US Domestic News Roundup: Salman Rushdie, novelist who drew death threats, on ventilator after New York stabbing; U.S. House gives Biden a win with massive bill on climate change, drug prices and more

The Espionage Act, one of three laws cited in the warrant application, dates to 1917 and makes it a crime to release information that could harm national security. Idaho top court allows near-total abortion ban to take effect Idaho's top court on Friday refused to stop a Republican-backed state law criminalizing nearly all abortions from taking effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision Roe v.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 13-08-2022 18:46 IST | Created: 13-08-2022 18:28 IST
US Domestic News Roundup: Salman Rushdie, novelist who drew death threats, on ventilator after New York stabbing; U.S. House gives Biden a win with massive bill on climate change, drug prices and more
Salman Rushdie Image Credit: Flickr

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Salman Rushdie, novelist who drew death threats, on ventilator after New York stabbing

Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born novelist who spent years in hiding after Iran urged Muslims to kill him because of his writing, was stabbed in the neck and torso onstage at a lecture in New York state on Friday and airlifted to a hospital, police said. After hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak on Friday evening after an attack condemned by writers and politicians around the world as an assault on the freedom of expression.

U.S. House gives Biden a win with massive bill on climate change, drug prices

The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives approved a $430 billion bill on Friday that is seen as the biggest climate package in U.S. history, delivering a major legislative victory for President Joe Biden ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The legislation to fight climate change and lower prescription drug prices aims to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions. It will also allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for the elderly and ensure that corporations and the wealthy pay the taxes they owe. Democrats say it will help combat inflation by reducing the federal deficit.

Southern Baptists say they face U.S. federal probe after sex abuse claims

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest U.S. Protestant denomination, said on Friday that several of its entities were being investigated by the Justice Department, after a report found the church had mishandled sex abuse claims and mistreated victims. The Convention did not provide details on the inquiry and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the church's executive committee said in a statement it would fully cooperate with the probe and would "transparently address the scourge of sexual abuse."

FBI seized top secret documents at Trump's home; Espionage Act cited

FBI agents in this week's search of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida home removed 11 sets of classified documents including some marked as top secret, the Justice Department said on Friday, while also disclosing it had probable cause to conduct the search based on possible Espionage Act violations. The bombshell disclosures were made in a search warrant approved by a U.S. magistrate judge and accompanying documents released four days after agents searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach. The Espionage Act, one of three laws cited in the warrant application, dates to 1917 and makes it a crime to release information that could harm national security.

Idaho top court allows near-total abortion ban to take effect

Idaho's top court on Friday refused to stop a Republican-backed state law criminalizing nearly all abortions from taking effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade that had recognized a constitutional right to the procedure. In a 3-2 ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected a bid by a Planned Parenthood affiliate to prevent a ban from taking effect on Aug. 25 that the abortion provider argued would violate Idahoans' privacy and equal protection rights under the state's constitution. The measure allows for abortions only in cases of rape, incest or to prevent a pregnant woman's death.

California governor proposes $1.4 billion loan to keep nuclear plant open

California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to give PG&E Corp a $1.4 billion government loan to extend the life of a nuclear power plant it runs by as much as a decade as the state seeks to shore up electric reliability while moving away from fossil fuels, his office said on Friday. The proposal, which would have to be introduced as a bill in the state legislature, is the latest in a series of steps California has made this year to reconsider its 2016 decision to retire the Diablo Canyon power plant by 2025.

Stabbing of Rushdie thrusts a tranquil literary retreat into mayhem

Before Salman Rushdie arrived on Friday, the bucolic New York retreat where the author was due to speak had arranged for a law enforcement presence at his lecture, mindful that the security might be needed for a man who faced death threats. Chautauqua Institution, a haven in the west of the state where writers and artists gather each summer, was not the kind of place where people worried about their safety. Members of the audience said there were no bag checks, metal detectors or other security to enter the event in the gated community.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago, a security 'nightmare' that housed classified documents

The seizure of classified U.S. government documents from Donald Trump's sprawling Mar-a-Lago retreat spotlights the ongoing national security concerns presented by the former president, and the home he dubbed the Winter White House, some security experts say. Trump is under federal investigation for possible violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it unlawful to spy for another country or mishandle U.S. defense information, including sharing it with people not authorized to receive it, a search warrant shows.

U.S. allows Delta to temporarily cut some New York, Washington flights

Delta Air Lines can temporarily cut some flights at New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday. The FAA said as a condition of approval that Delta "should offer customers a refund or rebook them on Delta or another carrier as needed for canceled flights at the three airports."

BLM to pause oil, gas leasing on 2.2 million acres in Colorado

The Bureau of Land Management will pause oil and gas leasing on 2.2 million acres of Colorado public land after environmental groups alleged its current management plan failed to consider climate impacts, according to a settlement. The agreement was filed Thursday in Colorado federal court and requires the government to conduct a new environmental analysis of the climate impacts of oil and gas leasing on public lands in southwestern Colorado. The government also agreed to consider how the leases may impact the endangered Gunnison sage-grouse and its habitat.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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