US Domestic News Roundup: Puerto Rico braces for storm Dorian, one of first tests since 2017

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Puerto Rico braces for storm Dorian, one of first tests since 2017

Puerto Rico braced on Wednesday for the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian, one of the island's first major tests since devastating hurricanes struck in 2017. Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from those back-to-back hurricanes that killed about 3,000 people just months after the territory filed for bankruptcy to restructure $120 billion of debt and pension obligations.

Let it burn: U.S. fights wildfires with fire, backed by Trump

It was the kind of fire that has terrified communities across the drought-ridden U.S. West in the past few years: a ponderosa pine forest ablaze in the mountains of New Mexico filling the air with thick, aromatic smoke. Except this fire was deliberately set by state penitentiary prisoners, dressed in red flame-resistant clothing and dripping a mix of gasoline and diesel around trees and scrub.

U.S. authorities investigate deaths at veterans hospital

U.S. authorities are investigating suspicious deaths at a veterans hospital in West Virginia, the Veterans Affairs department said on Tuesday, and a U.S. senator said the probe may involve up to 11 deaths. The VA did not say how many deaths are under investigation at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg.

Couple wanted for murder in Arizona escape from guards during transport

A couple wanted for murder in Arizona escaped from custody when they overpowered guards who were transporting them through Utah, officials said on Tuesday, adding that the man and woman are considered armed and dangerous. Blane Barksdale, 56, and Susan Barksdale, 59, broke free on Monday evening from two guards in Blanding, a rural town in southeast Utah, the Tucson Police Department said in a statement.

Federal judge expected to rule on restrictive Missouri abortion law

A federal judge was expected to decide on Tuesday whether to block a Missouri law banning abortion after eight weeks except in cases of medical emergency, according to court documents. Women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union sued Missouri last month over the law, which also bans abortions sought on the grounds of the fetus' race, sex or disability and makes it a felony for doctors to perform abortions in violation of the law.

Purdue Pharma in discussion on $10 billion-$12 billion offer to settle opioid lawsuits: sources

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Purdue is among several drugmakers and distributors that have been sued for fueling an opioid addiction crisis in the United States, which claimed 400,000 lives from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Exclusive: Falwell steered Liberty University land deal benefiting his personal trainer

Evangelical leader and prominent Donald Trump backer Jerry Falwell Jr personally approved real estate transactions by his nonprofit Christian university that helped his personal fitness trainer obtain valuable university property, according to real estate records, internal university emails, and interviews. Around 2011, Falwell, president of Liberty University in Virginia, and his wife, Rebecca, began personal fitness training sessions with Benjamin Crosswhite, then a 23-year-old recent Liberty graduate. Now, after a series of university real estate transactions signed by Falwell, Crosswhite owns a sprawling 18-acre racquet sport and fitness facility on former Liberty property. Last year, a local bank approved a line of credit allowing Crosswhite's business to borrow as much as $2 million against the property.

Researchers studying Facebook's impact on democracy threaten to quit

A group of philanthropies working with Facebook Inc to study the social network's impact on democracy threatened on Tuesday to quit, saying the company had failed to make data available to researchers as pledged. The founders said in a statement that Facebook had granted the 83 scholars selected for the project access to "only a portion of what they were told they could expect," which made it impossible for some to carry out their research. They have given Facebook until Sept. 30 to provide the data.

Facebook tightens rules for U.S. political advertisers ahead of 2020 election

Facebook Inc is tightening its political ad rules in the United States, it said on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform Instagram ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November 2020. The social media giant is introducing a "confirmed organization" label for U.S. political advertisers who show government-issued credentials to demonstrate their legitimacy.

'Eats away at my soul': Epstein accusers testify weeks after his suicide

A succession of women who said Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused them at a young age voiced anger and defiance in a packed New York courtroom on Tuesday, some lamenting that the financier's suicide deprived them of the opportunity to obtain justice. "The fact that I will never have a chance to face my predator in court eats away at my soul," accuser Jennifer Araoz said during a 2-1/2 hour hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who let the women testify despite the fact that Epstein's death meant he would never face a trial.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)