Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Meta and Snap face major US legal test of youth social media addiction claims

Two teenage plaintiffs who say social media caused them to develop serious mental health problems will take Meta Platforms and Snap to trial in Los Angeles on Wednesday in the latest test of claims raised in thousands of US lawsuits over social media's impact on young people. The case is only the second to go to trial involving individual plaintiffs who allege that social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to ​be addictive. Social media companies lost the first such trial to the tune of $6 million in damages in March.

One injured in fire at South Carolina nuclear site; no contamination reported

A fire on Wednesday at a South Carolina complex that produced plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War left one person with minor injuries, a US Department of Energy spokesperson ​said. The spokesperson, citing officials at the Savannah River Site that includes the Savannah River National Laboratory where the fire was reported, said the fire was extinguished and no contamination has been reported. The spokesperson said the person injured was an employee ‌who was taken to the hospital.

Baseball-Milwaukee brews ​first World Series title with triumph over Rays

The Milwaukee Brewers captured their first World Series title on Wednesday by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to wrap up the Fall Classic in five games and end a 57-year championship drought. Milwaukee starter Jacob Misiorowski tossed 5-2/3 shutout innings, while timely hitting silenced the home crowd at Tropicana Field as the Brewers secured the crown in their first World Series appearance in 44 years.

From transgender rights to a billionaire tax: Key midterm ballot measures

While the battle for Congress in November's US midterm elections captures most of the attention, voters in more than three dozen states will also decide around 150 ballot measures, from the rights of transgender athletes, to abortion access, to the world's first billionaire tax. Here are some of the most notable measures before voters on November 3:

US economic growth accelerates in third quarter

The US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter as resilient consumer spending and AI-driven business investment more than offset the impact of higher oil prices stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of third-quarter GDP on Thursday. Economists ‌polled by Reuters had forecast GDP advancing at a 3.2% pace.

US Justice Department says FBI, ICE agents will not serve as poll monitors in midterms

The US Department of Justice said late on Wednesday that agents and employees from the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will not be serving as monitors during the midterm elections. Here are some details:

Minnesota charges conservative activist O'Keefe, influencer Higby after voting stunt

A Minnesota prosecutor charged conservative activist James O'Keefe and influencer Cam Higby on Wednesday with felony unlawful voting and identity theft for posing as registered voters at Minnesota polling places during the August primary as part of a hidden-camera stunt they later posted online. O'Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, filmed themselves visiting several precincts in Minneapolis and misrepresented their identities by giving election judges the names of registered voters without those voters' knowledge or permission, according to a criminal complaint.

US couple's retirement dream in ruins after residential cruise scrapped in Cambodia

Americans Lynn and Paul Montoya sold their house and cars in Wyoming so they could afford to buy a $179,000 cabin on the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, plus roughly $6,000 a month in fees, to spend their retirement sailing the globe. Their dream lasted 17 months on the ship before its operator abruptly announced this week that soaring fuel prices were forcing it to suspend operations. The company, Villa Vie Residences, informed the Montoyas and some 200 other passengers they had to disembark from the Odyssey at a port in Cambodia, along with pets and any personal items they could carry from their homes at sea.

Fed's Warsh announces changes in how future FOMC meetings will go

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Wednesday the central bank will begin setting aside one of ‌its eight regularly scheduled policy meetings next year and two in 2028 to weigh major issues facing the institution and will not use them to consider changes in monetary policy. “We believe eight meetings per year is the right number for the (Federal Open Market Committee), but in 2027, one meeting will focus exclusively on broad monetary policy strategy, with neither a vote on the federal funds rate nor a policy statement anticipated,” Warsh said at a press conference.

US Health Secretary Kennedy opens access to some unapproved peptides

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday pushed forward a policy allowing licensed pharmacies and physicians to compound certain unapproved peptides while regulators consider whether to formally permit their use in compounded medicines. Published in the Federal Register as Kennedy's "enforcement discretion policy," it enables US compounding of six peptides, ‌including the popular BPC-157 and TB-500 — often taken together in a combination popularly known as the "Wolverine stack" — without fear of FDA reprisal.

Exclusive-Pentagon treating military base freezer malfunctions as suspected cyberattack, officials say

The Pentagon is treating the spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August as a suspected hack, according to four officials familiar with the matter. One of the officials said the military investigators were in touch with their French counterparts about a similar cyberattack on commercial freezers that disrupted supermarkets there earlier this month.

Nevada unions, politicians caught between AI job creation and destruction

On more than 100,000 acres of Nevada desert east of Reno, one of the world's largest concentrations of data centers is taking shape, providing years of work for thousands of electricians, pipefitters and other union tradespeople who are building it. About 400 miles southeast, along the iconic Las Vegas Strip, the AI technology powered by such data centers is taking a toll: Self-driving Zoox and Waymos are replacing human-driven taxis and valets; casino floor bartenders are being replaced by robots; and MGM's massive call center is slashing hundreds of jobs.

Judge says Trump bid to set aside California ballots would ‘wreak havoc’ on democracy

A US judge strongly rebuked the Trump administration on Wednesday by rejecting a request by the Justice Department to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots for the midterm elections from more than 20,000 registered voters the department alleges are likely noncitizens. The decision marks the latest setback for President Donald Trump's effort to boost the federal government's role in elections ahead of the November 3 midterms, with his Republican Party locked in a tight battle to retain control of both houses of Congress.

Trump expands hunt for noncitizen voters with broad subpoena campaign before midterms

The Trump administration has issued more than 100 subpoenas demanding records on tens of thousands of voters in at least 13 states, part of an escalating effort ahead of next week’s midterm elections to uncover evidence of unlawful voting by people who aren’t US citizens. Most of the subpoenas documented by Reuters were issued ⁠to state and local election officials in the past ​three months, though some date to the start of the year. Many were previously unreported, revealing a federal effort to identify potential noncitizen voters that is broader than publicly known. It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in ⁠US federal elections. Legal experts say the records could be used to contest results in close midterm races, despite scant evidence that voting by noncitizens is widespread.

Lawsuit seeks to block Trump administration effort to find noncitizen voters

A Trump administration initiative to deploy hundreds of investigators to hunt for noncitizen voters is illegally intimidating naturalized US citizens and subjecting them to possible disenfranchisement, according to a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups that seeks to end the practice. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday in California federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union and affiliates also alleges that the administration is demanding state election officials deny ballots to certain voters based on flawed eligibility data, potentially undermining confidence in next week's midterm elections.

AI-related investment, consumers likely boosted US economic growth in third quarter

US economic growth likely accelerated in the third quarter as resilient consumer spending and AI-driven business investment more than offset the impact of higher oil prices stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. The anticipated strength would stand in stark contrast ⁠to households' downbeat assessment of the economy, reflected in President Donald Trump's record-low approval ratings and a sharp deterioration in consumer sentiment. The Commerce Department will publish its advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday, less than a week before Tuesday's midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Trump confronts a new midterm battleground: South Carolina

President Donald Trump will stage a campaign rally in South Carolina for the second time in two weeks on Thursday, as new polls show the Senate race between incumbent Republican Darline Graham and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews is a toss-up. With control of Congress at stake in Tuesday's midterm elections, some Republicans are beginning to fret that their traditional stronghold of South Carolina has become a battleground state.

CNN, MS NOW, Politico expand lawsuit over White House access limits

CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Wednesday expanded their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's efforts to ban them from the White House, saying even after ​a judge ordered their access restored they have continued to face retaliation for their news coverage. The media outlets in an amended complaint asked a federal judge in Washington to prevent the White House from barring them from serving in a press pool for other reporters in the close quarters of the Oval Office and Air Force One.

Farmer-funded attack ads targeting Republicans air across rural America

A group of farmers is helping to fund $3 million in attack ads against Republicans in some of the most competitive US midterm election races, criticizing the party's candidates on cost of living and animal welfare issues. That sum is a small slice of the billions being poured into the November 3 midterms. But it comes as President Donald ⁠Trump's Republican Party already faces headwinds among typically stalwart rural supporters due to concerns about tariffs and high fuel costs driven up by the war in Iran.

Trump touts projects and payouts on the campaign trail. Many are uncertain

US President Donald Trump has touted billions of dollars in new factories, energy projects and jobs while campaigning for Republicans in competitive races before the November election, but several projects remain uncertain or years from delivering economic benefits, a Reuters review found. Stop after stop, Trump has pointed to the projects as evidence that his economic policies are paying off, including an Alaska LNG pipeline, an Iowa steel mill, a Texas power plant, a Kentucky pharmaceutical project and a North Carolina quartz mine.

Cyberattack concealed political spending by big donors before US midterm elections

The Federal Election Commission restored its electronic filing system Wednesday night after taking it offline for nearly 41 hours to contain a cyberattack, which temporarily concealed spending from big donors as political donations ramp up in the final days of the midterms. Campaign watchdogs sounded alarms as the outage dragged into its third evening. ⁠Super PACs and ​other groups could not file mandatory 24- and 48-hour reports that show how much money they are spending to help or hurt candidates at the polls, shrouding the most recent political spending from public view.

Airline groups urge US CDC to reconsider Ebola declaration requirements

Major American and foreign airlines urged the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reconsider new rules requiring all US-bound travelers to attest they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the prior 21 days. The International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America, in separate previously unreported letters reviewed by Reuters, urged the CDC to reconsider the plan announced last week that takes effect on November 3 and is aimed at preventing entry by people exposed to Ebola.

Analysis-Fed highlights economic strength but muddies outlook for Treasuries

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady on Wednesday as expected, but it was not able to comfort bond investors concerned about what a deliberate pace of policy tightening will mean for the outlook for longer-term government bonds. The central bank described an economy strong enough to keep inflation elevated, yet refrained from raising rates immediately. That deepened uncertainty over how much further policy may need to tighten, analysts said, and over how much compensation investors could demand to hold longer-dated Treasuries, which have soared this year to their highest yields in two decades.

Trump and Obama trade barbs in closing week of US midterm election

Neither man is on the ballot but Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former President Barack Obama took prominent roles on the campaign trail on Wednesday, with less than a week to go before congressional races that could shift the balance of power in Washington. While Trump ⁠has been on a weeks-long campaign blitz that has underlined Republican concerns about losing control of Congress for the final two years of his presidency, Obama had kept a relatively low public profile until the past week, during which he has delivered blistering speeches criticizing Trump.

US weekly jobless claims hover near 57-year lows

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits hovered near 57-year lows last week amid labor market resilience. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the week ended October 24, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 199,000 claims for the latest week.

Alvin Hellerstein, federal judge who oversaw Trump, Maduro and September 11 cases, dies at 92

Alvin Hellerstein, a senior federal judge who ⁠oversaw many high-profile cases in nearly three decades on the bench, including matters involving US President Donald Trump and the prosecution of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, died on Wednesday. He was 92. Hellerstein had served on the Manhattan federal court since 1998, ⁠after former Democratic President Bill Clinton appointed him. He was surrounded by family when he died, a court spokesperson said.

Utah criminally charges Kalshi with promoting illegal gambling

Utah's attorney general brought criminal charges against Kalshi and two of its top executives, accusing the prediction market platform of illegally promoting online gambling and allowing an undercover agent to place wagers on sports events. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, a Republican, filed the charges against Kalshi and its two co-founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, a day after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued to block the state from enforcing its anti-gambling laws against the company.

AI data center boom faces backlash at US ballot box

Voters in 10 US states will decide on Election Day whether to curb data center development in their communities, as the rapid buildout needed to power the AI boom stirs local opposition. Resistance is especially visible in Ohio, one of the country's fastest-growing data center markets. No state has more data center-related ballot measures, with voters in more than a dozen jurisdictions set to consider 21 proposals alongside Tuesday's midterm elections, according to the nonpartisan research group Ballotpedia.

Screwworm infests dog in Arizona, widening US cases

New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that ‌eats warm-blooded animals alive, has infested a dog in Arizona, widening cases to a third US state, the US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. The first ‌detection in Arizona was in Cochise County, which borders Mexico, according to the USDA.

Leak website releases data on thousands of US Homeland Security employees

The leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets said on Wednesday it has released data on more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security employees, including details about officials working in sensitive fields such as surveillance and human intelligence. DHS said in a statement it was "aware of a potential breach ​and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively." The agency said it was working to ensure its employees were properly protected and would update the public "when more information is available.”