Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Blaze tears through St. Louis museum of rare documents

A massive fire broke out in a museum of rare manuscripts in St. Louis, provoking fears over the fate of its priceless documents, officials and media said on Wednesday, although the extent of the losses was not immediately clear. About 80 firefighters worked for two hours to douse Tuesday's blaze at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, the fire department said on social network Twitter. Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping girl, 13, and murdering her parents due in court

A 21-year-old Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping a teenager and murdering her parents was due to enter a plea in court on Wednesday in a case that included a months-long search for the girl and ended with her escape and his arrest. Jake Patterson, who told authorities that he randomly decided to abduct Jayme Closs, 13, after watching her board a school bus, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of James and Denise Closs as well as kidnapping and burglary. If convicted, he could face life in prison. House panel OKs move to give Congress records of FBI probes against Trump

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution directing the Justice Department to give Congress all records on FBI obstruction of justice or counterintelligence probes against President Donald Trump. In a surprising show of bipartisanship, days after U.S. Attorney General William Barr told Congress he did not find an obstruction case against Trump, the Democratic-led panel voted 22-0 to send the measure to the full House of Representatives for a possible floor vote. Electrical fire darkens much of Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A transformer fire ignited by a lightning strike plunged much of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, into darkness on Tuesday night, police and utility officials said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. The blaze, which lit up the night sky with raging balls of flame several stories high, engulfed one of three transformers housed at the stricken electrical substation in the city, Florida Power & Light (FPL) spokesman Bill Orlove said. Despite report findings, almost half of Americans think Trump colluded with Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Nearly half of all Americans still believe President Donald Trump worked with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after Special Counsel Robert Mueller cleared Trump of that allegation. Americans did feel slightly more positive about Trump after learning the findings of the 22-month investigation into Russian meddling in the election, the national opinion poll released on Tuesday showed. Democrats pounce as Trump administration ratchets up attack on Obamacare

Top congressional Democrats on Tuesday attacked a legal move by the Trump administration to step up its assault on the Obamacare healthcare law, saying last November's elections showed Americans want them to protect the Affordable Care Act. The Justice Department, in a two-sentence letter to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals filed on Monday, said it backed a federal judge's ruling in December that the Affordable Care Act violated the U.S. Constitution because it required people to buy health insurance. Southwest 737 MAX makes emergency landing, says computer system not to blame

A Southwest Airlines Co Boeing 737 MAX 8 heading to the California desert for parking during a global ban of the aircraft made an emergency landing on Tuesday due to an engine-related problem shortly after take-off, the carrier said. It did not have any passengers and the issue was not related to a computer system on the 737 MAX aircraft that has come under scrutiny following two fatal crashes, one on Lion Air and another on Ethiopian Airlines, since October, the airline said. U.S. House fails to override Trump veto, upholding border wall emergency

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Donald Trump's first veto, leaving in place the "national emergency" he declared last month to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall that Congress has not funded. Democrats who control the House did not attract enough Republican support, falling some three dozen votes short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to overturn Trump's veto. Just 14 Republicans joined 234 Democrats in voting to override, one more Republican than had bucked Trump in a previous House vote on the border wall emergency. One Democrat and two Republicans did not vote. Exclusive: Fearful of fake news blitz, U.S. Census enlists help of tech giants

The U.S. Census Bureau has asked tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter to help it fend off “fake news" campaigns it fears could disrupt the upcoming 2020 count, according to Census officials and multiple sources briefed on the matter. The push, the details of which have not been previously reported, follows warnings from data and cybersecurity experts dating back to 2016 that right-wing groups and foreign actors may borrow the “fake news” playbook from the last presidential election to dissuade immigrants from participating in the decennial count, the officials and sources told Reuters. Jussie Smollett hoax charge dropped by Chicago prosecutors, prompting mayor's rebuke

Chicago prosecutors on Tuesday dropped charges accusing "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett of staging a phony hate crime, a stunning move that drew the fury of the city's police superintendent and mayor, who called the decision a "whitewash of justice." Smollett, who is black and gay, told reporters on Tuesday that he had always been truthful when he said two masked men threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressing support for U.S. President Donald Trump in January.