Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Palestinians from Gaza rebuild in Mexico City through food

Loud noises still cause anxiety for Mohammed Abed, a Palestinian systems engineer from Gaza. The planes that crisscross the skies of Mexico City and the rumble of summer thunder evoke memories of the 2025 Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza, where an air strike killed his 4-year-old daughter. The 36-year-old arrived in Mexico last spring with 17 family members seeking asylum. These days, Tuesday mornings begin not with fear of bombardment but with work. Before ​sunrise, he loads his motorized tricycle with Palestinian food to sell at an open-air market in Condesa, one of the capital's most cosmopolitan neighborhoods.

Alleged Cornell gang rape prompts calls to revise New York sexual assault laws

Some New York lawmakers are urging a revamp of the state's sexual assault statutes to make it easier to prosecute cases involving intoxicated victims, following ​renewed outrage over an alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house.

The Tompkins County district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, said this week that his office initially declined to pursue charges against the students accused of raping the ‌woman partly due to the constraints of ​current New York law.

Supreme Court to weigh Trump's mandatory immigration detention policy

The US Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to hear a dispute over a policy by President Donald Trump's administration that subjects millions of immigrants who entered the United States illegally to mandatory detention during their deportation proceedings. In this latest legal battle over Trump's hardline immigration agenda to reach the top US judicial body, the justices face an issue that has divided lower courts as numerous lawsuits by migrants and advocacy groups challenging the policy have played out. The policy is one of a number of measures his administration has taken in its pursuit of Trump's goal of mass deportation.

US alleges California man smuggled export-controlled servers to China

A California man was arrested on federal charges alleging he smuggled to China more than $300 million worth of export-controlled computer servers containing US-manufactured graphics processing units commonly used for AI applications, the US Justice Department said on Thursday. DETAILS AND QUOTES:

Trump Medicare drug pricing model may apply to only four companies after exemptions

A Trump administration rule to cut hospital drug prices for Medicare patients may apply to as few as four drugmakers after exempting companies that signed separate "most favored nation" pricing agreements with the administration, according ‌to the finalized rule. According to the rule published on Wednesday evening, Medicare's regulator plans to waive the requirement manufacturers that have signed separate deals with the White House participate in the price-setting model, called GLOBE.

US Postal Service to take extra steps to ensure ballot deliveries

The US Postal Service said Thursday it will take a series of extraordinary measures to ensure the delivery of millions of ballots for next month's 2026 congressional elections, including extending hours at some retail branches. USPS said in a memo seen by Reuters that retail branches may extend hours starting Oct. 4 through the Nov. 3 election to handle ballots and establish a "Ballot Postmark Only" line at retail counters or a drive-through Ballot Mail option. USPS also will conduct expedited handling, extra deliveries,

US judge denies request to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty after mistrial

A Massachusetts judge who oversaw Lindsay Clancy's murder trial rejected a request on Thursday by her lawyers to declare her not guilty of murder, saying prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find her responsible for killing her three young children in 2023. Clancy's lawyers had urged Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth to conclude that prosecutors had failed to prove she could be held criminally responsible for her children's deaths despite suffering from what they said was mental illness. Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury deadlocked.

US Judge blocks housing grant cuts while anti-DEI challenge proceeds

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from canceling nearly $56 million in housing counseling grants, preserving the funding while a legal challenge to the cuts moves forward. In an order issued late on Wednesday, US District Judge Jia Cobb suspended the September 30 deadline that would ordinarily cause the funds to lapse ‌and revert to the Treasury, writing that she was "not presently in a position to grant or deny" the groups' request for broader relief but was also hesitant to allow the date to pass if doing so would cause the plaintiffs to permanently lose access to the funding.

US congressman demands Starbucks close its first stores in China's Xinjiang

A US lawmaker has called on Starbucks to close its first stores in China's Xinjiang, calling it a "morally bankrupt decision" to do business in a region where Uyghurs face repression. China denies widespread accusations of abuses of the Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority, saying its policies in the far-western region were aimed at combating terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

Christa Pike getting 'life-saving medical care' after surviving Tennessee execution

Christa Pike was critically ill and receiving "life-saving medical ‌care" in a Nashville hospital on Thursday hours after she survived two attempts by Tennessee to execute her with lethal injections, her lawyers said, renewing scrutiny of capital punishment in the US. Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in the 1990s after being convicted of a murder she carried out as a teenager. Her botched execution on Wednesday at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the second this year in Tennessee, highlights the difficulties US states face in carrying out lethal injections and finding suitable alternative methods of capital punishment.

Parole granted to ex-officer convicted of Black man's 2018 murder in Dallas

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was granted parole on Thursday after serving seven years of a 10-year prison sentence for the 2018 shooting death of a Black man while he was eating ice cream in his apartment, according to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. Guyger, who is white, was sentenced in 2019. A Texas jury found her guilty of murder for shooting her neighbor, Botham Jean, after she mistakenly walked into his apartment thinking it was her own.

Amazon to invest $1 billion over five years in US data center communities

Amazon's cloud computing division said on Friday it would invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in US communities where it has data centers and vowed to tackle their impacts on electricity and water usage. Data centers, which provide the computing power to train and run AI models, have drawn opposition in communities nationwide over concerns about electricity demand, utility costs and other local impacts. The backlash poses a political challenge for Republicans heading into the US midterm elections on November 3.

With a mixed scorecard, Trump poised to test his powers again at US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court begins its new nine-month term on Monday much as it ended its last one, confronted with more cases involving President Donald Trump's far-reaching policies and aggressive uses of power that will keep testing how far the justices will let him expand his authority. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, wrapped up ⁠its last term in June, one dominated by legal ​battles centered on Trump's exertion of presidential powers. The justices gave the Republican president several major wins and a few big losses.

Democratic surge predicted to hit Republican states hardest, scrambling Senate strategy

Kentucky Democrats say they have a ⁠once-in-a-generation opportunity to flip a US Senate seat in a Republican stronghold. But a couple of things are missing: their governor and money. Kentucky is one of several states that President Donald Trump won by double digits in 2024 where Republicans are significantly trailing the president's performance, an indication that Democrats have expanded their pathway to a majority in November's midterm elections. It's not clear, however, that the party will invest its limited resources into flipping seats once considered to be out of reach.

US judge finds law criminalizing noncitizen voting unconstitutional

A US judge dismissed a federal case on Thursday that accused a Jamaican national of illegally voting, finding the law criminalizing noncitizen voting was unconstitutional and delivering a blow to the Trump administration's campaign against alleged election fraud. The ruling by Miami-based US District Judge David Leibowitz applies only to the case of Florida resident Chelsea Cox, who was charged in October 2025 with illegally voting in the 2020 election. It is not binding for judges in other ⁠cases.

Trump appears at Texas rally with former NBA star Dennis Rodman

US President Donald Trump has talked a lot about wanting to meet Kim Jong Un again but so far his entreaties to the North Korean leader have gone unanswered. Can former NBA star Dennis Rodman help prompt a rebound in their relationship? Rodman was in Trump's entourage on Thursday as the president spoke at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, before heading to a campaign rally in Durant, Oklahoma. No reason was given for Rodman's presence, but he has a local connection through his days playing college basketball in Durant.

Water wars come to the ballot box in Arizona

On Phoenix campaign signs, Arizona-wide TV ads and in debates for key US House races, one issue has bubbled to the top of politics in this drought-hit state: Water. Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat seeking reelection in the November 3 midterm polls, says, “Arizona’s water is for Arizonans” in ​a TV commercial claiming she fought the federal government this year for the state's fair share of the drought-stricken Colorado River.

US judge denies request to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty after mistrial

A Massachusetts judge who oversaw Lindsay Clancy's murder trial rejected a request on Thursday by her lawyers to declare her not guilty of murder, saying prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find her responsible for killing her three young children in 2023. Clancy's lawyers had urged Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth to conclude that prosecutors had failed to prove she could be held criminally responsible for her children's deaths despite suffering from what they said was mental illness. Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury deadlocked.

New York ⁠attorney general named special prosecutor in Cornell rape probe

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she signed an executive order on Thursday appointing state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case of the alleged 2024 gang rape of a Cornell University student. The student filed a civil lawsuit last month saying several members of a campus fraternity drugged and assaulted her in 2024. Hochul said on Thursday that newly released information raised questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by Tompkins County prosecutors not to prosecute the case.

Trump's $500 Obamacare 'rebate' checks land in prime political battlegrounds

President Donald Trump's administration is sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans this week, in a move that strategists say could potentially influence races that may determine whether his Republicans maintain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. The White House says the payments are a refund for what it describes as excessive fees charged to people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Factbox-US states take steps to curb diesel and gasoline prices

US states are ⁠taking a ​range of steps to curb diesel and gasoline prices that have soared in recent months due to supply disruptions stemming from the US war with Iran, Ukrainian strikes on Russia's refineries, and dwindling global inventories. Diesel hit a record of $6.53 a gallon a week ago, according to AAA data.

Explainer-What we know about the Cornell University rape investigation

New York state prosecutors have reopened an investigation into the alleged 2024 gang rape of a Cornell University student, after the woman filed a civil lawsuit last month saying several members of a campus fraternity drugged and assaulted her. The case has prompted public outcry and raised questions about how law enforcement and the university initially responded after the woman, then 20, reported the incident to police a few weeks after it occurred.

US job growth slows sharply in September; unemployment rate rises to 4.2%

US job growth slowed more than expected in September, but that likely does not signal a material shift in the labor market, with the weakness likely related to a calendar quirk. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 133,000 rise in August, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing 90,000 after a previously reported 162,000 surge in August.

Bipartisan members of Congress move to block demolition of Kennedy Center

When President Donald Trump took a wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House, it took Washington by surprise. Now, there is a move in the US Congress to avoid a second such surprise with legislation to prohibit him from demolishing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The maneuver comes ⁠on the heels of a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to provide at least 30 days' notice before taking steps to demolish the building. Trump himself had told reporters in mid-September that unless his name was on the Kennedy Center, "It's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down."

US looks to expand use of canoe-sized drones to deter migrant crossings

The Pentagon may expand its use of autonomous surveillance boats on the Rio Grande and in the Gulf of Mexico after the canoe-sized vessels helped authorities detect and deter illegal border crossings and narcotics trafficking during a pilot program that began in January, a US official said. The unmanned surface vessels, built by San Diego-based startup Seasats, patrol the river for long periods without crews ⁠and are part of a growing push by the military and law enforcement agencies to use relatively inexpensive, autonomous systems for surveillance and security missions.

Democratic surge predicted to hit Republican states hardest, scrambling Senate strategy

Kentucky Democrats say they have a ⁠once-in-a-generation opportunity to flip a US Senate seat in a Republican stronghold. But a couple of things are missing: their governor and money. Kentucky is one of several states that President Donald Trump won by double digits in 2024 where Republicans are significantly trailing the president's performance, an indication that Democrats have expanded their pathway to a majority in November's midterm elections. It's not clear, however, that the party will invest its limited resources into flipping seats once considered to be out of reach.

Massachusetts man indicted for repeated calls, texts to Stephen Miller's wife

Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Massachusetts man with cyberstalking Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, accusing him of repeatedly calling and texting her and sending vulgar messages to her and her parents. Federal prosecutors in Boston secured an indictment charging John Anthony Proia III, 41, with cyberstalking a former political adviser and prominent figure in the Republican Party who is married to a high-level official.

Renee Good's family sues Trump administration over fatal Minneapolis shooting

The family of Renee Good, one of two US citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, sued the Trump administration on Thursday, saying there ‌had been "no accountability" for her killing during deportation sweeps. Good, 37, was shot dead in her car by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ‌agent on January 7 when she and her wife joined one of the city's daily protests against masked and armed federal agents deployed to Minnesota to arrest migrants for deportation.

Judge restores court-appointed Seattle federal prosecutor fired by Trump

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to reinstate a court-appointed federal prosecutor in Seattle whom President Donald Trump fired less than an hour after his appointment. Chief Judge Stanley Bastian ​of the federal court in Yakima, Washington, ruled preliminarily for Roger Rogoff in a lawsuit he filed in July after his ouster as the court-appointed US attorney for the Western District of Washington.