Reuters US Domestic News Summary

In a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee, Florida, federal court, prosecutor Andrew Warren said his suspension by DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights as well as Florida's constitution and demanded to be reinstated. Yellen tells IRS to produce $80 billion spending plan within six months U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the head of the Internal Revenue Service to produce a detailed plan for deploying $80 billion in newly enacted enforcement funding within six months, an internal Treasury memo showed on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. CDC plans to focus on public health response after pandemic failings

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will prioritize its public health response in a revamp of its structure after months of criticism over its handling of the COVID-19 and monkeypox pandemics. A briefing document provided by the agency on Wednesday said an external report into its response found public guidance had caused confusion, while important information were sometimes released too late to inform federal decisions.

In New Mexico, Muslims reject sectarian label for killings

National Muslim groups have linked the killings of four Muslim men in New Mexico over the past year to sectarianism, but Muslims who knew the victims and suspected gunman point to revenge and personal feuds as possible motives. Police last week arrested Afghan refugee Muhammad Syed, 51, as the prime suspect in the shootings of four Muslim men in New Mexico's largest city, Albuquerque. Syed has denied involvement.

Florida prosecutor suspended by DeSantis over abortion stance sues to regain job

A Florida state attorney on Wednesday sued Governor Ron DeSantis after he was suspended earlier this month for saying he would not prosecute anyone who sought or provided abortions. In a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee, Florida, federal court, prosecutor Andrew Warren said his suspension by DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights as well as Florida's constitution and demanded to be reinstated.

Yellen tells IRS to produce $80 billion spending plan within six months

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the head of the Internal Revenue Service to produce a detailed plan for deploying $80 billion in newly enacted enforcement funding within six months, an internal Treasury memo showed on Wednesday. Yellen wrote in the memo to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, reviewed by Reuters, that the operational plan "should include details on how resources will be spent over the ten-year horizon on technology, service improvement, and personnel."

South Carolina top court puts abortion ban on hold as it hears challenge

South Carolina's highest court on Wednesday blocked enforcement of a state law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy while it considers a challenge to the law by a Planned Parenthood affiliate and other abortion providers. In a unanimous order, the five justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court did not express any opinion on whether Planned Parenthood is ultimately likely to prevail. However, they said the ban could conflict with the state's constitution.

CVS, Walmart and Walgreens ordered to pay $650.6 million to Ohio counties in opioid case

Pharmacy operators CVS, Walmart and Walgreens must pay a combined $650.6 million to two Ohio counties to address the damage done by the opioid epidemic, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The order by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland marks the first time pharmacy chains have been ordered to pay money in an opioid lawsuit. It comes after a jury last November concluded that the companies helped create a public nuisance in Lake and Trumbull counties by over-supplying addictive pain pills, many of which found their way onto the black market.

U.S. prosecutors should weigh releasing more Trump search details-Bolton

The U.S. Justice Department should consider releasing at least some of the evidence it used to justify searching former President Donald Trump's Florida home last week, Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters, Bolton said he agrees with the Justice Department's (DOJ) concerns about releasing the affidavit it used to convince a judge the FBI had probable cause to search Trump's home at his Mar-a-Lago resort for classified materials.

Analysis-Rejected by Wyoming Republicans, Cheney sets sights on stopping Trump

After being soundly rejected by Wyoming Republican voters, U.S. Representative Liz Cheney vowed to spend the next two years trying to stop Donald Trump from returning to the White House - possibly with her own anti-Trump presidential bid.

Cheney moved quickly on Wednesday to convert her campaign for reelection to the House of Representatives into a new political action committee after losing her nominating primary and said she was considering whether to launch a 2024 White House campaign.

Giuliani testifies in Georgia criminal probe into 2020 U.S. election

Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's onetime personal lawyer, testified before a special grand jury in Atlanta on Wednesday in a Georgia criminal probe examining attempts by the former U.S. president and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results.

Giuliani, who helped lead Trump's election challenges, spent more than six hours in the Fulton County courthouse after a judge ordered him to comply with a subpoena. His lawyers, who declined to comment on his testimony, said he would refuse to answer questions that violate attorney-client privilege.

Missouri man charged for threatening election official in Arizona

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has charged a Missouri man for leaving threatening voicemails for an election official in Arizona, marking the sixth federal criminal case brought so far to combat the rising tide of threats against local election officials. Walter Lee Hoornstra, 50, of Tecumseh was charged in an indictment handed down on Tuesday with one count of communicating an interstate commerce threat and a second count of making a threatening phone call.