Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson decided that FBI Director Christopher Wray also must sit for a deposition by attorneys for the pair, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were among a group of FBI employees who exchanged text messages critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' shooting Actor Alec Baldwin entered a not guilty plea on Thursday to a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021, court documents show.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. judge orders Trump deposed in lawsuits by former FBI officials

A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered former President Donald Trump to be questioned in a pair of lawsuits against the Justice Department and FBI by two former agency officials who allege they were the targets of an improper political pressure campaign by his White House. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson decided that FBI Director Christopher Wray also must sit for a deposition by attorneys for the pair, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were among a group of FBI employees who exchanged text messages critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' shooting

Actor Alec Baldwin entered a not guilty plea on Thursday to a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021, court documents show. Baldwin made the plea while waiving a Feb. 24 court appearance that was set to be his first in the case on how live ammunition got mixed with dummy rounds on a Santa Fe film set, then went undetected.

U.S. Supreme Court's 'major questions' test may doom Biden student debt plan

Shanna Hayes in 2007 became the first member of her immediate family to attend college. She did not realize she was setting off on a path toward another, less-welcome family first - racking up more than $150,000 in student debt. "At no point did I actually have that conversation," Hayes said, referring to her lack of financial planning before enrolling at New England College in New Hampshire. "And to be honest, I didn't ask."

White supremacists behind over 80% of extremism-related U.S. murders in 2022

Mass shootings in the United States accounted for most extremism-related fatalities last year in the country with over 80% of those murders committed by white supremacists, data released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showed on Thursday.

The advocacy group labeled 25 murders in 2022 as "extremist-related," with 18 of those "committed in whole or part for ideological motives."

Republicans to hold their first presidential debate in Wisconsin

The U.S. Republican Party's presidential candidates will hold their first debate of the primary season in the battleground state of Wisconsin in August, the party announced on Thursday. The Republican National Committee's debates committee voted to hold the debate in Milwaukee, and wants all participating candidates to sign a loyalty pledge vowing to support the eventual White House nominee.

Could a Trump grand juror's comments affect possible Georgia charges?

Media interviews given by the foreperson of the Georgia grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state present a public relations problem for prosecutors but need not stop them from bringing charges if warranted, according to legal experts. The foreperson, Emily Kohrs, was interviewed by a variety of U.S. news outlets this week and offered a rare window into the secretive process in which members of the grand jury weigh evidence and make recommendations to prosecutors on possible criminal charges.

U.S. winter storm kills firefighter, knocks out power, grounds flights

A monster U.S. winter storm pounded the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Thursday, killing a firefighter, knocking out power to more than 900,000 people and canceling or delaying thousands of flights. A broad swath of the northern United States from Washington state to New England remained under winter weather advisories with another 18 inches (46 cm) of snow, winds up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) and wind chills equivalent to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) possible throughout the day, the National Weather Service said.

S. Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh admits lying, denies guilt at murder trial

Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, the disbarred South Carolina attorney charged with murdering his wife and son, admitted to lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the killings but denied any guilt in dramatic testimony on Thursday.

Four weeks into the high-profile trial, Murdaugh took the stand to testify that he did not shoot his wife, Maggie, 52, or 22-year-old son Paul, who were both gunned down at dog kennels on the family's estate on June 7, 2021.

Earlier warning might have spared Ohio a derailment, U.S. investigator says

A U.S. train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in an Ohio town might have been avoided if the railway company's alarm system had given engineers an earlier warning that bearings were overheating, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday with the release of a preliminary investigation. "Had there been a detector earlier, that derailment may not have occurred," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters in Washington. The incident prompted the evacuation of thousands of people and ignited health concerns.

Ex-producer Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years on L.A. rape conviction

Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. The sentence, imposed as a consecutive penalty to the 23-year prison term Weinstein, 70, who already is serving for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, makes it all the more likely that the Oscar-winning ex-producer will spend the rest of his life incarcerated.

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