Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bolsonaro, Lula about even in polls for Brazil runoff vote

A series of polls on Saturday showed Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about even before Sunday's runoff vote, with the right-wing lawmaker still favored ​to win after finishing ahead of the leftist incumbent in the first round. CNT/MDA POLL

Divided over Israel, Detroit Democrats unite on rising costs for midterm elections

It was her son’s eighth birthday, ​but Dayna Broadnax could not afford a present. Broadnax, a 42-year-old single mother of four in Detroit, said soaring gas and grocery prices ‌left little money ​to pay the bills, let alone buy gifts or throw a birthday party.

Abuse survivors approve $800 million settlement with Archdiocese of New York

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse have agreed to an $800 million settlement with the Archdiocese of New York, lawyers said on Saturday, to resolve claims brought by approximately 1,300 people. The Catholic Archdiocese of New York agreed to the payment in May, one of the largest payouts in a wave of lawsuits over clergy sex abuse in the US.

Trump says Canada tariff deal coming 'soon' at Michigan border rally

President Donald Trump at a Sunday political rally predicted a trade dispute with Canada would be resolved "soon," without providing ‌specifics. At an event in Port Huron, Michigan, to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterms, Trump and other speakers reiterated his oft-expressed position that higher tariffs on Canadian goods are needed because Canada "has been ripping off" the US in trade.

Japan indicts US Marine over Okinawa killing, media say

Japanese prosecutors have indicted a US Marine on charges of robbery and murder of a Japanese woman in the country's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, Japanese media reported. Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel in Naha, the prefectural capital, earlier this month. Ballard has denied the allegations.

The races that will decide control of the US Senate

Democrats need a net gain of at least four seats in November's midterm elections to wrest control of the US Senate from Republicans, with voter ‌discontent over President Donald Trump, the Iran war and rising prices putting races in once-solidly Republican states into play. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, and a Democratic takeover looked unlikely at the start of the year. But Democrats are now competitive in states Trump won handily in 2024, even as Republicans seek to capture Democratic-held seats of their own.

Audi defends decision to stand by Trump on $4 billion US factory in ‌Georgia

The head of German automaker Audi defended on Sunday the company's planned $4 billion investment in a new US plant, announced by President Donald Trump as he campaigns for the November midterm elections. Audi Chief Executive Gernot Doellner stood alongside Trump at a rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia on Saturday, as the US president said Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group, planned to build an assembly plant in Georgia that will produce 200,000 SUVs annually.

Libya summons US envoy to protest at Trump remarks

Libya's foreign ministry summoned the US chargé d'affaires on Sunday to protest against rally statements by President Donald Trump it described as "offensive", after he called the North African nation "terror-infested". The ministry said it rejected any statements that "undermine the dignity of its people or diminish their standing"

Trump has no designs on taking over state elections, US attorney general says

The Justice Department's bid to preemptively block the results of Alaska's Senate race is not an attempt to give US President Donald Trump control of state elections, US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday. Blanche's agency ⁠on Friday sued to stop Alaska ​from certifying the results of its US Senate race if the Republican incumbent candidate loses narrowly. But the Justice ⁠Department is not setting the stage for overturning an election result if it's unfavorable to Trump, Blanche said.

US appeals court appears skeptical of Trump DOJ's lawsuit over California voter rolls

A federal appeals court appeared skeptical on Sunday of a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump's administration that seeks to force California officials to set aside thousands of mail-in ballots the administration says were sent to noncitizens ahead of midterm elections. During a rare weekend oral argument, two judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of ⁠Appeals sharply questioned a Justice Department lawyer about the lawsuit, a high-profile effort by the Trump administration to boost the federal government's role in elections ahead of the November 3 midterms.

US Justice Dept demands California counties help identify suspected noncitizen voters

Less than two weeks before US midterm elections, the US Justice Department has warned election officials across California they could be targets of federal "scrutiny" if they refuse to help identify suspected noncitizens on voter rolls and set aside their mail ballots ​pending citizenship checks. According to letters dated Friday, local officials were given 48 hours to help determine the citizenship status of individuals on federal government lists. The Justice Department shared with Reuters texts of six of the letters on Saturday, which were signed by Bilal Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California.

Obama unloads on Trump while stumping for Democrats ahead ⁠of midterms

US President Donald Trump has been telling voters to view the midterm elections as if he were on the ballot, and on Saturday one of his Democratic predecessors did just that. Ten days out from the elections that will determine control of the closely divided Congress, Barack Obama took to the campaign trail to accuse the Republican president of corruption, deride his strategy for Iran and skewer the gilded aesthetic he has applied to White House renovations.

US growth boosted by AI, but no sign of a turning point higher

In his 2025 ⁠inaugural ​address, President Donald Trump said his return to the White House heralded the start of a new golden age for the US, especially for the economy. He and his advisers contend his plans to slap tariffs on imports, deport some immigrants and curtail the arrival of others, cut personal and corporate taxes and slash regulations would unleash growth, reshore manufacturing, and lead to a boom in the economy's productive capacity.

Analysis-Why Wall Street banks want Democrats to back their capital relief

Wall Street banks are poised to score significant regulatory relief thanks to US President Donald Trump's Republican regulators, but ensuring the changes survive long-term may ultimately require Democratic support. The Federal Reserve is trying to finalize the biggest overhaul of bank capital rules since the 2007-09 financial crisis by year end. Although Trump appointed four of the Fed’s seven governors, Wall Street banks hope his vice chair for ⁠supervision, Michelle Bowman, can secure Democratic backing for the changes too, hoping that will make them harder to unwind, half a dozen industry executives said.

Trump invokes 9/11 in urging Michigan voters to oppose Muslim Senate candidate El-Sayed

President Donald Trump at a Sunday campaign rally ratcheted up his push to link US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to Muslim extremists, comparing him to the 9/11 attackers while saying Democrats ⁠would let violent anti-American terrorists into the United States. "I'm here to keep a jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a ⁠United States senator," the president told a receptive audience in Port Huron, which is in a Michigan area where 66% of the vote went to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Explainer-Four ways US foreign policy could change if Democrats win in November

Nonpartisan analysts say Democrats stand a good chance of winning the US House of Representatives and possibly the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, which would give them a slice of power in Washington after two years of Republican control. Democrats argue that Republicans have allowed President Donald Trump's administration to declare war and control spending, even though the US Constitution reserves those powers for ‌lawmakers.

Anthropic's Claude accessed Georgia state vote count data behind paywall

AI model Claude bypassed ‌a paywall and accessed publicly available US state of Georgia aggregate voter counts without human authorization, Anthropic said in a statement on Sunday. "Claude didn't access the state's voter registration system or change or pull any voting ​records," Anthropic said, adding that it has since taken steps to block these kinds of actions.