arraigned in Riverside County Superior Court, made the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors to serve sentences of 25 years to life in prison, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin said. U.S. Senators launch bipartisan probe into rising insulin prices

Two top U.S. senators launched an investigation into rising insulin prices on Friday, sending letters to the three leading manufacturers seeking answers as to why the nearly 100-year-old drug's cost has rapidly risen, causing taxpayers to spend millions of dollars a year. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden, the committee's top Democrat, sent letters to the heads of Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA, the long-time leading manufacturers of insulin.