Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Judge bars building of Texas-Mexico border barrier in Big Bend National Park

A federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from building a US-Mexico border barrier through Big Bend National Park in Texas while courts consider an environmental lawsuit challenging the project. The ruling came nearly seven weeks after US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney ​Scott paused construction amid bipartisan criticism of the border project and its potential impact on the park's landscape and wildlife.

Japan's Takaichi protests to US after Marine accused of murder in Okinawa

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi registered a protest with the United States ​on Sunday after a US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbing and murdering a Japanese woman in Okinawa. Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing ‌Anna Yagi, 39, in ​a hotel in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture, on Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, police said. Ballard denied the allegations, police said.

Trump picks John Coale as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that lawyer and current Belarus envoy John Coale, who has been credited with the release of hundreds of prisoners, would be his special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners last month after talks with Coale, who has been talking to Minsk for more than a year.

Exclusive-ShinyHunters hacker in FBI data theft detained in Jordan, cooperating with bureau, sources say

A suspected member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, which says it stole data on every FBI employee, was detained in Jordan this week and is cooperating with the FBI, three people familiar with the matter ‌told Reuters. Saif al-Din Khader was detained by Jordanian authorities, the three sources said. Two of them said he was brought into custody on Tuesday. Reuters could not immediately determine the circumstances of Khader’s detention or where he is being held. Two sources said that he is helping the FBI and global law enforcement locate the other hackers in the group.

Exclusive-Trump visa policies weigh on Columbia journalism program as admissions pause

The Trump administration's changing visa policies caused a sharp drop in international applications to Columbia University and contributed to the university pausing admissions to one of its journalism programs, four people familiar with the matter said. The journalism school announced on Thursday it was pausing admissions to its Master of Arts offering to conduct a "critical evaluation," without giving further details about the reasons.

New term gives US Supreme Court's Thomas and Alito more chances to wield power

The new US Supreme Court term that begins on Monday presents opportunities for its two eldest and most conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, to help push US law further rightward on contentious issues such as gun rights, religion in public schools and voting restrictions. Thomas, 78, has served on the top US judicial ‌body since 1991, making him the second-longest-serving justice in American history. Alito, 76, has served since 2006.

In crude Ohio rally speech, Trump says he may not help if Democrats win

US President Donald Trump used an Ohio rally on Saturday to mix profane attacks on Democrats with promises of financial help if Republicans win the midterms and a warning that he would be less willing to work with the state if Democrats prevail. "Just get out and vote," Trump said at a rally for Republican candidates, including US Senator Jon ‌Husted and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. "If you do that, we're going to win, and we're going to win big, and we're going to shove it up their ass."

Kennedy Center Honors to be held at Capital One Arena amid demolition fight

This year's Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Washington's Capital One Arena as the Trump administration faces legal and congressional challenges over plans to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a center spokesperson said on Friday. This will be the first time the honors are not held at the center's Opera House since the awards' inception in 1978.

Former US congressman sentenced to 10 years for secretly lobbying for Venezuela

Former US Congressman David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for illegally lobbying US officials to ease pressure on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government. Rivera, a Republican who represented southern Florida in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, was convicted at trial in May of lobbying US officials on Venezuela's behalf in 2017 without registering as a foreign lobbyist as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

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.

Cornell president vows 'serious look' at fraternities, sororities in wake of rape allegations

Cornell University will examine the role of fraternities and sororities on campus following an outcry over the school's handling of a student's rape allegations, the Ivy League school's president said on Saturday. A civil lawsuit filed last month by the woman, who alleges she was drugged and raped in 2024 by several members of the Chi Phi fraternity, has sparked outrage and soul-searching at Cornell over its campus culture at the school in Ithaca, New York.

Tennessee prison chief resigns after failed execution

The head of ⁠the Tennessee Department of Correction will step down this month, state officials said on Saturday, days after convicted murderer Christa Pike was left gravely ill from the state's failed attempt to execute her by lethal injection. The botched execution on Wednesday left Pike unconscious, intubated and hooked to a mechanical ventilator to breathe, her lawyers wrote in a Friday court filing. It is the state's second failed execution attempt this year, prompting Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to halt attempts to carry out the death penalty for the rest of 2026.

NY governor attacks law enforcement's handling of 2024 Cornell rape investigation

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday faulted ​police and prosecutors for failing to fully investigate an alleged gang rape in 2024 at Cornell University, saying she was "deeply disturbed" by how the incident was handled. Hochul was speaking at a press conference alongside state Attorney General Letitia James, whom she appointed on Thursday night as a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations.

Fed may skip October but pull rate hike trigger in December

Federal Reserve policymakers were already leaning against delivering a second straight rate hike this month to give them time to sift through ⁠more economic data before pulling the trigger again, and a cooler than expected job market report Friday leaves that approach intact. Still-to-come data, particularly the closely-watched consumer price index measure of inflation coming just before the Fed's October 27-28 policy meeting, could yet shift that calculus.

At Cornell, rape allegations spark outrage, soul-searching over campus culture

Cornell University student Sophia Riley Sim skipped classes this week, consumed by allegations in a lawsuit that several members of a fraternity raped a young woman in 2024 and troubled by how her university handled the case. "Cornell has failed our community through its lack of accountability, transparency, and failure to address the state of the Cornell student body at this time," Sim, a junior, said at a public hearing ⁠on sexual assault ​organized by Cornell's Student Assembly on Thursday.

Tennessee execution survivor Christa Pike unconscious on ventilator, lawyers say

Convicted killer Christa Pike was left gravely ill, unconscious and hospitalized on life support after Tennessee's failed attempt to execute her by lethal injection, her lawyers said on Friday, providing the first detailed account of the injuries she suffered. Hospital staff were working to save Pike's life and clear the drug pentobarbital from her system, her attorneys said in an emergency motion, which seeks a court order for Tennessee's Department of Correction to preserve evidence from Wednesday night's botched execution.

Aboard the USS George Washington, young sailors adjust to war with Iran

An emergency alert blares from a loudspeaker, and Damon Dennard and other sailors on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington are scrambling. Dennard, 23, is readying bombs for loading onto aircraft as his crewmates race to their positions. "It has been eventful," says Dennard, an aviation ordnanceman airman apprentice. Once the alert ends, he takes a breath, sits on one of the bombs and jokes that he probably expected an easier deployment.

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."

Pennsylvania measles cases near 1,000 as outbreak spreads

Pennsylvania's health department reported ⁠977 measles cases as of Friday, according to its website, as the state continues to battle a fast-growing outbreak of the disease. Here are more details:

US Supreme Court to kick off term with bid by Big Oil to toss climate suits

The US Supreme Court begins its new nine-month term on Monday with arguments in a major case involving a bid by oil companies ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to scuttle a lawsuit by officials in Boulder, Colorado, seeking monetary damages for harms caused by climate change. It is the first of several important cases already teed up for the term, with disputes involving issues such as President Donald Trump's immigration policies and state-level bans on assault-style rifles to be heard in the coming months. The court's 6-3 conservative majority has moved US law dramatically rightward in recent years.

US Coast Guard finds debris ‌from missing medical aircraft off Nantucket

The US Coast Guard said late on Saturday it found debris from a ‌medical transport aircraft off the shore of Massachusetts' Nantucket island and was searching for six people who were on board. The Federal Aviation Administration told the Coast Guard early on Saturday that it had lost contact with a Gulfstream jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston. Several hours later, the ​Coast Guard said in a statement that it "located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft."