Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump-Xi summit in Washington features great fanfare but low expectations

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish summit that was heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with no sign that a closed-door meeting yielded breakthroughs on thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran. At nightfall, the two leaders and their wives joined together to attend a state dinner, a black-tie affair ​of sesame-crusted sea bass and a guest list heavy with tech CEOs. Outside the gate, a group of loud protesters shouted slogans like "China out of Hong Kong" that were clearly audible to the leaders as they posed for pictures on the red-carpeted White House steps.

US appeals court reinstates Ohio law requiring voters to prove citizenship

A US ​appeals court has for now reinstated an Ohio law requiring residents to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote at the state's motor vehicle offices, in a boost for allies of President Donald Trump who ‌want tighter voter registration rules. The 2-1 decision ​late on Wednesday by the Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals to pause a lower court ruling blocking the law was a win for Ohio's Republican government ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

US new home sales jump to eight-month high in August

Sales of new US single-family homes surged to an eight-month high in August as buyers took advantage of price cuts and other incentives, but rising mortgage rates stemming from the war in the Middle East remain a drag on the housing market. New home sales increased 6.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 684,000 units last month, the highest level since December 2025, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday. Data for July was revised higher to show sales dropping to a rate of 643,000 units instead of the previously reported 607,000 units.

US Democrats criticize lavish Trump-Xi summit as lacking substance

US Senate Democrats criticized President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, saying it prioritized pageantry over substance on issues such as artificial intelligence, trade, critical minerals and weapons for Taiwan. Trump welcomed Xi to the White House for a state summit heavy ‌on diplomatic honors, but with no sign that closed-door talks yielded breakthroughs on the issues dividing them.

Fed officials see rates likely rising to curb high inflation

The U.S. central bank will likely need to raise interest rates again to curb unacceptably high inflation, two Federal Reserve policymakers said on Thursday. "Returning inflation to 2% is a top priority, and I will support the policy path that gets us there while carefully weighing risks to the labor market along the way," Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson told a conference at her regional bank.

ShinyHunters hackers say they breached FBI, stole data on bureau employees

The digital extortion group known as "ShinyHunters" said on Tuesday that it had breached the Federal Bureau of Investigation and stolen data on a huge number of current and former FBI employees. The FBI said the agency "is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating."

Trump asks US Supreme Court to intervene to allow third-country deportations

President Donald Trump's administration asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to continue to deport migrants to countries other than their own without offering them the chance to show the harms they may face — a key tool in his immigration crackdown. The administration in an emergency filing asked the justices to put on hold Boston-based US District Judge Brian Murphy's ruling that the Department of Homeland Security's policy to remove migrants to so-called third countries is unlawful, while it appeals to the Supreme Court.

Five takeaways from Trump's summit with Xi in Washington

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, with talks ‌on trade and artificial intelligence and the growing strategic rivalry between the countries all in the spotlight during an elaborate state visit. Here are some major takeaways from the talks:

US Senate rejects Democratic-led resolution to curb Trump's Iran war powers

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a resolution demanding President Donald Trump end the war in Iran or seek congressional authorization, as Democrats sought to put Republicans on the defensive over the unpopular conflict before November's midterm elections. With polls showing Trump's Republicans struggling to keep their slim congressional majorities on November 3, more of them have been edging away from the war, which has pushed up food and fuel prices.

'Rogue' US DEA agents are operating 'illegally' on Bahamian soil, ambassador says

The Bahamas accused "rogue" DEA ‌agents of operating illegally on its territory and raised the issue with the Trump administration last week, the country's ambassador to the US told Reuters on Thursday. Bahamian officials lodged the grievance on Friday in a meeting in Washington with the US Department of Justice, Wendall Jones, Bahamian ambassador to the US, said.

Republican coordinated campaign spending surges after US Supreme Court ruling

Since the US Supreme Court in June sided with Republicans and struck down federal caps on spending by political parties in coordination with candidates, Republican committees have blown past the former limits as President Donald Trump's party fights to retain control of Congress in November's midterm elections. The Republican committees supporting the party's candidates in Senate and House of Representatives races have exceeded the former national caps by more than $48 million, according to Federal Election Commission spending disclosures for July and August. Their Democratic counterparts also eclipsed the former limits, but by much less — just under $4 million.

US energy secretary seeks refiners' help amid narrow options to curb diesel price

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has contacted executives at several major American refiners in recent days to gauge support for a voluntary restriction on diesel exports as the Trump administration searches for an alternative to a short-term ban, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The effort to enlist companies voluntarily underscores the limited options available to the White House amid surging fuel prices that are pushing inflation higher and beginning to ripple through the broader economy as crucial November midterm elections approach.

Trump rolled back regulations for oil company campaign donors, Democrats say

Two top Democrats in the US Senate launched a report on Thursday saying that oil and gas companies were rewarded with tax breaks, subsidies and rollbacks of environmental regulation after then-candidate Donald Trump asked them for $1 billion in donations during the 2024 campaign. The report by Senators Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, and Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the environment committee, was based ⁠on 19 investigations of regulatory rollbacks by ​the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 13 investigations into nine other agencies and 13 probes into what they called 88 polluters.

US lawmakers propose overhaul of China tech review before Trump-Xi talks

The Republican chair of the US House ⁠Energy and Commerce Committee and the panel's top Democrat unveiled bipartisan legislation to overhaul a federal process that blocks Chinese technology from entering the US market, as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

The bill would rewrite procedures governing the Federal Communications Commission's "Covered List," which has become a central tool in Washington's efforts to restrict Chinese technology on national security grounds. The move comes amid a broader US-China struggle over trade and technology.

Oklahoma must allow taxpayer-funded religious charter school, judge rules

A federal judge in Oklahoma cleared the way on Thursday for a Jewish organization to establish the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a case over religious rights in American education that could eventually reach the US Supreme Court. US District Judge David Russell in Oklahoma City issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from excluding the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation from Oklahoma's charter program. State law requires charter schools ⁠to be nonsectarian.

US senators delay effort to permanently ban Chinese cars

The two US senators backing a permanent legislative ban on Chinese vehicles in the United States agreed on Thursday to delay their plan to use a fast-track procedure to win Senate approval until next week, in order to seek the support of a lone holdout. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno and Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin had planned to seek approval for the procedure -- which requires unanimous Senate backing -- on Thursday, the same day that President Donald Trump met with China's President Xi Jinping in Washington.

FDA nominee Overton says all US vaccines safe as senators press on shots, abortion, vaping

Dr. Heidi Overton, US President Donald Trump's pick to lead the embattled FDA, told senators on Thursday that all US vaccines are safe and effective, as the health committee's Republican chairman pressed her during a contentious confirmation hearing. US ​Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana asked Overton to affirm the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and to keep politics out of agency decisions.

White House asks OpenAI, Anthropic to hold models from British testers, Politico reports

The White House has asked OpenAI and Anthropic to hold new models from British testers until a US review, Politico reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter and a senior US administration official. The White House wants to take steps to make sure US systems are secure before the models are shared with partners, according to the report.

At UN, Netanyahu defends Israel as delegates walk out

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a ⁠forceful defense of Israel's actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out. The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an October 27 vote.

White House pushes for speedy review of voter rolls in hunt for noncitizen voters

The White House has pushed federal agencies to accelerate their review of at least 47 state voter rolls obtained by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an internal email seen by Reuters, part of an unprecedented effort to find noncitizens among registered voters as midterm elections near. DHS has surged hundreds of officers from across the US security and immigration apparatuses in recent months to comb the rolls for evidence of voter fraud under its Unlawful Voter Initiative, current and former officials said.

Mother of man wounded by ICE in Texas describes video ⁠call moments after ​shooting

The last time Wilber Rafael Garces Perez's mother heard his voice was on Sunday afternoon, moments after he had been shot by a federal immigration agent in his car in Austin, Texas, she told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "They crashed into my car and shot me," Flor Perez recalled her son telling her over a video call as she tried to calm him down from her home in Venezuela. Then she saw an officer pulling her son out of the vehicle by his arm.

New York lawsuit says Polymarket's prediction markets are illegal gambling

New York's attorney general sued Polymarket on Thursday, escalating her battle against prediction markets, an industry that she says violates state laws against illegal gambling. Attorney General Letitia James filed her petition in a state court in Manhattan, two months after bringing a similar case against rival Kalshi, and five months after filing similar petitions against two other prediction market operators, Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan.

US Senate rejects resolution curbing Trump's Iran war powers

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the Iran war until hostilities are authorized by Congress. The Senate voted 50 to 49 to reject the resolution, which had passed the House of Representatives in July. The vote was largely along party lines, with most of President Donald Trump's Republicans rejecting the measure and almost every Democrat voting for it.

White House reinstates access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico following judge's order

The White House said on Thursday it has reinstated journalists from CNN, MS ⁠NOW and Politico after a federal judge deemed US President Donald Trump's ban of the three news outlets likely unconstitutional and ordered their access immediately restored. The midday reinstatement came after a chaotic few hours earlier on Thursday when the journalists continued to be blocked from entering the White House grounds. That prompted the three news organizations to request an immediate hearing before US District Judge Tim Kelly, who issued his decision overnight.

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years for New York sexual assault

A New York judge sentenced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting a former production assistant in 2006, following the ex-movie mogul's conviction at a retrial last year. Weinstein, 74, ⁠was convicted in June 2025 of first-degree criminal sexual act for assaulting Miriam Haley at his Manhattan apartment, the culmination of a six-year legal saga that saw his 2020 conviction overturned by New York's highest court. Weinstein ⁠has denied assaulting anyone or having non-consensual sex.

US weekly jobless claims near 57-year lows; price reductions boost new home sales

New claims for US unemployment benefits hovered near 57-year lows last week, suggesting the labor market regained momentum after struggling through much of summer and was so far weathering headwinds from the Middle East conflict. The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report on Thursday, the latest gauge of economic health, suggested the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% this month. The number of people collecting unemployment checks was near three-year lows during the week the government surveyed households for September's jobless rate.

Senate inches closer to US infrastructure permitting reform bill

The US Senate is nearing a deal to reform laws to speed up permitting of large infrastructure projects after the White House compromised on how renewable energy is treated, though a vote is uncertain before the midterm elections, a top Senate Democrat said on Thursday. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the environment committee, and fellow Democrat Martin Heinrich have negotiated permitting legislation with Republican counterparts for months, after the talks had been cut off in December when President Donald Trump halted five near-complete ‌offshore East Coast wind farms.

US eases screwworm ban on Mexican cattle, but beef prices unlikely to budge

The United States plans to reopen ‌the biggest port for livestock inspections along the US-Mexican border on Thursday, expanding America's cattle supplies but not slashing record-high beef prices, government and industry officials said. The US Department of Agriculture said last week it will resume livestock trade at a port in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after blocking imports from Mexico last year in an attempt to keep out New World screwworm.

MS NOW and ​CNN says they have been granted access to White House

US news outlets MS NOW and CNN said on Thursday that they had been granted access to the White House.