Reuters US Domestic News Summary

"While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by ⁠enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for)," the official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. US Supreme Court rejects Trump's military deployment in Chicago area, for now The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let Donald Trump send National Guard troops to the Chicago area as the Republican president expands the use of the military for domestic purposes in a growing number of Democratic-led jurisdictions, a policy critics call an effort to punish adversaries and stifle dissent.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

White House to present plans for Trump's East Wing ballroom in January

The White House will unveil new details on President Donald Trump's planned East Wing ballroom during a hearing early next month, according to a federal commission tasked with reviewing the project. The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building, has been challenged in court by preservationists, while Democratic lawmakers have called it an abuse of power and are investigating which donors are supporting it.

US regulator extends driving-time limit waiver for ‌heating fuel haulers

The U.S. transport safety regulator has extended an emergency waiver on driving-time limits for truckers hauling heating fuels by a few days to January 15 to speed up deliveries. The extension, which came on Tuesday, was issued because severe winter storms, extreme cold, and a major power outage at a key gas refinery in Pennsylvania disrupted propane supplies, creating immediate risks to public health, safety, and welfare in the affected states.

US says it struck Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria

The United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government, President Donald Trump ⁠and the U.S. military said on Thursday, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region. "Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

NORAD tracks Santa's Yuletide sleigh ride for 70th year

Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North American air defense officials say they began tracking 70 years ago. Still, despite its devotion to a tradition dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, possesses limited intelligence about the direction that ​Santa will take in any given year.

Judge grants injunction blocking US from detaining British anti-disinformation activist

A U.S. judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining British anti-disinformation campaigner Imran Ahmed, after the U.S. permanent resident sued officials over an entry ban for his role in what Washington argues is online censorship. Washington imposed visa bans on Tuesday on Ahmed and four Europeans, including French ‍former EU commissioner Thierry Breton. It accuses them of working to censor freedom of speech or unfairly target U.S. tech giants with burdensome regulation. Ahmed lives in New York and is believed to be the only of the five currently in the country.

Discovery of a million more potential Epstein documents delays further releases

The U.S. Justice Department has found more than a million more documents potentially tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, delaying a full release for weeks while officials redact details to protect victims, DOJ said on Wednesday. President Donald Trump's administration began releasing files related to criminal investigations of Epstein, the late American financier who was friends with Trump in the 1990s, to comply with a law passed by Congress last month.

New York filmmaker Amos Poe dies at 76 after cancer battle

Amos Poe, the New York director and screenwriter credited with chronicling the city's downtown punk movement, died on Thursday at 76 after a battle with an aggressive cancer, his wife and daughter said on social media. Poe, diagnosed with stage ⁠4 colon cancer in ‌2022, underwent intensive chemotherapy before moving to home hospice care.

US judge rejects business group's challenge to Trump's $100,000 H-1B ⁠visa fee

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a challenge by the largest U.S. business lobby group to President Donald Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, saying it fell under his broad powers to regulate immigration. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., rejected arguments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the fee conflicts with federal immigration law and will lead many companies, hospitals and other employers to cut jobs and the services they provide to the ‍public.

ICE agents involved in Maryland shooting that injures two people

U.S. immigration agents were involved in a shooting incident in Maryland on Wednesday that left one man with bullet wounds and the other with minor injuries, authorities said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were carrying out an operation to target two men in the U.S. illegally in Glen Burnie, just south of Baltimore, said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees federal immigration officers.

White House orders military to focus ​on 'quarantine' of Venezuela oil

The White House has ordered U.S. military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, a U.S. official told Reuters, indicating Washington is currently more interested in using economic rather than military means to pressure Caracas. "While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by ⁠enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for)," the official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

US Supreme Court rejects Trump's military deployment in Chicago area, for now

The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let Donald Trump send National Guard troops to the Chicago area as the Republican president expands the use of the military for domestic purposes in a growing number of Democratic-led jurisdictions, a policy critics call an effort to punish adversaries and stifle dissent. The justices let stand for now a judge's order ⁠blocking the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in a legal challenge brought by Illinois officials and local leaders. The U.S. Justice Department had sought to allow the deployment while the case proceeds.

Democrats urge Trump to reverse mass ambassador recalls

Democratic senators urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to reverse a recall of nearly 30 career ambassadors, warning the move leaves a dangerous leadership vacuum that allows adversaries like Russia and China to expand their influence. The Trump administration in recent days has ordered career diplomats serving across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America back to Washington to ensure U.S. missions abroad reflect its "America First" priorities.

US weekly jobless claims fall, but more people collecting unemployment checks

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, consistent with a low level of layoffs, but the ⁠unemployment rate likely remained high in December amid sluggish hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped for a second straight week, declining by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 for the week ended December 20, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Heavy rains drench Southern California, spawn flash flooding, mud flows

Torrential rains unleashed widespread flash flooding and mud flows across Southern California on Wednesday, as authorities ⁠warned motorists to stay off roads while urging residents in flood zones to evacuate or shelter in place. In the ‌rain-soaked mountain resort of Wrightwood, east of Los Angeles, emergency crews spent much of the day answering dozens of rescue calls and pulling drivers to safety from submerged vehicles, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Christopher Prater said.

How a Silicon Valley dealmaker charmed Trump and gave Intel a lifeline

It was a Thursday before dawn in Silicon Valley when Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan found himself under attack by the president of the United States. "The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at 4:39 AM Pacific Time on August 7. Before ⁠he was Intel CEO, Tan had been a prolific investor in companies in China.

Kennedy Center Christmas Eve jazz concert canceled after Trump's name added

A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center was canceled, with the host of the longtime annual performance attributing the decision ‍to the addition of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's name to the institution in Washington. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

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