Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was chosen randomly via a lottery and will consider the legal challenges to the landmark rule, which aims to standardize public company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how they are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Two Idaho fugitives captured day after violent escape An Idaho maximum-security prison inmate and a former cellblock acquaintance who helped him escape from a hospital in a barrage of gunfire were arrested on Thursday without a shot being fired, ending a 36-hour manhunt, authorities said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Iowa's drought conditions have farmers budgeting water use

As Iowa heads toward its fourth year of drought, grain farmers prepping for planting next month are facing mandatory water restrictions and livestock producers are searching for supplies. The nation's top corn-producing state is seeing one of its driest periods going into a growing season, according to Thursday's update from U.S. Drought Monitor.

Yellen would welcome US legislation to aid cannabis banking access

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday she would welcome legislation that would rectify the conflict between federal and state laws on the sale and use of marijuana that is preventing cannabis firms from accessing the banking system. Asked at a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee hearing about the issue, which forces cannabis businesses to hold large amounts of cash, Yellen said: "I think it's a real problem and it would be desirable to have legislation that alleviated this problem."

Trump is making 'wild' claims about late hush money documents, prosecutors say

Prosecutors on Thursday accused Donald Trump of making "wild and untrue" accusations against them about the timing of the disclosure of thousands of pages of possible evidence in his hush money criminal case as he seeks to further delay the trial.

A trial had initially been scheduled for March 25. Trump, seeking to regain the U.S. presidency this year, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records for seeking to hide a $130,000 hush money payment his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Challenges to SEC's climate rules sent to conservative-leaning US appeals court

A U.S. judicial panel on Thursday consolidated at least nine lawsuits challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rules requiring public companies to report climate-related risks in a venue favored by Republican-led states and a business group. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was chosen randomly via a lottery and will consider the legal challenges to the landmark rule, which aims to standardize public company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how they are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Two Idaho fugitives captured day after violent escape

An Idaho maximum-security prison inmate and a former cellblock acquaintance who helped him escape from a hospital in a barrage of gunfire were arrested on Thursday without a shot being fired, ending a 36-hour manhunt, authorities said. Skylar Meade, serving time for aggravated battery, and accused escape accomplice Nicholas Umphenour were taken into custody near Twin Falls, Idaho, about 130 miles southeast of the Boise hospital they fled early Wednesday morning, according to police.

Embattled US Senator Menendez says he won't seek reelection as Democrat

Embattled U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said on Thursday he would not run for reelection as a Democrat, but suggested he could run as an independent. Prosecutors have charged Menendez with taking bribes from New Jersey businessmen to impede law enforcement probes into them, illegally acting as an agent of the Egyptian government and obstruction of justice. Menendez has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

FDA's graphic warning labels for cigarettes are constitutional, US appeals court rules

A federal appeals court on Thursday said a U.S. government requirement that cigarette packs and advertisements contain graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking is constitutional, in a victory for the Biden administration and a defeat for the tobacco industry. Reversing a lower court ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans found that the 11 warnings required under a 2020 Food and Drug Administration rule were "factual and uncontroversial," and satisfied the First Amendment.

US appeals court directs probe of juror bias in Boston Marathon bomber's case

A federal appeals court on Thursday directed a trial judge to assess whether two jurors in Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's 2015 trial were biased and should not have been seated, creating grounds potentially to overturn his death sentence. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of granting Tsarnaev's latest bid to overturn his death sentence for his role in the 2013 attack that killed three people and wounded 260 others.

Tennessee becomes first US state with law protecting musicians from AI

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill into law on Thursday that aimed to protect artists including musicians from unauthorized use by artificial intelligence. The legislation is called the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act.

Analysis-Biden's softer climate regulation shows big US bet on subsidies to decarbonize

The Biden administration says its recent decision to scale back new climate regulations meant to force emissions cuts from cars and power plants will have a negligible impact on its overarching goal to halve greenhouse gas pollution this decade. But whether that is true hinges on whether the U.S. succeeds in its parallel strategy - to use lucrative taxpayer subsidies to fuel a massive deployment of solar, wind and other renewable energy installations that Biden hopes will ultimately power America’s fleet of electric vehicles, along with its homes and businesses, according to researchers.