Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in September named Raymond Dearie to serve as "special master" to review the records, granting a request made by Trump as he battles the department's investigation into his retention of sensitive government materials after leaving office last year. Republicans grill Biden homeland chief in possible preview of next Congress Republicans at a congressional hearing on Tuesday chastised U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and called for his resignation over a record number of migrants arrested trying to cross the border illegally, a preview of how the party could approach control of the House of Representatives.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Republicans on verge of U.S. House majority in midterm elections

Republicans on Tuesday were edging closer to majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives, a midterm victory tempered by the unexpectedly narrow margin they will hold over Democrats as they usher in two years of divided government. Republicans so far have won 216 seats in the 435-member chamber, Edison Research projected, with 218 needed for a majority. Calls in tight races in states including California and Colorado later on Tuesday would likely allow Republicans to wrest control of the House from President Joe Biden's Democrats, who trail with 206 seats.

Accused Paul Pelosi attacker pleads not guilty to U.S. charges

The Canadian man accused of breaking into the San Francisco home of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and striking her 82-year-old husband, Paul, in the head with a hammer pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges on Tuesday, local media reported. David Wayne DePape, 42, was ordered held without bond on federal charges of assault and attempted kidnapping and is scheduled to return to U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Nov. 30, local ABC-7 reported.

U.S. judge rules COVID-era Title 42 border expulsion policy unlawful

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that a pandemic-era order used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants to Mexico was unlawful, a ruling that could have major implications for U.S. border management. In a 49-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said the policy was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated federal regulatory law.

U.S. appeals court orders arguments next week in Trump records probe

A U.S. appeals court in Atlanta has set Nov. 22 arguments in the Justice Department's challenge to a judge's appointment of an independent arbiter to vet records seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate in a process that could wall some of them off from a criminal investigation. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in September named Raymond Dearie to serve as "special master" to review the records, granting a request made by Trump as he battles the department's investigation into his retention of sensitive government materials after leaving office last year.

Republicans grill Biden homeland chief in possible preview of next Congress

Republicans at a congressional hearing on Tuesday chastised U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and called for his resignation over a record number of migrants arrested trying to cross the border illegally, a preview of how the party could approach control of the House of Representatives. Mayorkas defended his department's actions and said he had no plans to step down. On Saturday, the country's top border official, Chris Magnus, resigned after saying he was pressed by Mayorkas to leave or be fired.

Georgia judge overturns state's six-week abortion ban

A Georgia law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy cannot be enforced, a state judge ruled on Tuesday, handing a victory to Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups that challenged the restriction when it took effect this summer. Judge Robert McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County said the law was void at the time it was passed in 2019 under the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling, which established a federal right to abortion in 1973.

Kevin McCarthy faces high-wire act as Republicans close in on U.S. House majority

With Republicans closing in on a narrower-than-expected majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, their leader Kevin McCarthy took a step Tuesday towards a job he has long coveted - speaker of the House - but may get another tough one as well - tightrope walker. McCarthy, 57, is the presumptive favorite to replace fellow Californian Nancy Pelosi in January as House speaker - a job with a lot of clout and a lot of headaches. As speaker, McCarthy would be well placed to frustrate Democratic President Joe Biden's legislative ambitions.

U.S. Chamber urges Congress to avert rail strike, extend Boeing 737 MAX deadline

The U.S. Congress should prevent a potential rail strike and extend a Boeing 737 MAX 7 and 10 certification deadline before lawmakers end work for the year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged on Tuesday. The largest U.S. business group noted that three rail unions have rejected a rail contract since October, and warned in a letter that a strike would be catastrophic for the economy, costing $2 billion per day.

US Justice Dept probes whether police in Mass. city discriminated

The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate whether police in Worcester, Massachusetts, have enforced the law in a discriminatory fashion and whether officers have used excessive force on a routine basis, the agency said on Tuesday. The justice department did not indicate any specific incidents in Worcester that may have prompted the investigation, which comes amid greater scrutiny of police since the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Siebel Newsom, wife of California governor, accuses Harvey Weinstein of rape

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California's governor, testified on Monday that former film producer Harvey Weinstein raped her in 2005 when she was trying to build a career as a producer and actor. On the witness stand in Los Angeles Superior Court, Siebel Newsom said she met Weinstein, now 70, at the Toronto Film Festival when she was 31 and had acted in some small film and TV roles.