Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Nestle to face lawsuit saying Poland Spring water not from a spring: U.S. judge

A federal judge on Thursday rejected Nestle SA's bid to dismiss a revised lawsuit claiming that it defrauded consumers by filling bottles of its Poland Spring water with ordinary groundwater. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer said consumers from eight northeastern states may pursue claims that Nestle Waters North America deceived them into overpaying by labeling Poland Spring as "100% Natural Spring Water." California moves to limit use of drugs and whips

California horse racing authorities on Thursday took steps to limit the use of medications and whips in competitions, moves that come following the death of 22 horses at the famous Santa Anita track this year. One rule approved by the California Horse Racing Board would curtail the use of Lasix, a race-day drug used to treat bleeding in the lungs of horses, which can occur during extreme exercise. N.Y. accuses opioid maker Purdue of illegal fund transfers to Sacklers

Purdue Pharma LP fraudulently transferred funds to members of the wealthy Sackler family who control the OxyContin maker despite knowing it faced major liabilities that had made it already insolvent, New York's attorney general alleged on Thursday. New York Attorney General Letitia James made the claims in a revised lawsuit already pending against Purdue over its role in the opioid epidemic that added members of the Sackler family and other drug manufacturers and distributors as defendants. U.S. charges Facebook with racial discrimination in targeted housing ads

The Trump administration accused Facebook Inc on Thursday of selling targeted advertising that discriminated on the basis of race, in violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act. Seeking damages and unspecified relief for harm caused, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_19_035 in its civil charge that Facebook also restricted who could see housing-related ads based on national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability. Trump overrides advisers, backs funding for Special Olympics after uproar

U.S. President Donald Trump overrode his budget team and backed funding for the Special Olympics on Thursday after his proposed cuts to the athletic program drew heavy fire from both Republicans and Democrats. Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, which he released earlier this month, would have zeroed out funding for the Special Olympics, which has an allocation of $17.6 billion this fiscal year. U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bid to block Trump's gun 'bump stock' ban

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday handed President Donald Trump a victory by rejecting for the second time in three days a bid by gun rights activists to block his new ban on "bump stock" attachments that enable semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly. The policy, embraced by Trump in the wake of an October 2017 massacre in Las Vegas in which bump stocks were used, went into effect on Tuesday. The ban is a rare recent instance of gun control at the federal level in a country that has experienced a succession of mass shootings. U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to stop NSA's mass data collection

Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would end the collection of Americans' phone records by the National Security Agency in an effort to undo a widely criticized security measure passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "The NSA's sprawling phone records dragnet was born in secrecy, defended with lies and never stopped a single terrorist attack," said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, one of the bill's main sponsors. Disney bans smoking at U.S. parks ahead of 'Star Wars' openings

Walt Disney Co will ban smoking, vaping and large strollers at its U.S. theme parks in California and Florida starting on May 1, the company said on Thursday. The restrictions are designed in part to help deal with the large crowds expected to flock later this year to new "Star Wars"-themed attractions at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. U.S judge strikes down rule allowing 'skimpy' health insurance plans

A federal judge on Thursday stuck down a Trump administration rule aimed at enabling millions of Americans to buy skimpy health insurance plans that do not comply with key Affordable Care Act requirements - part of administration efforts to chip away at the healthcare law. Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found the rule "is clearly an end-run around the ACA," commonly called Obamacare, the signature domestic achievement of former Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump weighs in on Smollett case as Chicago demands reimbursement

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the Department of Justice would "review" the uproar surrounding actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged with staging a fake hate-crime attack on himself in Chicago before prosecutors abruptly dropped the case this week. Hours after Trump announced the review in a Twitter message calling the case a national embarrassment, the city sent the actor a letter demanding he reimburse police for $130,000 in overtime costs for the investigation.