Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Molly Schuyler, a mother of four from California, managed to down the 34 burgers - just one shy of her record of 35 - during the Annual Independence Burger Eating Championship hosted by local fast food chain Z-Burger. More guilty pleas expected from U.S. Capitol rioters linked to Oath Keepers -prosecutor Federal prosecutors are discussing possible plea bargains with at least 12 of 16 defendants in the U.S. Capitol riot accused of links with the far-right Oath Keepers movement, a government lawyer said in court on Friday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bragg looks likely to win Manhattan prosecutor race after rival concedes

Alvin Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer, looked likely to become the next Manhattan district attorney after his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded on Friday. Bragg, 47, would become the first Black person to lead one of the country's most high-profile prosecutor's offices, which made headlines this week with a sweeping indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump's namesake company and its longtime financial chief, Allen Weisselberg.

A tie in Washington eating contest: 34 burgers in 10 minutes

The reigning queen of Washington's annual July Fourth burger eating contest had to share her championship trophy on Friday with last year's second place winner, as the two each ingested 34 burgers in 10 minutes. Molly Schuyler, a mother of four from California, managed to down the 34 burgers - just one shy of her record of 35 - during the Annual Independence Burger Eating Championship hosted by local fast food chain Z-Burger.

More guilty pleas expected from U.S. Capitol rioters linked to Oath Keepers -prosecutor

Federal prosecutors are discussing possible plea bargains with at least 12 of 16 defendants in the U.S. Capitol riot accused of links with the far-right Oath Keepers movement, a government lawyer said in court on Friday. Three people described as Oath Keeper defendants have already entered guilty pleas and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Prosecutor Kathryn Rakoczy, at a hearing to discuss the status of the cases, told Judge Amit Mehta that it is likely more Oath Keepers would plead guilty.

Biden backs taking sexual assault prosecutions away from U.S. military commanders

President Joe Biden on Friday backed a recommendation that U.S. military prosecutions of sexual assaults be taken away from the chain of command and given to independent prosecutors to better serve the victims. The change recommended by an independent review commission would represent a major shift in how the military has handled sexual assaults and related crimes for decades. It comes several years after the advent of the #MeToo response to sexual assault, harassment and discrimination against women by men in various walks of life.

Boeing 737 cargo plane makes emergency water landing off Hawaii

A decades-old Boeing Co 737-200 cargo airplane with two people on board made an emergency nighttime landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, early on Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA said both crew members were rescued, citing preliminary information.

Death toll in Florida condo collapse at 22, nearby building evacuated

The death toll rose to 22 on Friday from last week's condominium tower collapse in Florida and city officials evacuated a second Miami Beach area residential building after deeming it unsafe. The second building, made up of 156 units, was ordered closed to residents after engineers found concrete and electrical problems, said Arthur Sorey, city manager for North Miami Beach.

From Paraguay, mother flies to Miami looking for news of her missing daughter

At 49 years old, Juana Villalba will leave Paraguay for the first time. But it is a trip she never wanted to make. Juana, who resides in a small rural town about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of capital city Asuncion, will leave for the United States on Saturday in search of news of her only daughter, Leidy Luna, who disappeared in the rubble of the building that collapsed last week in Miami.

U.S. to propose rules requiring airline refunds for delayed baggage

The Biden administration will soon propose new rules to require passenger airlines to refund fees for bags that are significantly delayed and refunds for services like onboard Wi-Fi that does not work, the White House said Friday. White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese confirmed the planned rules at a briefing that were directed by President Joe Biden, saying it is "part of a broader effort that the president will release shortly around driving greater competition in the economy in service of lower prices."

Biden celebrates new citizens as U.S. launches naturalization effort

President Joe Biden celebrated new U.S. citizens at an event at the White House on Friday, the same day his administration rolled out a government-wide strategy to encourage more immigrants to become citizens. "It's dreams of immigrants like you that built America and continued to inject new energy, new vitality, new strength," Biden said in the East Room, thanking the 21 naturalized Americans for choosing the United States as their home.

Ghislaine Maxwell says Bill Cosby's freedom justifies dropping sex trafficking charges

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell said the overturning of Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual assault conviction justifies throwing out sex trafficking and other charges stemming from her relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Cosby, 83, was released from prison on Wednesday after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said a prosecutor's 2005 agreement not to charge him with drugging and assaulting Temple University employee Andrea Constand meant the actor and comedian should not have been charged a decade later.