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.

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.

Appeals court pauses reinstatement of fired Seattle federal prosecutor

A US appeals court on Sunday put on hold a judge's order reinstating the Seattle area's top federal prosecutor, who had been fired by President Donald Trump. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration's request for an administrative stay while it considers the merits of the dispute. The order for now will keep Roger Rogoff from resuming his role as US attorney for the Western District of Washington.

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."

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.

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.

Woman at center of Cornell rape allegations targeted with threats, lawyer says

The woman who has alleged that she was drugged and raped by Cornell University students has been the target of threats, her lawyer said on Sunday. Thomas Giuffra, who represents the woman identified as "Jane ⁠Doe," told CNN that people have threatened to silence or harm her if she does not withdraw her civil lawsuit alleging that several members of a Cornell fraternity drugged and raped her in 2024.

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."