US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. motorists drove less in Nov; Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, bodies retrieved and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. motorists drove less in November than year earlier

U.S. motorists traveled fewer miles in November than a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a report on Monday. Miles driven in the month fell 100 million miles, or 0.1 percent, to 260.3 billion miles. The largest drop was seen in the north-central region, where mileage dropped by 0.7%, according to the monthly report.

Bodies retrieved from Kobe Bryant helicopter crash site; air traffic recordings released

The pilot of Kobe Bryant's ill-fated helicopter was flying too low to be monitored in fog, air traffic controller recordings showed on Monday, as coroner's investigators said they had recovered three bodies from the crash site and were searching for more remains. The Sikorsky S-76 chopper slammed into a steep hillside outside the town of Calabasas, California, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, igniting a brush fire and spreading debris over a quarter-acre (1,000 square meters) of grassy terrain.

Eight killed as flames engulf 35 boats in Alabama marina fire

Fire swept through a lakefront marina in Alabama early on Monday, killing at least eight people and sending seven others to hospital after flames engulfed 35 vessels from houseboats to pontoons, the local fire chief said. All the people known to have been staying at the dock have been accounted for, but emergency responders will continue searching for victims in case anyone was missed, Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus told reporters.

Accuser Mimi Haleyi says Weinstein 'lunged' at her in SoHo apartment

Mimi Haleyi, one of the women former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is charged with sexually assaulting, told a jury on Monday he "lunged" at her in his New York City home in 2006, backing her into a bedroom and forcing oral sex on her. Haleyi, a former production assistant, began crying as she testified in a Manhattan courtroom while Weinstein watched from the defense table. Explainer: Why Iowa?

How one rural state picks presidential nominees

Utilizing a complicated in-person caucus system, the first contest in the Democratic presidential primary will take place in Iowa on Feb. 3. Iowans do not use paper ballots, but instead, hold meetings across the state to pick their choice for president.

Three people shot, wounded near Connecticut courthouse

Three people were shot outside of a courthouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Monday and were transported to hospitals with non-life-threatening wounds, the office of Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said in a statement. The mayor's office had previously reported that there were four gunshot victims in the shooting that occurred shortly after noon EST (1700 GMT) outside of the Superior Court of Bridgeport.

With clock ticking, Democratic White House hopefuls sprint through Iowa during impeachment break

The leading three Democratic U.S. senators running for president barnstormed across Iowa this weekend, seeking to maximize a frenzied 36 hours before returning to Washington to resume duties as jurors in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. With barely a week to go before Iowans gather in caucuses to deliver the first verdict of the Democratic presidential race, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar flew to the state immediately after Saturday's trial session ended early, hoping to gain ground in what has been an unsettled contest.

Epstein probe gets 'zero cooperation' from Prince Andrew - U.S. prosecutor

Britain's Prince Andrew has provided "zero cooperation" to U.S. authorities probing sex trafficking allegedly carried out by deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein and co-conspirators, a prosecutor said on Monday. The FBI and U.S. federal prosecutors contacted Prince Andrew's lawyers and requested an interview with the prince, who socialized with Epstein, Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a news conference in front of Epstein's mansion.

Republicans in Trump impeachment trial on the spot over Bolton book report

President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate came under fresh pressure on Monday to allow witnesses in his impeachment trial, while his defense team took aim at Democrats' accusations that he mounted a pressure campaign against Ukraine for his own political ends. A New York Times report that former national security adviser John Bolton has written in an unpublished book manuscript that Trump told him he wanted to freeze security aid to Ukraine until Kiev helped with politically beneficial investigations prompted fresh calls by Democrats for Bolton and other witnesses to testify at the trial.

U.S. Supreme Court lets hardline Trump immigration policy take effect

The U.S. Supreme Court gave the go-ahead on Monday for one of President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, allowing his administration to implement a rule denying legal permanent residency to certain immigrants deemed likely to require government assistance in the future. The justices, on a 5-4 vote, granted the administration's request to lift a lower court's injunction that had blocked the so-called public charge policy while litigation over its legality continues. The rule has been criticized by immigrant rights advocates as a "wealth test" that would disproportionately keep out non-white immigrants.

(With inputs from agencies.)