Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Tornado in central Mississippi leaves at least one dead, two dozen injured

At least one person died and about two dozen people were injured overnight after a tornado hit central Mississippi, health authorities said. The tornado struck the town of Louin, about 70 miles east of Jackson, late on Sunday, the National Weather Service said, adding that multiple tornadoes could have hit the area. Authorities planned a damage assessment on Monday before releasing more details.

US judge orders Trump lawyers not to release evidence in documents probe

A U.S. judge in Florida on Monday ordered defense lawyers for former President Donald Trump not to release evidence in the classified documents case to the media or the public, according to a court filing. The order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart also put strict conditions on Trump's access to the materials.

Biden will announce $600 million in climate investments during California trip

President Joe Biden will visit Palo Alto, California on Monday and announce over $600 million in climate investments to help coastal communities around the country fight climate change, a White House official said on Sunday. The investments will be funded by Biden's climate and infrastructure bills and will include a $575 million project to fight rising sea levels, storm surge and tidal hurricanes, said the official, who did not wish to be named.

Abortion rights supporters and opponents mark one year without Roe v. Wade

Abortion rights advocates and opponents are set to mark this week's one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized the procedure nationwide with events to rally voters and highlight the ongoing fights over access. The ruling, whose anniversary comes this Saturday, had a swift impact by freeing states to ban abortion. Republican-controlled legislatures in numerous states passed restrictive legislation, with near-total abortion bans now in place in 14 states even as opinion polls show that a majority of Americans want abortion legal in all or most cases.

Defence, critical tech on agenda as India's Modi heads to US for landmark visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States this week for a visit billed as a turning point for bilateral relations, with deeper cooperation in defence industry and sharing high technology in sharp focus. The visit is expected to give India access to critical American technologies Washington rarely shares with non-allies, strengthening a new bond that is underpinned by not just global politics but also business and economics.

Biden criticizes U.S. senator's hold on military nominations

President Joe Biden on Monday criticized Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville for holding up some 200 Pentagon nominees over a Defense Department abortion policy. "It's just bizarre. I don't remember it happening before, and I've been around," Biden said of the actions of Tuberville at a fundraiser for wealthy donors in California's Silicon Valley.

Trump lacked power to declassify secret nuclear arms document, experts say

Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim. The secret document, listed as No. 19 in the indictment charging Trump with endangering national security, can under the Atomic Energy Act only be declassified through a process that by the statute involves the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Affirmative action, student debt rulings loom at US Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide by the end of this month the fate of race-conscious collegiate admission policies, one of the major disputes - also including cases involving LGBT rights and student debt forgiveness - still yet to be resolved as the justices speed toward the end of their current term. The court's conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, signaled skepticism during oral arguments in December toward the legality of student admissions policies employed by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The pending rulings concerning the two elite schools could end affirmative action programs that have been used by many U.S. colleges and universities for decades to increase their numbers of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students.

How U.C. Berkeley tried to buoy enrollment of Black students without affirmative action

In the 25 years since California voters banned all consideration of race in college admissions, the state has spent more than $500 million to help create diverse student bodies across the University of California system - with some success. Yet in classes at the University of California at Berkeley, philosophy major James Bennett, who is Black and Filipino, sees almost no one who looks like him.

Explainer-What is Juneteenth and how are people marking the day?

Juneteenth is the newest federal holiday and commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans. U.S. President Joe Biden signed the bill creating the holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, long a regional holiday in the U.S. South, rose in prominence following protests in 2020 over police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other African Americans.