US News Roundup: Rio Grande roars back to life; Meet the voters defining America's politics

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Group sues Trump administration for withholding information on mining decision

A conservation group on Thursday sued the Trump administration for withholding documents related to its decision to cancel a 20-year ban on mining in a Minnesota wilderness area and open it up to copper production. The Wilderness Society filed the lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., federal court to force the Trump administration to respond to six of their two dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents detailing its decision to open up the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to sulfide ore copper mining.

Man held in David Ortiz shooting charged with drug, weapons offenses

A man being held in the Dominican Republic in connection with the shooting and serious wounding of retired Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was charged in New Jersey on Thursday with drug and weapons violations in an unrelated case, the U.S. Justice Department said. Rolfi Ferreira-Cruz, 25, of Paterson, New Jersey, was indicted in Newark on three federal counts, including conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine and possession of a firearm to traffic drugs, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.

U.S. appeals court lets Trump abortion referral 'gag rule' go into effect

A federal appeals court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce a controversial rule barring clinics that receive federal funds for family planning services from referring patients to abortion providers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside injunctions blocking nationwide enforcement of the rule, which had been scheduled to take effect on May 3, while California, Oregon and Washington pursue legal challenges in court.

The Deciders: Meet the voters defining America's politics

A retiree worried about his granddaughter's future in Pinellas County, Florida. A factory worker in Racine County, Wisconsin, who doubts politicians will improve her life as a single mother. A Boy Scout leader willing to cross party lines to revive his blue-collar town in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. A gay, Latino college student in Maricopa County, Arizona, preparing to cast his first presidential ballot.

Medic testifies at Navy SEAL trial he killed victim, not defendant

A Navy SEAL medic testified on Thursday that he was responsible for the death of an Islamic State fighter - not the Navy SEAL defendant undergoing a court martial for war crimes - describing it as a mercy killing. Special Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, a SEAL team medic, said under cross-examination by the defense in a courtroom at the San Diego Naval Base that he killed the fighter by asphyxiation, after he saw Gallagher stab the victim with a knife.

U.S. human trafficking report drops child separation warning

The U.S. State Department's annual human trafficking report released on Thursday demoted Saudi Arabia and Cuba to countries that failed to meet minimum U.S. anti-trafficking standards. The report also dropped a warning from the 2018 issue that traffickers prey on children separated from their parents. Policies implemented by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump resulted in the separation of thousands of migrant children from their families.

U.S. to allow September 1 grazing on unplantable acres to help farmers after floods

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday announced a new measure to help farmers who were unable to plant corn and soybeans due to widespread flooding across the U.S. Midwest. Cover crops such as grasses are seeded to avoid erosion on acres where flooding deterred growers from planting grains and oilseeds.

In warming West, Rio Grande roars back to life, for now

After years of drought, no one in Rio Grande County, Colorado, can remember the last time their namesake river was closed to the public because it was running too high. But after the deepest snowpack in over two decades, topped off by a "bomb cyclone" spring storm in the Rockies, the raging, snowmelt-fed river has been shut to recreation in two Colorado counties.

Wallenda stunt siblings to walk 25 stories high across Times Square

The rope is no wider than his thumb, the height is 25 stories up and the length is five city blocks, but what really concerns aerialist Nik Wallenda about his highwire walk in New York on Sunday is his sister. Wallenda and his sister Lijana plan to walk 1,300 feet (396 meters) across the city's busy Times Square on Sunday in a live television event that has been six years in the making.

U.S. mine regulator says no rush on silica limits, despite black lung worries

The head of the U.S. federal agency in charge of mine safety said on Thursday he has no plans to fast-track new limits for coal miner exposure to silica dust because he believes exposure rates are already falling. The comments come as the national coal miners and steel workers unions urge the Trump administration to regulate silica on the basis of research showing it is causing a resurgence of black lung disease among coal miners in central Appalachia.