Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Judge blocks rule implementing Trump plan to restrict mail-in voting

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing core parts of a new rule it adopted at President Donald Trump's direction that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November congressional elections. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a temporary restraining order at the behest of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that led to the lifting of earlier injunctions ​blocking Trump's plans to restrict mail-in voting.

Thousands march in Washington as leaders warn of voting and civil rights rollbacks

More than six decades after Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared his dream for a more just America, thousands are expected to march in Washington on Friday, as a new generation of civil rights ​leaders warns that the very rights King fought and died for are once again under siege. Civil rights leaders will retrace his path through the capital, invoking the same demands King made from the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial two and ‌a half generations ago: that the fight ​for equality remains unfinished.

Tate brothers to remain in US jail pending judge's ruling

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in a Miami jail for now as they contest extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges. At a hearing in Miami federal court on Thursday, Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis declined to rule immediately on the Tate brothers' request for bail, meaning they will remain in federal custody until she issues her ruling.

Marine One helicopter crew failed to reach air traffic control before safety incident, report says

The crew of a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump that came too close to a passenger jet on August 4 failed to contact air traffic controllers before departing, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday. The incident involving a plane departing Reagan Washington National Airport raised questions about why the passenger airplane was allowed to depart while Marine One was nearby, a time when commercial traffic is typically halted.

Dolly Parton's legacy lives on through book deliveries to kids

For 3-year-old Simon Dockery, a trip to the mailbox can mean a new adventure. Since he was a baby, books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library have arrived at his family’s Georgia home each month. Now his younger ‌brother, 11-month-old Samuel, also receives books of his own.

US ICE grants $16.7 million contract to buy thousands of electric shock gloves

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency granted a $16.7 million contract to buy 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves for officers in the field despite human rights advocates having raised alarm about the plans when they were revealed earlier this month. A notice on a federal database said that ICE, which has been the face of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, entered into a no-bid contract to purchase the gloves from Kentucky-based firm Compliant Technologies.

SK Hynix to start AI chip output in Indiana in 2029, sees memory shortage through 2030

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix said on Thursday it plans to begin volume production of its next-generation HBM4E chips at its Indiana facility in the third quarter of 2029, as its chief executive said the company expects a current memory chip shortage to persist through the end of 2030. Chief Executive Kwak Noh-Jung expects the site to eventually reach annual capacity of hundreds of thousands of wafers.

US military uses laser to down three Mexican cartel drones near border

The U.S. military used a laser in southern Texas' Rio Grande Valley to shoot down three Mexican drug cartel drones this week near the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command said in a statement that the operation took place late Tuesday and early Wednesday and used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser.

US jobless claims dip in latest week; goods trade deficit widens in July

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time fell for a second week while the overall number of people on jobless relief rolls slid to the lowest ‌level in a month, signaling a stable labor market that should give the Federal Reserve leeway to focus on containing inflation. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit in goods, which President Donald Trump is trying to reduce through his aggressive use of tariffs on imported goods, was the widest in 16 months in July as exports fell for a third straight month and capital goods imports surged on the back of the artificial intelligence build-out. The wider goods trade gap last month puts trade on track to be a net drag on U.S. gross domestic product growth for a fourth straight quarter.

US widens lettuce-related cyclosporiasis probe to 20 states

U.S. health authorities have widened their probe into a cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after detecting cases in three additional ‌states, raising the total to 20 states, the FDA and CDC said on Thursday. The outbreak, linked to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants and sourced from Taylor Farms' operations in Mexico, has grown to 11,458 cases, including 495 hospitalizations.

Trump renames Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' amid Canada trade war

U.S. President Donald Trump renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America" on Thursday, escalating a feud with Canada that has already spawned tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade. Trump's executive order on Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, applies to U.S. federal usage about the lake, and does not govern what Canada, international bodies or other organizations call the lake.

US officials weigh plan to shield farmers from expansion of refinery biofuel waivers, sources say

President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials discussed on Wednesday a plan to shield the Farm Belt from an expected expansion of waivers of biofuel laws, which his administration is considering as a way to lower gasoline prices during the Iran war, two people familiar with the meeting said. The administration is considering a plan that would increase biofuel quotas for the 2027 calendar year by roughly 500 million gallons to offset any damage caused by the soon-to-be-announced exemptions for smaller refineries, two separate sources told Reuters. The administration has not made a final decision on the additions, the sources said.

Court approves Bank of America's $72.5 million settlement with Epstein accusers

A federal judge said on Thursday he would grant final approval to Bank of America's $72.5 million class-action settlement with women who accused the second-largest U.S. bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said in Manhattan at a hearing on Thursday that the settlement would provide many victims with "substantial" compensation and "justice, even if partial." He rejected an argument by three accusers that the deal was overbroad because it required them to give up related claims against the bank and other potential defendants without compensation.

FAA moves to fire two controllers who left work before fatal LaGuardia collision, sources say

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ⁠is moving to fire two air traffic controllers ​at New York's LaGuardia airport who are believed to have left early before an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck on March 22, killing both pilots, sources told Reuters. The crash renewed scrutiny of chronic staffing shortages and ⁠working practices in U.S. air traffic control, with investigators examining whether adequate staffing was in place when the accident occurred.

Trump to meet refiners, fuel retailers as Iran war boosts gas prices ahead of midterms, sources say

President Donald Trump is expected to meet with U.S. refiners and fuel retailers next week to highlight efforts to lower gasoline prices, as his administration seeks to ease pressure on consumers from the Iran war ahead of November's congressional midterm elections, people familiar with the matter said. The political stakes are high for Trump and his fellow Republicans, who are trying to defend narrow majorities in Congress in November. The war with Iran has become increasingly unpopular, while higher gasoline prices threaten to undercut Trump's 2024 campaign promise to bring down the cost of living. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Trump's approval rating has fallen to 33%, with just 31% of Americans approving of the conflict.

US states sue to block new conditions for family-planning grants

A group of mostly Democratic-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Thursday ⁠seeking to block President Donald Trump's administration from stripping funding for family planning services for low-income and uninsured people from states and providers that oppose the Republican president's agenda. The lawsuit by officials from 23 states, filed in Maryland federal court, claims that new conditions on what is known as Title X funding will unlawfully penalize states and providers that refuse to discourage contraception or provide gender-affirming care to transgender people.

Lindsay Clancy's 'mind was gone' when she killed her children, her lawyer says at trial's end

Lindsay Clancy's lawyer urged jurors at the end of her murder trial on Thursday to conclude that she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis when the Massachusetts woman killed her three young children in 2023, an act a prosecutor said she intentionally carried out after sending her husband out on an errand. Clancy, 36, admits that she killed her three children by strangling them with exercise bands in the basement of her home in the Boston ​suburb of Duxbury in January 2023. She then cut herself with a knife and jumped from a second-story window in a failed attempt to end her own life that left her paralyzed.

Kennedy advisers recommend doubling US autism spending on care, family support

A U.S. advisory committee on autism adopted a new strategic plan on Thursday that calls on federal agencies to nearly double investment in research and initiatives focusing on medical care, housing, aging, and other priorities to support people with the condition and their families. The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, an advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this year to reshape federal priorities in autism, recommended boosting investment by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and ⁠Prevention, and other agencies to roughly $760 million annually from $390.4 million to address a sweeping array of issues impacting people with autism and their families.

Detective in Tupac case says he could not verify that defendant participated in rapper's shooting

A former Las Vegas police detective told jurors on Thursday he could not corroborate the story of an ex-gang leader who said he was involved in the drive-by killing of Tupac Shakur but now denies being responsible for the shooting. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged in Nevada's Clark County with a single count of murder using a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty. Davis is accused of leading a group of men to kill Shakur, 25, who was one of rap's most commercially successful and influential artists, in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.

Corporate political donations shatter record at $646 million so far for US midterms

Companies donated a record $646 million to U.S. political campaigns in the 18 months through June, 40% more than the total spent during the entire 2024 presidential election cycle, according to new data from ⁠watchdog group Public ​Citizen. The spenders driving the surge include manufacturing conglomerate Koch Inc. and new entrants such as online sports betting companies, which poured roughly $76 million into the November 3 midterm elections for candidates in both parties. Big Tobacco and cannabis companies also donated heavily, largely to Republican candidates.

Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students

President Donald Trump's administration has issued a memo for universities that seeks to restrict issuance of certain internship work authorizations for international students as the federal government warned that colleges not complying with the regulations may lose certification to enroll foreign students. The federal memo dated August 24 said the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which is part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, has "observed a rise in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorizations that appear to violate regulatory requirements which permit CPT only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum."

US judge weighs challenge to restore Trump's name to Kennedy Center

An attorney for a U.S. lawmaker on Thursday urged a federal judge to again block the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington from inscribing President Donald Trump’s name on the facade. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper marks the second time the court has been asked to stop the Kennedy Center from putting Trump’s name on the building that Congress named as a "living memorial" to Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, who was assassinated in 1963.

Will Warsh's Jackson Hole speech be a course correction or detour?

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will address an audience of international economists and central bankers on Friday, with investors globally watching for him to offer more details about the economy, recent volatility in ⁠bond markets, and the risks facing the U.S. and global outlooks. Warsh's speech at the U.S. central bank's high-profile economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has emerged as an important test just three months into his tenure as Fed chief. At issue is whether he can maintain his less-is-better approach to monetary policy communications or feels compelled to provide at least a rough roadmap of how he views elevated inflation and — critically — what might prompt him to conclude that higher interest rates are needed to contain it.

Beyond the Scale: Men turn to cosmetic clinics to complete weight-loss transformation

As top-selling weight-loss drugs help more U.S. men slim down, a growing number are seeking cosmetic treatments for sagging skin, hair loss and dental issues to complete their physical transformation, patients and plastic ⁠surgeons say. Mark C., a 57-year-old from Hoboken, New Jersey, has spent the past five years taking obesity medications, first Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and then Eli Lilly's Zepbound, shedding 50 pounds (23 kg) in the process. As the weight came off, ⁠so did some of the fullness in his face.

Prosecutors say seven charged with damaging Trump Scottish golf course had 'terrorism connection'

Seven protesters accused of daubing pro-Palestinian graffiti on U.S. President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last year could face longer sentences if found guilty due to what prosecutors have described as a "terrorist connection". Activists from the now-banned group Palestine Action were charged last year with criminal damage for spray-painting walls at the course with the slogans "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" as well as insults against Trump.

US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting

A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic, the latest turn in the Claude maker's high-stakes fight with the military over AI safety on the battlefield. Anthropic's lawsuit in California federal court alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk, a label the government can apply to companies that expose military systems to potential infiltration or sabotage by adversaries.

ICE agent freed from Texas jail in defiance of Minnesota extradition request

A U.S. immigration agent was freed from a Texas jail on Thursday hours after a federal judge refused to order his extradition to Minnesota to face assault charges for shooting an unarmed ‌Venezuelan man during last winter's deportation surge in Minneapolis. Christian Castro, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer wanted by Minnesota authorities, was released at about 7 a.m. ‌local time from the lockup where he had been held since his May 29 arrest in the Gulf Coast border city of Brownsville, according to a Cameron County Sheriff's Department spokesperson.

US FDA approves updated COVID vaccines for 2026-27 season

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi and Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID vaccines, the companies said on Thursday, after an advisory panel recommended that the shots should target the dominant ​XFG variant. Four COVID shots had been approved for use in the United States: Moderna's mNEXSPIKE and Spikevax, Pfizer-BioNTech's, Comirnaty — all three mRNA-based vaccines — and Novavax-Sanofi's, protein-based shot that takes longer to manufacture.