Reuters US Domestic News Summary

A spokesperson for El Paso said the busing program, which coordinated with Democratic mayors in receiving cities, is no longer needed as U.S. border authorities have stopped sending migrants to the city following the new expulsion policy. Walmart to pay $215 million to settle Florida opioid claims Walmart Inc has agreed to pay $215 million to resolve claims its pharmacies fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction in Florida, the state's attorney general announced on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. EPA opens civil rights probe into Mississippi capital's water crisis

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday opened an investigation into Mississippi state agencies to determine if they violated civil rights in the majority Black city of Jackson in the course of funding of the city's water infrastructure. At the request of civil rights organizations, the EPA said it agreed to investigate Mississippi's Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality to determine if they had "discriminated against the majority Black population of Jackson, Mississippi, on the basis of race, by intent or effect, in its funding of water infrastructure and treatment programs."

U.S. military suicide rate drops but still seeking 'sustained' reduction

The rate of suicide among active duty service members decreased by more than 15% between 2020 and 2021, a new Pentagon report released on Thursday said, even as officials said more time was needed to see if this signaled a real change. The U.S. military has seen a spate of deaths by suicide in recent years that have received national attention, including a cluster in Alaska, where service members have to deal with geographic isolation and cold weather, and among crew members of the George Washington aircraft carrier.

Kevin Spacey wins in civil sexual-abuse case brought by actor Rapp

Kevin Spacey on Thursday defeated a sexual abuse case against him after jurors in a Manhattan civil trial found his accuser didn't prove his claim that the Oscar winner made an unwanted sexual advance on him when he was 14. The verdict followed a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court and came roughly two hours after jurors began deliberating.

Arizona asks federal prosecutors to probe possible voter intimidation

Arizona officials have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a case of possible voter intimidation after a group of people followed and filmed a voter in Maricopa County dropping off a ballot at a drop box for the midterm elections. A spokesperson for the Arizona secretary of state's office, Sophia Solis, on Thursday said her office had also asked the state's attorney general to look into the incident. The Justice Department confirmed it had received the referral, but declined further comment.

Texas city stops migrant busing as Venezuelans pushed back to Mexico

The Democrat-led city of El Paso, Texas, is ending a months-long effort to bus migrants to northern cities after a new policy put in place by the Biden administration is forcing Venezuelan migrants back to Mexico and easing pressure on the border city. A spokesperson for El Paso said the busing program, which coordinated with Democratic mayors in receiving cities, is no longer needed as U.S. border authorities have stopped sending migrants to the city following the new expulsion policy.

Walmart to pay $215 million to settle Florida opioid claims

Walmart Inc has agreed to pay $215 million to resolve claims its pharmacies fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction in Florida, the state's attorney general announced on Thursday. As part of the deal, Walmart has also agreed to dispense 672,000 treatment kits with the anti-overdose drug naloxone to first responders in the state.

Mnuchin testifies in Trump ally Barrack's defense, cites Qatar blockade

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday took the witness stand in the defense of onetime Donald Trump fundraiser Tom Barrack, who is on trial on charges he illegally acted as a foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates.

Mnuchin testified that Barrack supported Qatar in a blockade brought against the country by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and others in 2017. The testimony could help undercut charges by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn that Barrack, 75, used his influence with the former U.S. president's campaign and administration to push the UAE's interests without notifying the U.S. attorney general, as required by law.

Wildfire smoke chokes U.S. Northwest, residents don masks

Wildfires in Oregon and Washington are blanketing much of America's Pacific Northwest with smoke, choking residents in Seattle, Portland and other parts of the two states with the worst air in the United States, according to government data. In the Seattle area, home to some 4 million people, the sky was brown and the air was difficult to breathe on Thursday. When the sun peeked through it was orange.

U.S. charges 7 in alleged plot to repatriate U.S. resident to China

The United States unsealed criminal charges on Thursday against seven Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a U.S. resident and his family, in a bid by the Chinese government to repatriate one of them back to China. The eight-count indictment, unsealed in a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, is the latest case by the Justice Department targeting China's apparent expatriation campaign, known as "Operation Fox Hunt."

Biden's student loan forgiveness plan survives two legal challenges

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a Republican-led challenge to President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, shortly after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a request in another case to block it. U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey in St. Louis said that while the six Republican-led states had raised "important and significant challenges to the debt relief plan," they lacked the necessary legal standing to be able to pursue the case.

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