Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Columbia called the police At Columbia University, tensions between the administration and students protesting over Israel's war in Gaza have reached the point that scores of New York City police marched onto campus to clear an encampment and arrest demonstrators who had commandeered a classroom building.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bird flu likely circulated in US cows for four months before diagnosis -paper

Bird flu likely circulated in U.S. dairy cows on a limited basis for about four months before federal officials confirmed the disease that has now spread to nine states, according to a new federally funded research paper. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the first-ever H5N1 virus infection in a dairy cow in Texas on March 25, following reports of decreased milk yields in multiple states.

Fresh chaos, arrests on US college campuses as police flatten camp at UCLA

Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at UCLA in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week. In the pre-dawn hours, helmeted police swarmed a tent city set up at the University of California in Los Angeles, using flash bangs and riot gear to push through lines of protesters who linked arms in a futile attempt to halt their advance.

US mistakenly killed civilian in 2023 Syria strike, Pentagon says

The Pentagon on Thursday acknowledged in an internal investigation that the United States mistakenly killed a civilian in Syria in a 2023 drone strike, saying U.S. forces had misidentified an intended al Qaeda target. The U.S. Central Command, in a statement, said it could not publicly share many details of the investigation, citing classified information. While the strike complied with the law of armed conflict and U.S. policies, the probe "revealed several issues that could be improved."

Trump cites Biden classified records probe as he seeks to toss documents case

Donald Trump cited U.S. President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency as he seeks to have criminal charges related to his own retention of sensitive records tossed out, court filings showed on Thursday. Trump, the former president and the Republican challenger to Democrat Biden in the Nov. 5 election, argued that the decision not to charge Biden and other senior U.S. officials who mishandled classified information shows he is being selectively targeted by prosecutors.

Trump lawyer suggests hush money payment was extortion

A lawyer for Donald Trump sought on Thursday to portray the hush money payment at the center of his criminal trial as extortion, questioning a lawyer involved in the deal about his cash-for-dirt negotiations with other celebrities. Defense attorney Emil Bove's questioning of the lawyer Keith Davidson hinted at a strategy by Trump's legal team to undermine the credibility of prosecution witnesses in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

Trump to parade vice presidential hopefuls at Florida fundraiser

Donald Trump will host a bevy of potential vice presidential picks at a Republican event in Florida this weekend, giving him the chance to observe his potential running mates in action while using them as a draw to attract donors. The Republican presidential candidate will convene a two-day retreat on Friday and Saturday in Palm Beach that is expected to attract more than 400 donors and high-profile politicians.

Biden breaks silence on college protests over Gaza conflict

Under mounting political pressure, U.S. President Joe Biden broke his silence on campus unrest over the war in Gaza on Thursday, saying Americans have the right to demonstrate but not to unleash violence. "There is a right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos," Biden said in remarks at the White House.

California boat captain gets 4-year prison term for fire deaths of 34 people

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people in one of the state's deadliest maritime disasters, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison for his conviction on a federal charge of seaman's manslaughter. Jerry Boylan, 70, was found guilty by a U.S. District Court jury in November on a single felony count of "misconduct or neglect of a ship officer" under a federal homicide statute dating from steamboat accidents of the early 1800s.

Berkeley takes hands-off approach to Gaza campus protests. Columbia called the police

At Columbia University, tensions between the administration and students protesting over Israel's war in Gaza have reached the point that scores of New York City police marched onto campus to clear an encampment and arrest demonstrators who had commandeered a classroom building. It was the second time in as many weeks that the administration has called on police to control the protests. Students have been suspended, and threatened with expulsion. Police are now stationed around-the-clock on campus.

US IRS targets sharply higher audit rates on big firms, partnerships, millionaires

The Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday that it plans to sharply increase audit rates for big corporations, partnerships and multimillionaires over the next three years as it ramps up enforcement spending and hiring to boost collections. Releasing an update of its strategic operating plan for spending $60 billion in funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS said it was targeting a near tripling of the audit rate on corporations with assets over $250 million to 22.6% in the 2026 tax year from 8.8% in 2019.

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