Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Appeals court rules against Trump administration on New York highway funds

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration overstepped its authority in April when it withheld $73.5 million in highway funding from New York over the state's refusal to revoke some commercial driver licenses issued to foreign drivers. The US Transportation Department (USDOT) withheld the funding, citing an audit ​that found New York had been routinely issuing commercial driver licenses to foreign drivers illegally.

Tanker collides with cruise ship in New Orleans, 32 hospitalized

A tanker ship collided with a luxury paddle wheeler docked in New Orleans on the Mississippi River on Friday, causing the cruise ​vessel to roll over and sink as passengers scurried to disembark and dozens were flung into the water. All aboard the stricken ship were accounted for after harbor personnel, firefighters and onlookers ‌scrambled to pull fallen ​passengers to safety, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno told a press conference.

Son of ex-CIA chief Brennan charged over sexual images of minor girls

The son of former CIA Director John Brennan was charged on Friday with "transportation of child pornography," according to court documents and a US law enforcement official. Kyle Brennan, of Warrenton, Virginia, was charged after an FBI review of his cellphone found 88 images that appeared to depict minor girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

US aviation shutdown blamed on L3 Harris installed router

A massive, nearly five-hour shutdown of the US aviation system that has disrupted more than 20,000 flights since Friday may have been the fault of a single router installed by government contractor L3Harris, government officials said Saturday. The incident is the latest painful example of the aging US air traffic control telecom system and ‌the struggles to replace systems while keeping the old communications working.

Free speech nonprofit says US to end efforts to curb Facebook group and app reporting ICE activity

Free speech group FIRE said on Friday the US government agreed to end efforts to press Apple and Facebook to restrict platforms created by two Americans reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. FIRE sued the federal departments of Justice and Homeland Security in February.

US flight shutdown exposes deepening air traffic network crisis

A communications failure that halted flight departures across the United States on Friday has renewed scrutiny of the country's aging air traffic control network, raising questions about its resilience even as the government spends billions of dollars to modernize it. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop, preventing aircraft from departing US airports, following "a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X.

Democrat Holscher wins Kansas governor's race amid datacenter backlash

Democrat Cindy Holscher, who campaigned on a moratorium for data-center development, won the Kansas governor's race as the tech backlash reverberated in one of the country's most conservative states. The state lawmaker beat her Republican rival Ty Masterson despite the state’s largest transit and railroad union, as well as a local chapter of the IBEW electrical workers union, backing ‌her opponent over the issue.

Kansas towns hit by ICE raids flipped to Democrats. Now they demand accountability

Early last month, in a starkly lit meeting room in southwest Kansas, Amy Soberanes stood to address members of the Dodge City commission. It had been two weeks since US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on the city, and she and other community organizers peppered the commissioners with questions: What had they known? Why had the area been targeted? How would the city respond if it happened again?

SpaceX Starship returns to landing pad from orbit, acing test for reusable rockets

SpaceX's Starship ‌spacecraft on Saturday returned from a 22-hour voyage in orbit and descended for the first time into the grasp of giant mechanical arms at the Texas tower it was launched from a day earlier, a catch that is essential to the company's decade-long effort to develop a fully reusable rocket.

The 171-foot-tall Starship fell out of thick clouds over SpaceX's Starbase launch site, reignited engines to flip itself vertical and slowly descended into the tower's "Mechazilla" arms, engines still roaring. Charred from the blazing heat of its return from space, the ship shut down its engines and hung still after the rocket system's longest mission yet.

Republican Lauren Boebert, a colorful conservative, loses reelection bid in Colorado, according to US media

US Representative Lauren Boebert, an outspoken Republican whose colorful behavior on and off Capitol Hill made her a household name far beyond her Colorado district, lost her reelection bid, US media outlets projected on Friday. Boebert was narrowly defeated by Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired US Navy rear admiral, in a district that President Donald Trump had carried by 18 points in 2024.

New York sued over law requiring social media 'warning label'

An internet trade group sued New York on Friday, seeking to block a state law requiring social media platforms that contain potentially addictive features to provide state-approved warning labels for users. In a complaint filed in federal court, NetChoice said the law violates the free speech protections of the US Constitution's First Amendment by compelling its members to convey the state's "preferred message" about online safety.

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin report ⁠measles-linked deaths as cases rise

Health officials in ​Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reported a measles-associated death each on Friday as the worst outbreak in decades spreads across the US. Pennsylvania's seventh measles-linked death this year involved an unvaccinated ⁠Montour County resident, the state health department said. The state has recorded 1,542 cases in 46 counties as of Friday, including 305 hospitalizations.

Incoming House Speaker Jeffries heckled at Democratic conference

Hakeem Jeffries, set to become US House Speaker when Democrats take control of Congress in January, was heckled by protesters on Friday who accused him of being too timid to address the high cost of living that fueled voter frustration in the midterm elections. Jeffries was speaking at a gathering of Democrats in Denver to debate the future direction of the party after it routed President Donald Trump's Republicans in the November 3 elections. About 10 hecklers shouted at Jeffries, a moderate, demanding new, more progressive party leaders.

US National Weather Service says its radars operating normally

The US National ⁠Weather Service said on Friday its radars were operating normally and its radar website was fully operational. The NWS said outdated content from isolated webpages had been circulating but that there was no radar outage.

Alaska elects first Democratic governor since 1998, US media project

Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has been elected governor of Alaska, according to projections by the Associated Press and NBC News, the latest win for the party in a wave of midterm state government and US congressional election victories. Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, a former Alaska state lawmaker, defeated three Republicans, including one backed by US President Donald Trump

Air travel issues to persist well into Sunday, officials say, with thousands of flights affected

The head of the FAA predicted ​that US air travel would not return to normal schedules until late Sunday as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry. As of 4:15 pm ET (2115 GMT), airlines on Saturday had canceled more than 5,300 US flights and delayed almost 6,300, according to FlightAware, an aviation website. That followed about 9,200 flights canceled and 7,500 delayed on Friday after the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop because of disruptions to air traffic communications.

After midterm sweep, Democrats split over Trump, cost-cutting agenda

Fresh ⁠from a midterm election landslide, Democrats met in Denver this week united in wanting to deliver voters relief from high costs, but split over how to achieve that, what lessons to draw from their victory and how combative they should be toward President Donald Trump. Despite the celebratory mood after the November 3 rout of Republicans, tensions between moderates and a restive progressive wing surfaced at the party's first major gathering since its victory, along with anxiety that the party could squander the opportunity voters had handed it.

Supreme Court will weigh Trump's asylum restrictions at US-Mexico border

The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider the legality of President Donald Trump's restrictions on access to asylum at the US-Mexico border, a hardline immigration policy his administration has credited with helping reduce border crossings. The justices ⁠took ​up Trump's appeal of a lower court's ruling that found he exceeded his authority by denying migrants caught entering the country illegally the chance to apply for asylum.

Law enforcement searches Illinois plant after 'credible threat' of explosive device

State and federal officers on Saturday searched a biofuels plant in Peoria, Illinois, for explosives after a device deemed a "credible threat" was found nearby, officials said, prompting a notice for residents to evacuate an area with a 1-mile radius.

The evacuation order was lifted on Saturday, almost a full day after the device was discovered on Friday close to the BioUrja ethanol plant in Peoria, a city of about 110,000 people, some 150 miles (240 km) southwest of Chicago, officials said. Bomb technicians rendered it safe, Peoria police said.

At the Supreme Court, Trump aims to cut the power of judges again

When President Donald Trump's administration convinced the US Supreme Court last year to restrict the ability of federal judges to block his actions nationwide — a major boost to his power — the ruling left untouched a separate tool that some of them have used to stymie presidential policies. Now Trump is taking aim at that tool as well in another challenge to judicial authority that could further insulate his far-reaching agenda against broad ⁠legal attacks.

US loses measles-free status after continued spread of the disease, WSJ reports

The Pan American Health Organization has revoked the United States' measles-elimination status, ending a 26-year run after determining the country failed to halt continuous transmission of the highly contagious virus for more than a year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The international health body did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Rubio assails international court in speech to conservative legal group

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attacked the International Criminal Court ⁠in a speech to a conservative legal group on Friday, arguing for a muscular foreign policy and against international law restraining US actions. Rubio's speech to the Federalist Society in ⁠Washington, his first prepared remarks since Republicans were routed in the midterm elections on November 3, heightens speculation over whether he will leave his roles as national security adviser and top US diplomat to run for president in 2028.

White House denies Hassett departing Trump administration

The White House denied on Friday that National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett was leaving the Trump administration in the coming weeks. Earlier on Friday, Semafor, citing three people familiar with the plan, reported that Hassett was departing in the coming weeks and had been inquiring about roles outside the administration since before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which resulted in Democrats retaking both chambers of the US Congress, delivering a blow for Republican President Donald Trump.

Hours-long halt to US flights leaves travelers frustrated, anxious

David Johnson had his cross-country flight delayed twice. Barbara Steinberg expected to miss her high-school reunion. And Grissel Francis could not help but think ‌of the September 11, 2001 hijackings. "It was kind of scary," Francis said on Friday during the largest halt to ‌US air travel since the 2001 attacks. "You have these flashbacks from 9/11, you know."

Trump official seeks $50 billion for air traffic control after outage

The Trump administration boosted its request for air traffic control funding to $50 billion late Friday after a communications issue forced a nationwide groundstop that halted thousands of flights for hours. Transportation ​Secretary Sean Duffy and the White House earlier on Friday asked for $30.1 billion to upgrade the United States' aging airports and air traffic control system.