Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Kennedy Center removes 'Blue' sculpture as Trump presses on with Washington makeover

A crane removed the 24-foot (7-meter) sculpture "Blue" from the Kennedy Center grounds on Wednesday in the latest move to redesign Washington's public spaces under President Donald Trump. The sculpture, made of rectangular blue aluminum blocks, had sat near where a tarp obscures the center's facade, as Trump allies continue court battles to try to keep his name on the front of the complex, created by an act of Congress to memorialize ​slain President John F. Kennedy.

Tesla set to hold Cybercab event in Austin, Texas

Tesla is set to hold an event for its purpose-built robotaxi Cybercab in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, amid much fanfare, as well as questions about regulatory hurdles and safety of the technology. Here are some details:

Trump says he will make 'a lot of stops' ahead ​of midterm elections

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters that he planned extensive travel to states with high stakes races in the final month before the midterm elections in November. The midterms will be test of Trump's ‌popularity as his approval rating sits at ​33%, the lowest level of his political career, just two months before election day, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Golf-Woods loses driver's license for five years in plea deal, avoids jail time

Tiger Woods will have his license suspended for five years after reaching a plea deal in his impaired-driving case on Wednesday that will allow the decorated golfer to avoid jail time. The 15-times major champion, who initially pleaded not guilty, entered a no-contest motion on all charges and was adjudicated guilty at a change-of-plea hearing he attended at Martin County Courthouse.

US Pentagon issues clinical guidelines on troop testosterone screening to start immediately

The U.S. Pentagon issued detailed guidance on Wednesday for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, a follow-up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's July announcement.

The guidance, which is effective immediately, establishes standardized screening and treatment pathways for men and women that the Pentagon says are aimed at improving military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues.

Basketball-Caitlin Clark embraces global spotlight ahead of World Cup debut

Caitlin Clark says the chance to inspire fans and help grow women's basketball around the globe ‌outweighs the intense scrutiny that follows her every move as she prepares for her long-awaited senior World Cup debut with the U.S. Clark arrives at the tournament carrying huge expectations as the reigning champions begin their bid for a fifth consecutive world title.

Southwest to launch first-ever airport lounges to broaden premium appeal

Southwest Airlines on Wednesday unveiled plans to open its first-ever airport lounges, as the carrier steps up efforts to attract higher-spending premium travelers and diversify revenue streams. The airline, which has been working to shed its low-cost image and boost ancillary revenue through assigned seating, extra-legroom seats and other product enhancements, said it would partner with JPMorgan Chase to launch its first airport lounges.

The history of financing America, in six crisis episodes

Concerns over America's fiscal outlook are mounting. Long-dated Treasury yields are at their highest levels since 2007, while the national debt has surpassed $40 trillion. It is not the first time Washington has faced an imposing financing challenge. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. can grow out of the debt. But history suggests that when the Treasury cannot rely on the usual mix of investors, instruments and market conditions, it has also created new methods to raise funds.

Jury in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial remains deadlocked, to resume deliberations Thursday

Jurors weighing whether to convict Lindsay Clancy of murder for killing her three young children at her Massachusetts home in 2023 were dismissed for the evening on Wednesday after telling the judge for a second time that they were deadlocked. Deliberations were set to resume on Thursday.

Tucson police call deadly shooting outside gay bar a targeted attack motivated by hate

Police in Tucson, Arizona, said a ‌deadly shooting earlier this week outside a gay bar was a targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community. Police provided the following details:

Altria sues FDA over tobacco product review system

Marlboro-maker Altria on Wednesday sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to force the agency to overhaul a product review process that tobacco companies say has stifled their growth in the key U.S. market, a legal filing showed. Under U.S. law, the FDA must review new tobacco products before they can be sold, assessing whether they provide a net public health benefit, such as helping smokers quit, without creating significant risk of new addiction among young people.

US budget deficit widens in July on higher outlays, negative tariff receipts

The U.S. federal budget deficit ‌for July jumped to $432 billion, a record for the month, as higher outlays and more negative tariff revenues also brought the 2026 fiscal-year-to-date budget gap to $1.799 trillion, topping the full fiscal 2025 deficit with two months left in the fiscal year, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday. Last month's budget gap, which was partly inflated by calendar shifts in benefit payments, was $141 billion, or 48%, higher than in July 2025 and was the largest monthly deficit since March 2021, when it hit $660 billion due to COVID-19 relief program spending.

Supreme Court lets Trump's White House ballroom construction continue

The U.S. Supreme Court https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court/ in a 5-4 ruling on Monday let Donald Trump https://www.reuters.com/topic/person/donald-trump/ 's administration continue construction of his White House ballroom complex while the president challenges a judicial order that would halt much of the development, with Chief Justice John Roberts in a dissent calling the project "likely unlawful." The court granted the administration's request to block a lower court's order halting above-ground construction of the $400 million ballroom while a lawsuit by a historic preservation group seeking to stop the project proceeds.

US judge blocks Trump's newest order limiting birthright citizenship

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new executive order limiting the number of people eligible for birthright citizenship that President Donald Trump issued after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his previous effort. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a preliminary injunction at the request of immigrant rights advocates who had last year secured a ruling from her blocking the Trump administration from enforcing his initial 2025 executive order curtailing birthright citizenship.

Boeing paid $3.1 million fine to FAA over widespread safety violations

Boeing paid a $3.1 million fine to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration this year, after the agency said the planemaker had committed a series of safety violations, including actions tied to the 2024 Alaska Airlines MAX 9 mid-air emergency, the FAA told Reuters Wednesday. The FAA said the full amount sought in September 2025 was ⁠paid by Boeing in January and had not ​been previously disclosed publicly. Boeing also confirmed to Reuters it paid the fine.

Trump aides seek 'quiet' in Iran war but say attacks may intensify after November elections

Top aides to President Donald Trump are pushing to keep ⁠the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, four people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy already under strain as the U.S. and Iran exchanged back-and-forth attacks overnight. White House officials will consider ramping up military action after the November 3 vote, said the sources, who requested anonymity to describe internal thinking, though any return to full-scale conflict is far from a given. The U.S. military said its latest strikes were retaliation for recent attacks on American forces and marine traffic in the region.

Warsh's Jackson Hole encore may put Trump's inflation record under a microscope

After opening the door to higher interest rates last week, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has to decide how to follow through with actions the public and investors will see as both consistent with his own words and independent of President Donald Trump's wishes. Failing those tests could be a blow to the new Fed chief's credibility. ⁠Passing them may mean a rate hike later this month, a powerful signal from the U.S. central bank's policy committee — less than two months before key congressional elections — that Trump has failed to contain inflation and will not get the Fed's help in lowering borrowing costs on the rising national debt.

US private payroll growth slows in August; factory orders rebound in July

U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in August as strength in the education and health services sector was offset by job losses in manufacturing and a few other industries. Private employment rose by 38,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 46,000 in July, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would advance by 48,000 after a previously reported rise of 44,000 in July.

Trump meets with travel industry CEOs on push to boost foreign tourism

U.S. President Donald Trump ​met with major travel company executives on Wednesday including representatives from American Airlines, Marriott, MGM Resorts and Carnival to discuss ways to reverse a decline in international visitors. U.S. tourism got a big but temporary boost from the FIFA World Cup this summer. Travel spending rose 6.2% year over year in June to $122.1 billion, its strongest monthly reading in a year and FIFA reported its best-ever attendance at this summer's tournament.

Trump's DOJ threatens to cut aid to states unless they report migrants without legal status

The U.S. Justice Department warned that states risk losing billions of dollars in welfare funding if they do not report all immigrants known to state agencies who are in the ⁠country illegally, according to a legal opinion released on Wednesday. In a major shift that would increase pressure on states to comply with the administration's immigration crackdown, the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel said all states that receive funding for two key welfare programs must report people unlawfully present in the U.S. to the Department of Homeland Security.

Mamdani imposes one-year ban on AI for most NYC students

New York City officials announced a one-year moratorium on students using artificial intelligence in public elementary and middle schools, the latest step by public officials to set guidelines around new technology in the classroom. The move by the nation's largest school district is the most restrictive to date across the U.S., though other districts, including Los Angeles, have said they are reviewing AI policies.

FBI probes report of data breach exposing millions of drivers' licenses in US, Canada

The FBI said on Wednesday it was investigating a report that tens of millions of drivers' licenses belonging to people in the United States and Canada were ⁠being sold ​on the dark web. On Tuesday, the independent journalist Brian Krebs said he had discovered a dark web site selling digital scans of millions of drivers' licenses from people in the U.S. and Canada. He said he confirmed the authenticity of the data being sold with nine people.

Blackout risk rises as heat wave stresses largest US electric grids

The risk of power outages is expected to escalate across a broad swath of the United States on Wednesday as intense heat will test the capacity of electricity supplies serving millions of homes and businesses from the Midwest through the Mid-Atlantic. The U.S. Department of Energy warned of the potential for heightened blackout risks in the PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. electric grid, which serves 67 million people in a territory stretching from Washington D.C. to Chicago.

Trump to speak on both nights of Republican midterm convention amid turnout concerns

President Donald Trump will now speak on both nights of the Republican Party's unusual midterm convention next week, a party official said on Wednesday, an expanded role that will compete for viewers with the start of the NFL season. Trump had originally been scheduled to deliver an address on Thursday to close out the September 9-10 convention in Dallas, but now will deliver the keynote speech on Wednesday and speak after Vice President JD Vance on Thursday evening as well, the party official said on condition of anonymity.

US government backs OpenAI in New York Times copyright case

The Trump administration has filed a brief supporting OpenAI in its dispute with the New York Times and other newspapers over the company's ⁠use of their work to train the large language models behind ChatGPT, saying AI training generally makes fair use of copyrighted material. The brief, filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, appears to be the first time the U.S. government has weighed in on a wave of cases brought by copyright owners including authors, publishers, music labels and news outlets over AI training. A brief has advisory rather than legal weight but could bolster tech companies as they fight the claims.

US Justice Department pursuing hackers behind attack on X users

The U.S. Justice Department is working with Elon Musk's X to track down those behind an attempted password-recovery attack targeting hundreds of thousands of users of the social media platform this week, U.S. ⁠Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Wednesday. A password-recovery attack generally refers to attempts at gaining access to online accounts through the "forgot password" or account-recovery process.

Starbucks dress code didn't violate NYC workers' labor rights, US court rules

A U.S. ⁠appeals court on Wednesday reversed a federal labor board ruling that said Starbucks broke the law by barring workers at a flagship Manhattan store with a "steampunk hipster vibe" from wearing t-shirts or multiple pins supporting a union.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the National Labor Relations Board failed to properly balance Starbucks' ability to present its preferred image to customers with its workers' rights to encourage unionizing.

Mexican musician, family members slain in gruesome shooting at upscale penthouse

A Mexican musician, his pregnant wife, 3-year-old daughter, a young domestic worker and the family's pet dog were tied up and shot dead in a gruesome scene at his penthouse in an upscale residential block outside Mexico City. Their 6-year-old son was found at the scene unharmed, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Democratic US senator asks Capital One for details on Trump account anti-money laundering review

A Democratic U.S. senator has pressed Capital One Financial for details about an internal anti-money-laundering review that the bank said last month led it to close accounts linked to President Donald Trump and his businesses. In a letter sent to Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank on Tuesday ‌evening and first reported by Reuters, Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, asked for documents describing the transactions, alerts and other factors that ‌prompted the review, as well as any communications with law enforcement or regulators related to the matter.

New Jersey takes fight over Kalshi's prediction market to US Supreme Court

New Jersey authorities on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve whether states have the power to police sports betting that occurs on prediction markets operated by Kalshi and competing platforms. The state asked the Supreme Court to overturn ​an appellate court's decision in April holding that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the sports-related event contracts that Kalshi allows people to trade on its platform.