US News Roundup: U.S. pedestrian, bicyclist deaths rise in 2018; Virginia ban on uranium mining upheld by SC

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Virginia ban on uranium mining upheld by U.S. Supreme Court

The largest-known U.S. uranium deposit will remain firmly under ground after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld Virginia's ban on mining the radioactive metal, rebuffing a challenge backed by President Donald Trump's administration to the 1982 moratorium. In a 6-3 decision that underscored states' rights, the justices affirmed a lower court's ruling that threw out a lawsuit by Virginia Uranium Inc and other owners of the massive deposit valued by the company at $6 billion on private land in southern Virginia.

Navy SEAL's trial for war crimes begins in San Diego

Jury selection began on Monday in the trial of a U.S. Navy SEAL platoon leader court-martialed on charges of murdering a wounded Iraqi prisoner and shooting unarmed civilians, a war crimes case that has drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump. Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a career combat veteran, walked into a military courtroom at the U.S. Naval Base in San Diego wearing a Navy white uniform adorned with medals. He has denied all the charges but could face life in prison if convicted in the trial arising from his 2017 deployment to Mosul, Iraq.

U.S. Supreme Court declines to expand 'double jeopardy' protections

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to limit the ability of federal and state prosecutors to separately charge people for the same underlying crime, a decision with major implications for people like Paul Manafort convicted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe and facing state charges as well. The justices ruled 7-2 in favor of federal prosecutors and against an Alabama man named Terance Gamble in a gun possession case, preserving the current system that gives states and the U.S. government broad authority to bring charges against criminal defendants arising from the same underlying conduct.

U.S. pedestrian, bicyclist deaths rise in 2018: report

U.S. pedestrian and bicyclist deaths rose in 2018 while overall traffic deaths fell 1% in 2018 to 36,750, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a preliminary report Monday. The auto safety agency said it did not know the cause of the overall decline but has said a dramatic increase in traffic deaths in 2016 was the result of more people killed on foot, bicycle or motorcycle.

Virginia Republicans lose in U.S. Supreme Court racial gerrymandering case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed Republican legislators in Virginia a defeat, leaving in place a ruling that invalidated state electoral districts they drew because they weakened the clout of black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The justices, in a 5-4 decision, sidestepped a ruling on the merits of the case. They instead found that the Republican-led state House of Delegates lacked the necessary legal standing to appeal a lower court ruling that had invalidated 11 state House districts for racial discrimination.

Stonewall uprising veterans still astounded 50 years after making history

Time has claimed many of the street fighters who rebelled against the police raid of a New York City gay bar 50 years ago, in what has become known as the Stonewall uprising. Those who remain are still a little astounded at what they did. Standing outside the Greenwich Village tavern one recent morning, at what is now the Stonewall National Monument, Mark Segal recalled the spirit of 1969, when protests against the war in Vietnam coincided with the African-American, Latino and women's rights movements.

Harvard revokes Parkland shooting survivor's acceptance over racial slurs

Harvard University has rescinded its admission offer to a survivor of the 2018 massacre at a Florida high school over his past use of racial slurs in an online document posted on Twitter, the student said on Monday. The student, Kyle Kashuv, was a junior at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida when a gunman opened fire in February 2018 and killed 17 students and staff. He became the target of online criticism last month after images of a shared study guide from more than a year ago circulated on Twitter, showing he wrote anti-black slurs.

Alleged New York sex cult leader's 'out there' lifestyle not a crime: lawyer

The New York man who started a secret society in which female "slaves" were branded with his initials and ordered to have sex with him may have led an unconventional life, but he did not break the law, his lawyer told jurors on Monday. "The conduct, looked at objectively, is pretty out there," Marc Agnifilo, lawyer for Keith Raniere, said in his closing argument in Brooklyn federal court. "That doesn't make it a crime."

U.S. court voids $65 million settlement tied to Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme

A federal appeals court on Monday threw out a settlement requiring insurers to pay $65 million to a court-appointed receiver for companies once run by Allen Stanford, the Texas financier serving a 110-year prison term for running a large Ponzi scheme. By a 3-0 vote, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge who approved the accord lacked authority to void or release some claims against the insurers, including underwriters at Lloyd's of London, and bar further legal challenges over their policies and Stanford's companies.

Justice Thomas urges U.S. Supreme Court to feel free to reverse precedents

Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to feel less bound to upholding precedent, advancing a view that if adopted by enough of his fellow justices could result in more past decisions being overruled, perhaps including the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Writing in a gun possession case over whether the federal government and states can prosecute someone separately for the same crime, Thomas said the court should reconsider its standard for reviewing precedents.