Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs, computer chips, medical products U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing as he woos American voters who give his economic policies low marks.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump's lawyers assail estranged fixer Michael Cohen's credibility at hush money trial

Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen faced aggressive questioning on Tuesday from the Republican presidential candidate's defense lawyers, who sought to undermine Cohen's testimony that Trump was intricately involved in a scheme to buy a porn star's silence. Trump attorney Todd Blanche used Cohen's own words to paint a picture of a turncoat who went from revering the former president to reviling him, even calling Trump a "dictator douchebag," a "boorish cartoon misogynist" and a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain."

Trump's former lawyer Giuliani stumbles in bid to appeal defamation ruling

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected Rudy Giuliani's attempt to appeal a $148 million defamation judgment won by former Georgia election workers, saying Donald Trump's former lawyer should focus on his own stalled bankruptcy case. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane agreed with creditors, including defamed election workers Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who complained that Giuliani had made no progress on selling his assets or resolving his debts.

US Air Force prosecutors seek court-martial for leaker Jack Teixeira

U.S. Air Force prosecutors on Tuesday urged a military hearing officer to recommend a trial by court-martial for Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking a massive trove of classified military documents. Teixeira, 22, appeared in uniform at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts for the first hearing to address the military charges, which were filed after he pleaded guilty in March to separate charges by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ship that hit Maryland bridge had lost power several times, investigators say

The cargo ship Dali lost electrical power several times before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S, Northeast, federal investigators said on Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report that about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore the Dali experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.

Florida bus crash kills eight, leads to DUI arrest of driver involved

A bus carrying farm laborers in northern Florida collided with a pickup truck on Tuesday and overturned, killing at least eight people and critically injuring eight others, authorities said. The driver of the pickup truck, Bryan Maclean Howard, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol troopers on eight counts of manslaughter while driving under the influence, according to a statement from Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

US says Boeing breached 2021 737 MAX criminal prosecution deal

The U.S. Justice Department said late on Tuesday that Boeing Co had breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded the planemaker from criminal prosecution over fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The Justice Department said in a court filing in Texas that Boeing had failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations." The Justice Department said Boeing is subject to prosecution, but the government is determining how it will proceed in this matter.

Wing of Trump's plane hit a corporate jet at West Palm Beach airport, source says

The wing of former U.S. President Donald Trump's plane, a Boeing 757, hit a corporate jet while taxiing at West Palm Beach International Airport on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs, computer chips, medical products

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing as he woos American voters who give his economic policies low marks. "American workers can out-work and out-compete anyone as long as the competition is fair, but for too long it hasn't been fair," Biden said during a speech in the White House Rose Garden before unions and companies. "We're not going to let China flood our market."

Analysis-Biden's new China tariff wall faces leakage via Mexico, Vietnam

The Biden administration's new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other strategic sectors aim to protect the future of U.S. manufacturing, but they will likely accelerate a shift of Chinese production to Mexico, Vietnam and elsewhere to avoid them. U.S. officials and trade experts say that without strong efforts to cut off transshipped or lightly processed Chinese goods from Mexico and other countries, China's underpriced excess production will still find its way into U.S. markets.

US State Dept moves $1 billion weapons aid for Israel to congressional review, official says

The U.S. State Department has moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.