Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump says Norway has 'indelible stain' for not awarding him Nobel Peace Prize

US President Donald Trump reiterated his complaints on Friday about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, calling it a disgraceful and embarrassing decision that had left a stain on Norway, which hosts the Nobel committee. Trump unleashed on Norway hours after the committee awarded this year's ​prize to Navi Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge who oversaw a UN report that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

US consumer sentiment near record low as frustration over economy mounts

US consumer sentiment slumped further in early October as the rising cost of ​living because of the Middle East conflict soured households' views of the economy, more bad news for President Donald Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The University of ‌Michigan's Surveys of Consumers was ​the latest in a series of recent polls to capture the darkening mood among Americans, who are being squeezed by high inflation and borrowing costs. Trump's approval rating is at the lowest of his political career amid angst over his handling of the economy.

ICC urges members to make sure it can continue despite US sanctions

The International Criminal Court on Friday strongly rejected the sanctions imposed on it by the US government and called on its member states to make sure it can continue to function. "It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do. It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order," the court said in a statement.

Explainer-Is it legal for the US to livestream the Fort ‌Hood shooter's execution?

The Pentagon said on Thursday that it would livestream the firing squad execution of the man who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, raising questions about the legality of the unprecedented announcement. Here's what US law says about public executions and death by firing squad.

US FDA approves Asahi Kasei's drug for persistent herpes infections

The US FDA on Friday approved Japan's Asahi Kasei's drug for persistent herpes simplex virus sores in certain patients with weakened immune systems who have not responded to available antiviral treatments. The oral drug, called pritelivir, was developed by German drugmaker Aicuris, which Asahi Kasei acquired in April

Lawmaker calls for US research funding curbs on more Chinese schools

A Republican lawmaker has called on the Defense Department to put US research funding restrictions on dozens more Chinese universities, including one with ties to top American business leaders. Representative from Michigan John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, this month asked the department to add 58 more Chinese schools and 62 Chinese technology labs to what is known as the 1286 list, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.

Five shot dead at residence in Georgia's Douglas, police says

Five people were shot dead ‌at a residence in Douglas, Georgia, on October 9, the city's police department said on Saturday. Officers with the Douglas Police Department responded late on Friday to a report of shots fired and found five people with gunshot wounds who were all pronounced dead, according to a police statement.

Exclusive-Friend of suspected FBI data thief says he warned 'crazy' teen not to hack bureau

A friend of the suspected thief of a massive cache of personal data from the FBI says he begged the teenager not to do it. Adem El Adeb, 19, told Reuters that ‌he tried to convince Saif al-Din Khader last month that breaking into the FBI would bring the weight of the US government down on his shoulders but that Khader would not be swayed.

Isaias kills four, about 670,000 without power after landfall

Four people died after Hurricane Isaias made landfall early on Saturday, and about 670,000 residents in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi were still without power as the storm weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, according to local authorities and electricity monitoring services. Two of the deaths resulted from trees falling on homes, according to local media and authorities.

US judge rules Justice Department use of voter rolls unlawful

A US judge ruled on Friday that the Justice Department's push to obtain state voter rolls and check them against a federal immigration database to demand that states remove voters it deemed ineligible was unlawful. US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan's decision marked the latest setback for President Donald Trump's push to expand federal control over election administration ahead of the November 3 midterms, with his Republican Party battling to hold majorities in both houses of Congress.

US to livestream Army firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter, Pentagon says

The US will livestream the Army's upcoming firing squad execution of a gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, the Pentagon said, in what would be an unprecedented broadcast of a US execution. Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, is set to become the first person to be executed by firing ⁠squad by the US military ​since 1945.

Anthropic discloses fake tip to police among new rogue AI incidents

An Anthropic artificial intelligence model submitted a false homicide tip to a Philadelphia police website, ⁠among a string of incidents the AI company disclosed on Friday detailing Claude models' unsanctioned manipulation of some government websites. It is the first known instance in which a rogue AI appears to have tried to communicate a bogus tip to authorities, despite instructions not to create accounts or submit anything destructive, while not explicitly barred from submitting forms.

Trump renews bid to fire Fed's Cook with fresh White House inquiry

US President Donald Trump launched a new inquiry into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook weeks before congressional elections, convening an investigative committee and ordering an unprecedented White House hearing into allegations she made false statements on mortgage applications. Trump has been trying to fire Cook for more than a year as he moves ⁠to exert more control over a central bank he says is refusing for political reasons to lower interest rates. Lawyers for Cook said on Friday any fair hearing would show there is no legal basis for firing her.

The midterm strategy driving Democrats deep into Trump country

On paper, Democrat Justin Pearson, a 31-year-old Tennessee state legislator, has little chance of winning the state's 9th Congressional District, which Republican lawmakers redrew months ago from a Democratic stronghold to a deeply Republican seat. Yet this week the national Democratic Party added the rural district to its list of midterm targets in November, part of a broader strategy to compete in President Donald Trump's conservative heartland ​despite long odds of flipping it.

Amelia Earhart expedition heads to Pacific atoll hoping to find her plane

A US-based team of marine archaeologists has set sail for a tiny island in the far western Pacific seeking to examine the latest tantalizing clue to one of the 20th century's great unsolved mysteries: the 1937 disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart. Backed by Purdue University, an institution long affiliated with Earhart and her legacy, the group aims to learn whether a submerged object detected by satellite imagery in the island's lagoon ⁠six years ago is the wreckage of Earhart's twin-engine Lockheed Electra 10-E airplane.

Justice Department probes TV networks over Trump pool boycott

The US Justice Department said on Saturday it is investigating whether television networks violated federal antitrust laws over their decision to boycott covering the White House following its decision to pull the credentials of reporters from three news organizations, including CNN. The networks under investigation are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, the Justice Department said.

Republican opposition widens to livestreamed execution; Trump still weighing it

Republican US lawmakers joined religious leaders and international observers on Friday in opposing a Pentagon plan to livestream an execution by firing squad, while President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether to allow the live feed. Vice President JD Vance expressed ⁠skepticism ​over whether the Pentagon will proceed with livestreaming the scheduled December 3 execution of former US Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who was found guilty in a US military trial of fatally shooting 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.

Pope Leo condemns death penalty as Trump mulls livestreamed execution

Pope Leo renewed his condemnation of the death penalty on Saturday, saying it violates the sanctity of human life and deprives people of the chance of redemption, days after the Pentagon said it planned to livestream an execution. The US military will livestream the upcoming firing squad execution of a gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, in what would be an unprecedented broadcast of a US execution.

Trump cancels trip to Alabama football game amid looming hurricane

US President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned trip to Alabama on Saturday for a college football game with a hurricane expected to impact the city where the Alabama-Georgia contest is to be played. Trump still plans to speak at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, in support of Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, ⁠he said in a social media post.

Explainer-How the US plan to livestream an execution compares with global practice

The U.S. military plans to livestream the Dec. 3 execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. If carried out as planned, death penalty experts said it would mark the first known broadcast or livestream of a lawful execution.

FCC chief defers to Pentagon on airing US execution on TV networks

The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday ⁠that he would defer to the Pentagon on whether US networks could air a planned December 3 military execution, which would be an unprecedented broadcast. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ⁠said on Thursday that the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed.

NFL-Mike Ditka, Hall of Fame player and Bears coach, dies at 86

Mike Ditka, a Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end best known as the slick-haired and mustachioed head coach who led the NFL's Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl triumph in 1986, has died. He was 86. Ditka's death was announced in a statement by his family on Friday. No cause of death was given.

Erie, Pennsylvania shooter killed 8 people, then himself, police say

A 45-year-old man shot and killed eight people in Erie, Pennsylvania, including a pregnant woman and two children, then apparently shot himself to death, authorities said on Saturday at a press conference ‌where they revealed details of the previous evening's shooting. The shooter, who has yet to be identified, died ‌of an apparent self-inflicted wound before officers arrived on the scene, said Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah.

Trump selects Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has appointed Katie Zacharia, a communications adviser for his Truth Social platform, to serve as White ​House press secretary following Karoline Leavitt's departure in August. He said Zacharia has an "unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter."