Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Darline Graham vies for Senate seat with Trump's clout on the line

Voters in South Carolina will decide whether they want to establish a Graham family dynasty as they go to the polls on Tuesday in a Republican primary pitting Darline Graham against U.S. Representative Ralph Norman. Graham, 62, is the sister of Lindsey Graham, who died at the age of 71 on July 11, having served in Congress for 31 years -- 23 ​of those in the U.S. Senate. She subsequently was appointed to fill out his Senate term that expires at the beginning of January.

Trump administration plans to revoke visas of foreigners seeking asylum

President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday it planned to revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have applied for or are ​currently seeking asylum status in the U.S., marking its latest step in a sweeping immigration crackdown. A State Department spokesman said it was coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security "to identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas ‌of foreigners who have come ​to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently."

California cancels talks with Paramount over Warner Bros deal

California Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a meeting with Paramount Skydance representatives scheduled for Monday to begin settlement talks over the state's lawsuit seeking to block Paramount's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, his office said. Paramount has pushed for a settlement in the case, which is the last hurdle to the deal along with a parallel lawsuit by the Writer's Guild of America. The company faces a mountain of fees and costs to keep the deal together if the lawsuit continues to a trial scheduled for March. Bonta and his partner states have so far won key rulings, giving them leverage if settlement talks continue.

Father of sailor aboard USS Abraham Lincoln taken into US immigration detention

The immigrant father of a U.S. sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war, was taken into federal immigration detention, the sailor said in ‌a Facebook post. U.S. Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, originally from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, a spokesperson of the Department of Homeland Security, of which Border Patrol is a part, separately said on Sunday.

US lawmakers question Health Secretary Kennedy on vaccine settlement disclosures

A group of U.S. senators said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent explanation for how he disposed of a financial stake in litigation involving Merck's Gardasil vaccine conflicts with earlier answers he gave in written testimony and federal ethics filings, a letter reviewed by Reuters shows. The letter, sent on Monday by four Democratic senators, notes that Merck earlier this year agreed to pay $50 million to settle litigation over Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by the human papillomavirus.

Nevada sues to block Trump administration's Colorado River plan

Nevada sued the Trump administration on Monday to block its plans for slashing water supplies from the drought-stricken Colorado River, saying it could devastate the state and would violate the laws governing the river. The Department of the Interior on Friday finalized its plan that included a 21% reduction in water from the river to California, Nevada and Arizona for two years starting in 2027. The cuts to the three so-called lower basin states could nearly double after 2028, a move that Arizona and Nevada have said would have huge consequences for their economies.

Trump's frustrations drove order limiting child vaccinations, but MAHA wants more

President Donald Trump's frustration that his administration was not doing enough to address what he ‌considers a likely contributor to autism drove a U.S. executive order this month that cut back the number of childhood vaccinations, administration officials told Reuters. These five current and former officials privately say the order alone does not substantially change U.S. vaccine policy and will not satisfy Trump’s demands or Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” political base.

US Supreme Court hands a win to Trump over mail-in ballot restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted one court order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from implementing an executive order restricting the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections. But the fate of Trump's order remains uncertain, as a separate injunction blocking a ‌key part of the plan remains in place.

Washington Post ordered to reinstate columnist Karen Attiah

A private arbitrator has ordered The Washington Post to reinstate opinion columnist Karen Attiah with back pay, after the newspaper fired her in September over social media posts about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. The ruling, made public by the Democracy Defenders Fund on Monday, comes as the Post's opinion section faces scrutiny following a push by owner Jeff Bezos to focus on personal liberties and free markets.

As US border reopens to Mexican cattle, concerns persist over screwworm spread

Mexico is bolstering its screwworm containment campaign in northern border states where recent cases have been detected, heightening scrutiny of livestock exports as cross-border trade resumed on Monday under a phased U.S. reopening. The reopening marks the first easing of a U.S. ban imposed more than a year ago to keep out the flesh-eating pest, as imports resumed initially through Arizona.

California Orange County DA announces $100 million for 50,000 evacuated residents in GKN incident

A district attorney in California said on Monday his office has concluded a criminal probe into a GKN Aerospace factory and announced a claims program of up to $100 million for more than 50,000 nearby residents who left their homes in May due to a chemical incident at the plant. The Orange County District Attorney's Office said in a statement it is negotiating a safety plan and independent monitoring for the Melrose Industries factory in Garden Grove which produces aircraft windows.

Exxon turns to automated drilling in the Permian in push for higher oil output

In rural west Texas where oil rigs and pump jacks dot the sparse flat landscape, an ExxonMobil contractor sits in a small office on a drilling rig, using controls on a screen to operate robotic machinery and move tall steel pipes weighing roughly 2,000 ⁠pounds. This work would usually require human overseers standing ​on the rig floor, the most common location for accidents on a rig.

Fentanyl, a Reagan ad and a near deal: Trump's trade war with Canada

Canada and the United States have been ⁠locked in a tariff war since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. The dispute has impacted steel, aluminum, automobiles, lumber and other industries, prompting Canadian retaliation and repeated rounds of negotiations and tariff threats.

US judge dismisses legal challenge to Trump's offshore drilling expansion

An Alaska federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by environmental groups challenging President Donald Trump’s move to allow offshore drilling along broad swaths of previously protected coastline. U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason found the lawsuit by groups, including the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, was premature because drilling was not imminent in federal waters that were placed off-limits by Trump’s predecessors.

US lawmakers urge Trump to ban Americans from aiding Chinese security agencies

Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to bar American citizens and businesses from supporting Chinese and Russian civilian intelligence and security agencies. Congress approved a law in 2018 ⁠banning Americans from providing support to foreign military intelligence agencies but leaving the door open to such aid for similar civilian-led organizations. In 2019, Reuters revealed the United Arab Emirates had hired over a dozen former U.S. intelligence operatives to hack dissidents, journalists, and Americans, shining a spotlight on the issue.

Target apologizes for children's clown Halloween costume after backlash

Target apologized on Monday and said it had pulled a Halloween costume from sale depicting a circus clown that critics said evoked Blackface and minstrel shows. The product, sold as the "Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume," prompted a backlash on social media, with some consumers saying it resembled a racist caricature.

Trump caps summer of US 250th birthday at IndyCar race through Washington

President Donald Trump capped celebrations of the U.S. 250th anniversary with a first-of-its-kind auto race through the streets of ​Washington, closing a summer of sports and spectacle as drivers sped past the capital's iconic landmarks. IndyCar's Freedom 250 Grand Prix zoomed through the National Mall, down historic Pennsylvania Avenue and around the National Archives, in the marquee event on Sunday afternoon.

Bond market anxiety raises stakes for Warsh's debut Jackson Hole speech

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's debut speech at the annual Jackson Hole conference this week, self-advertised as a choice between discussing near-term policy or broader principles, has taken on added weight as traders and analysts look for guidance about the recent jump in bond yields and for reassurance of his independence from the Trump ⁠administration. Warsh has said he wants to wait for recommendations from five task forces established at the start of his tenure this spring before getting too detailed about his plans.

Trump administration moves to impose more than $100,000 fee for H-1B worker visas

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday released a proposed regulation to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers that has been blocked by the courts. The fee, first temporarily imposed by Trump last year, dramatically raises the cost of visas that are heavily relied on in the tech, education and research sectors.

Alabama launches probe into OpenAI after Hugging Face breach

Alabama's attorney general said on Monday the state had opened an investigation into OpenAI after its models hacked technology company Hugging Face last month, raising concerns about how artificial intelligence firms control their powerful systems. Here are a few details:

Tens of thousands ordered to evacuate in Nevada ⁠as fire threatens ​Reno

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated this weekend from the area of Reno, Nevada, and many others were under orders to leave on Sunday as a wildfire reached the outskirts of the state's third-most-populous city. About 42,000 residents have been displaced or are in active evacuations with an additional 45,000 in "be prepared to evacuate" status as the Hawk Fire threatened northern Reno, local officials said late Sunday morning.

For Republicans, Dallas convention is both rally and rescue mission

President Donald Trump's Republican Party is increasingly viewing its first-of-a-kind midterm convention in Dallas next month as crucial to regaining momentum at a time when opinion polls show voter frustration over the economy and the Iran war, according to party officials, donors and convention planners. When Republicans announced the convention earlier this year, some strategists dismissed it as a distraction as campaigns entered the final stretch. They questioned the need for a national gathering with no official party business.

Wife of active-duty US Army sergeant is deported

The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant was deported to Honduras on Monday, marking the latest example of the impact of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown on relatives of members of the U.S. military. Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo "was removed from the United States" on Monday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email. Army Sergeant Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez told ABC News his wife, the mother of a 6-year-old, was deported to Honduras.

Trump's approval holds at record low as ⁠US support for Iran war falls, Reuters Ipsos poll finds

U.S. public approval of the war with Iran fell to its lowest level since the conflict's early days, helping to hold President Donald Trump's popularity at a record low, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. The four-day poll showed just 31% of Americans support U.S. military action against Iran, down from 37% in a March Reuters/Ipsos poll and 34% earlier this month. The decline was driven by fewer self-identified Republicans backing the conflict. Some 69% of Republican respondents support the war, compared with 77% in March.

Basketball-Former NBA players Kanter Freedom, White not eligible for WNBA, sources say

Two former NBA players who ⁠sought to enter the 2027 WNBA draft are not eligible to participate in the women's basketball league, according to sources around the league on Monday. Enes Kanter Freedom, who played in the National Basketball Association for ⁠over a decade from 2011, and Royce White, who spent one season in the NBA, had each announced their intention to play in the league, claiming to be transgender women.

Coinbase-backed crypto advocacy group endorses 32 US midterm candidates

Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group backed by crypto giant Coinbase, on Monday endorsed 32 incumbent congressional candidates for the November midterm elections, as the industry cements influence in Washington. The endorsements, first reported by Reuters, come as the Clarity Act, the crypto industry's top policy priority, stalls in the Senate amid opposition from some lawmakers. All the candidates endorsed voted last year to pass the bill out of the House of Representatives, and Stand With Crypto hopes to return those industry-friendly candidates to office. Crypto companies say the legislation would give them long-sought legal clarity.

US removes Syria from terrorism sponsor list, lifting major investment obstacle

The United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, lifting what Damascus says was the last major impediment to investing in the country as Washington deepens ties to the ‌new Syrian government. The removal, posted on the U.S. Treasury's website, took effect after a 45-day congressional review period triggered when Trump formally notified ‌Congress on July 8 of his intention to rescind the designation.

Fire crews gain ground on destructive blaze raging near Reno, Nevada

Firefighters logged major gains on Monday against a wind-driven blaze that threatened the city of Reno, Nevada, over the weekend, destroying dozens of houses and chasing tens of thousands of people from their homes. As of Monday, fire crews had managed ​to carve containment lines around 27% of the Hawk Fire, which erupted on Saturday near Nevada's third-most-populous city and raced through tinder-dry grass, brush and forest into residential areas.