Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Two doctors, a receptionist and a patient were killed. U.S. House panel probes Saudi business with Kushner's firm A U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Thursday that it was investigating the Saudi Arabian government's $2 billion investment with a firm of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden says gun control efforts are not about taking away anyone's guns

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that current gun control efforts are not about taking away anyone's guns, noting that too many everyday places in America have become killing fields. Speaking from the White House, the president said that nothing has been done after many mass shootings, but this time we must actually do something.

Alex Jones' InfoWars agrees to dismiss bankruptcy

Three entities linked to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' InfoWars on Thursday agreed to dismiss their Chapter 11 case, marking a win for the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims. The families had claimed the bankruptcy was a "sinister" attempt by Jones to shield his assets from liability stemming from defamation lawsuits they had won against him.

Oklahoma gunman killed 4 people, including surgeon who treated him

A man who fatally shot five people including himself at an Oklahoma medical building, after buying an assault-style rifle on the same day, had gone there to kill a doctor who he blamed for back pain he felt after surgery, authorities said on Thursday. The suspect, identified as Michael Louis, entered a building on Tulsa's St. Francis Health System campus with a semi-automatic weapon on Wednesday and opened fire at anyone he encountered, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said at a news briefing. Two doctors, a receptionist and a patient were killed.

U.S. House panel probes Saudi business with Kushner's firm

A U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Thursday that it was investigating the Saudi Arabian government's $2 billion investment with a firm of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump. "The Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating whether you (Kushner) have improperly traded on your government position to obtain billions of dollars from the Saudi government and whether your personal financial interests improperly influenced U.S. foreign policy during the administration of your father-in-law, former President Trump," Representative Carolyn Maloney, the New York Democrat who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said on Thursday in a letter.

New U.S. hurricane outlook sees five major storms

Forecasters on Thursday amped up their outlook for the U.S. Atlantic hurricane season, saying warm sea temperatures and the absence of a moderating wind shear portend a "well-above average" number of storms. Colorado State University researchers raised their estimate for tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes by one apiece to 20, 10 and five, respectively. There is a 50% chance or more of at least one major hurricane apiece hitting the East and Gulf Coasts, it said.

U.S. Capitol riot probe to kick off with prime-time hearing

The congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters enters a new phase next week, kicking off a series of public hearings with a prime-time presentation aimed at focusing attention on that day's violence. The House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the attacks announced on Thursday that the first hearings will be held on June 9 starting at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT June 10). Additional hearings are set for June 13, 15, 16, 21 and June 23, according to media reports.

U.S. lawyer Michael Avenatti gets 4 years in prison for defrauding Stormy Daniels

Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who took on then-President Donald Trump, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison for defrauding his best-known former client, the porn actress Stormy Daniels. A federal jury convicted Avenatti in February of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after a two-week trial, agreeing with prosecutors that he embezzled nearly $300,000 in book proceeds intended for Daniels.

Suspect in Buffalo mass shooting pleads not guilty to 25 counts

The avowed white supremacist accused of a racist attack that killed 10 people at a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to 25 counts in an indictment returned by a grand jury, court documents showed. The accused shooter, Payton Gendron, appeared in court for an arraignment hearing in front of Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan, who ordered the 18-year-old to be held without bond, local media reported. He is due back in court on July 7.

Routing of emergency-911 calls questioned in Texas school massacre

Emergency-911 calls from children hiding from the gunman who killed 21 people inside a Texas elementary school were not routed to the on-scene police commander who waited nearly an hour before officers moved in to end the siege, a state senator said on Thursday. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose constituency includes Uvalde, Texas, the town 80 miles west of San Antonio where last week's shooting occurred, said the lapse in how 911 calls were transmitted was part of a larger "system failure" that is still just coming to light.

U.S. recovery extends Social Security, Medicare funds slightly -trustees

A stronger-than-expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will slightly delay the dates when Social Security and Medicare funds are depleted, trustees for the federal benefit programs said on Thursday, warning that growing economic uncertainty may alter the projections. Social Security's Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will now be able to make timely scheduled benefits payments until 2034, the program's annual trustees report said, one year later than estimated in last year's report.

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