Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump welcomes China's Xi with fanfare, but no breakthroughs emerge

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 of breakthroughs on thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran. The two leaders and their wives attended 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.

Hurt by Trump, Senate Republicans plan to bolster affordability credentials before midterms

US Senate Republicans aim to improve their election prospects by voting on legislation that seeks to ​protect consumers from rising electricity bills caused by data centers, hoping to win over voters struggling with inflation stoked by President Donald Trump's war with Iran. Republicans had the option to depart Washington on Thursday and stay out until after the ‌November 3 midterm election. But they ​chose to return next week to take up the Ratepayer Protection Act at the behest of Senator Jon Husted, who is trailing the Democratic candidate, former Senator Sherrod Brown, in Ohio, a state Trump won by more than 11 points in 2024.

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.

Fear of democratic socialists drives November turnout plans for some Trump voters

Don Jernigan, a retiree in Virginia Beach, is disappointed by most politicians, Democrat and Republican. That includes President Donald Trump, whom he helped elect in 2024. But Jernigan, 76, says he plans to “hold his nose” and vote for Republican candidates in November’s midterm elections. In his view, "the Democrats are now being controlled by the democratic socialists," ‌he said, "and we’ve fought wars to keep that away from us.”

Analysis-Talk of US export ban on diesel deepens US crude futures' discount to global benchmark

Washington's talk of a possible ban on diesel exports is widening the gap between US crude oil futures and the global Brent benchmark, a signal that markets expect US refiners to process less crude oil if their diesel output gets stuck at home. While that may bring some immediate relief to high domestic diesel prices, which this week hit a record $6.528 a gallon and stirred a political uproar, the bigger discount for domestic crude futures could be a double-edged omen: an indicator of higher gasoline prices to come, while in the longer term diesel prices could also begin rising again.

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.

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.

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 soil 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, the 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 Fed plans to raise bank oversight thresholds, sources say

The US Federal Reserve is working on a plan to raise the asset thresholds that trigger stricter oversight of big banks, four people with knowledge of the matter said, which would allow some lenders to avoid costly additional regulation and potentially ⁠spur consolidation. The central bank is expected to soon ​propose reindexing the thresholds where banks become subject to stress tests of their balance sheets, liquidity, capital and other more stringent rules, to account for inflation and economic growth, the people said. Three of the people ⁠said they expect the Fed to propose the changes later this year.

Americans navigate 'wild West' of health insurance options after dropping Obamacare plans

When Stacy Cox, a self-employed photographer in Kanab, Utah, dropped her Obamacare health insurance plan this year, routine preventive care became a financial dilemma. Now she finds herself weighing $1,200 for a mammogram against survival of her business. "It's scary," the 49-year-old Cox told Reuters. "Every month we come to the table and we have a discussion. Is it time to close a business? Is it time to seek employment somewhere in the hopes of gaining health insurance?"

Trump-Xi state dinner guest list includes SpaceX’s Musk, Nvidia’s Huang and LVMH’s Arnault

US President Donald Trump hosted a State Dinner on Thursday at the White House honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping. Here is the list of invited guests, according to the White House press office.

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.

Rush of money, campaign stops show Republicans feel vulnerable in Iowa, Kansas

With midterm elections just over a month away, Republican heavyweights have been jetting across the country to campaign and outside groups have been pouring money into races in what is normally the party’s safest territory -- Farm Belt states like Iowa and Kansas. The influx of money and attention shows just how vulnerable Republicans are as high costs, especially for gasoline and diesel, have disappointed the party’s usual supporters, according to ​campaign strategists and political scientists. Republican voters have increasingly soured on President Donald Trump's handling of the economy, part of why his approval rating fell to 32% in a September 21 Reuters/Ipsos poll, the lowest of his political career.

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.

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.

First US trial against TikTok to ⁠test claims platform ​fueled teen mental health crisis

An Alabama jury will hear the state's claims that TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance made the platform addictive to young users and misled consumers about its safety, in the first case against the company to reach trial in the sweeping litigation over social media's impact on teen wellbeing. The trial, which is scheduled to kick off Monday in Montgomery state court and expected to last two to three weeks, could provide a rare look inside TikTok, which has settled prior cases selected for trial and sought to keep details of its operations from public view.

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.

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.

Rising sea destroys homes, erases beaches in California. Is worse to come?

In Malibu, the Pacific Ocean opened a sinkhole near the home of movie star Nicolas Cage and wreaked havoc on beachfront property. Along Beach Road in the city of Dana Point, waves destroyed one home and forced the city to vacate or restrict occupancy to 16 others. Such damage up and down Southern California this summer was provoked by a series of Eastern Pacific cyclones and hurricanes, enhanced by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño. Although the hurricanes did not make landfall in California, they generated swells that slammed into the coast, denuding beaches of sand and transforming a coastline that is as much a part of California's identity as Hollywood or Silicon Valley.

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.

Explainer-Why the court fight over the White House media ban isn't over

US President Donald Trump's administration complied on Thursday with a judge's order to restore White House access to three media outlets he had banned last week — ​CNN, Politico, and MS NOW — but litigation over the ban is not over yet. Here is what to know about the next steps in the lawsuit filed by the three media outlets.