Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Kruger, considered a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee for President Joe Biden to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer https://www.reuters.com/world/us/liberal-us-supreme-court-justice-stephen-breyer-retire-media-reports-2022-01-26, was editor-in-chief of her high school's newspaper.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Most U.S. local governments opt to join $26 billion opioid settlement

U.S. cities and counties have embraced a proposed settlement worth up to $26 billion resolving lawsuits alleging three large drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic, lawyers behind the deal said on Wednesday, increasing the odds that it will move forward. About 90% of local governments nationwide that were eligible to participate in the settlement with McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and J&J had opted to do so by a Wednesday deadline, said Peter Mougey, a plaintiffs' lawyer involved in the negotiations.

Potential Biden Supreme Court pick Leondra Kruger known as moderate in California

Before she turned to law and became one of the youngest justices ever appointed to the California Supreme Court, Leondra Kruger had journalism in her blood. Kruger, considered a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee for President Joe Biden to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer https://www.reuters.com/world/us/liberal-us-supreme-court-justice-stephen-breyer-retire-media-reports-2022-01-26, was editor-in-chief of her high school's newspaper. Later, at Harvard University, she wrote for the daily student paper, the Crimson. While attending Yale Law School, she became editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal.

Romney, other Trump critics to raise money for Liz Cheney re-election effort

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, a leading Republican critic of former President Donald Trump, will help raise money for Representative Liz Cheney, who is fighting for political survival after voting to impeach Trump and contesting his false stolen-election claims. Romney is the featured guest at a March 14 fundraiser for Cheney at the home of Bobbie Kilberg, a well-connected Virginia Republican who lined up against Trump during his 2016 bid for the White House, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.

Former public defender Jackson among possible Biden Supreme Court picks

Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal judge seen as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee for President Joe Biden, could make history as the first Black woman justice, boasting a varied legal resume including representing criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer. Jackson, 51, who Biden last year appointed to an influential appellate court, served early in her career as a Supreme Court clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose retirement https://www.reuters.com/world/us/liberal-us-supreme-court-justice-stephen-breyer-retire-media-reports-2022-01-26 will open up a vacancy on the nation's top judicial body.

U.S. charges man with selling gun used in synagogue hostage crisis

The U.S. Justice Department has filed criminal charges against a man for allegedly selling the gun that another man later used to take hostages at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Henry "Michael" Williams, 32, is charged in a complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He made his initial appearance before a federal judge on Wednesday, and the government is seeking to have him detained pending trial at a hearing on Jan. 31.

U.S. judge hands down 44-month sentence for Capitol rioter who assaulted police

A U.S. judge on Thursday imposed a 44-month prison sentence on a man who pleaded guilty to a felony charge after throwing objects at police during last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol and boasting about his actions on social media. The defendant, Nicholas Languerand, has been jailed since his arrest in April in South Carolina and will receive credit for time served.

Liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer to retire, letting Biden pick successor

Liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire, lawmakers said on Wednesday, giving President Joe Biden the opportunity to fulfill a campaign promise to appoint the first Black woman to the nation's top judicial body. The retirement of Breyer https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-breyer-fortified-abortion-rights-doubted-death-penalty-2022-01-26, who is 83 and has served on the court since 1994, gives Biden a first chance to shape the court https://www.reuters.com/world/us/historic-firsts-diversifying-us-supreme-court-2022-01-26, whose 6-3 conservative majority has shown an increasing assertiveness https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/aggressively-conservative-supreme-court-plunges-into-us-culture-wars-2022-01-25 on issues including abortion and gun rights. Biden's Republican predecessor Donald Trump was able to appoint three justices during his four years in office.

U.S. plans surprise inspections to protect communities burdened by pollution

The U.S. government on Wednesday announced a program of surprise pollution checks at petrochemical plants and other facilities under a Biden administration drive to protect the environment in nearby communities, which often are poor and have minority populations. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan ordered unannounced inspections at facilities that are suspected of being out of compliance with air and water regulations.

Spotify removing Neil Young's music after his Joe Rogan ultimatum

Neil Young's music is being removed from Spotify's streaming service after the singer-songwriter objected to his songs playing on the same platform that offers Joe Rogan's podcast, the company and the musician said on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Young had released a letter addressed to his manager and record label, Warner Music Group, demanding that Spotify no longer carry his music because he said Rogan spreads misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

U.S. Coast Guard search finds one body, 38 still missing after boat capsizes off Florida

Rescue teams have found one body and are searching for 38 other people reported missing after their boat capsized off Florida's coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday, an incident that is being treated as a human smuggling attempt gone awry. Coast Guard Commander Jo-Ann Burdian said during a news conference in Miami that search and rescue efforts would continue for survivors.

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