Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump funding freeze added millions to cost of NY tunnel project, manager says

The commission overseeing the $16 billion New York Hudson Tunnel Project said it needs funding certainty from President Donald Trump's administration to fully resume construction after a funding freeze added millions of dollars to the project's cost. The Hudson Tunnel Project aims to build a new commuter rail tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey and repair storm damage to a century-old tunnel used by more than 200,000 travelers and 425 trains daily. Last week, the administration ​completed a release of $235.7 million after withholding funding since Oct. 1 after a federal judge ordered payment and a U.S. appeals court refused to halt it.

FBI's Patel defends beer-soaked Olympic celebration while on Italy trip

FBI Director Kash Patel is defending his weekend beer-soaked locker-room celebration with the victorious U.S. men's hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Milan, saying he had been ​in Italy on official business and would pay his own way for personal activities. "Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to ‌celebrate this historic moment," Patel wrote on ​social media, after videos showed him jumping up and down and chugging a beer in the locker room while the hockey team celebrated their 2-1 overtime victory over Canada on Sunday.

Trump considers new national security tariffs after Supreme Court ruling, WSJ reports

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is considering new national security tariffs on a half-dozen industries after a Supreme Court decision last week that invalidated many of his second-term levies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The new tariffs, to be issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, would be separate from a 15% global levy Trump announced on Saturday, the report said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Fed's Waller: January jobs data an upside surprise, if it continues a policy pause may be appropriate

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he was open to leaving interest rates on hold at the Fed's March meeting if upcoming February jobs data indicates the U.S. labor market had "pivoted to a more solid footing" after a weak 2025. Unexpectedly strong January job growth of 130,000 positions was "a surprise to the upside," and if that continues in February "my view of appropriate monetary policy may tilt toward a pause at our upcoming meeting," Waller said in remarks prepared for delivery ‌at a National Association for Business Economics conference.

US FDA Commissioner Makary says FDA supports mRNA vaccines but US taxpayers should not bear the cost

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary on Monday defended his agency's position and record on mRNA vaccines, days after it changed course and agreed to review a Moderna flu vaccine. The FDA supports mRNA vaccines, but taxpayers should not foot the bill, Makary said, referring to several Health Department moves last year to cut funding for mRNA vaccine research. He spoke at an event announcing an FDA-proposed framework to speed the approval of gene therapies to treat rare diseases.

Son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner pleads not guilty to murder charges

Nick Reiner, the troubled son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder charges stemming from the fatal stabbing of his parents in their home, one of the most shocking celebrity homicide cases in Los Angeles history. The 32-year-old was arraigned during a brief proceeding that had been twice rescheduled, most recently last month, when his original attorney abruptly quit without explanation and was replaced by a public defender.

Law enforcement kills armed man seeking to enter Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, officials say

U.S. Secret Service and local police shot and killed a man armed with a shotgun early on Sunday after he breached a secure perimeter at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, law enforcement officials said. Trump, who is currently in Washington, was not at the site at the time. The man in Sunday's incident was identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, from North Carolina, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Martin was reported missing within the last few days, according to the source.

Paralyzing blizzard hits US Northeast, closing ‌roads and canceling flights

A powerful blizzard dropped more than two-and-a-half feet of snow (76.2 cm) across parts of the U.S. Northeast on Monday, bringing travel to a near-standstill for millions of residents as the treacherous conditions closed roads, shut down train services and forced the cancellation of some 7,400 flights. Thousands of homes and businesses lost power and officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, urged residents to stay off the roads so emergency crews could clear the streets. Schools in New York and throughout the region were closed. Broadway shut its theaters.

Pentagon raises concerns over US Senate aviation safety bill

The Pentagon raised significant concerns about an aviation safety bill set to be taken up on Monday by the U.S. House of Representatives meant to address safety issues that arose from a 2025 aircraft ‌collision over Washington airspace that killed 67 people in the worst U.S. aviation disaster since 2001. The ROTOR Act, passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in December, would require aircraft operators to equip their fleets with a safety system known as the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, or ADS-B, by the end of 2031. It would also require the military to use ADS-B on routine training flights but not on sensitive military missions.

US factory orders fall in December on commercial aircraft bookings

New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in December amid a sharp decline in commercial aircraft bookings, but demand elsewhere was strong, partly driven by robust investment in artificial intelligence. Factory orders dropped 0.7% after an unrevised 2.7% increase in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday.

With tariffs ruling, Supreme Court reasserts its power to check Trump

After siding with President Donald Trump in two dozen cases in the past year in ways that boosted his power and let him quickly transform U.S. policies on immigration, military service, federal employment and beyond, the U.S. Supreme Court finally reached its limit. The court on Friday upended one of Trump's top priorities in his second term as president, deciding in a blockbuster ruling that his imposition of sweeping global tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner exceeded his powers under federal law.

Analysis-Tariff ruling limits Trump's leverage but won't end uncertainty for trade partners

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down a large swath of President Donald Trump's tariffs has weakened his ability to threaten and impose tariffs at a moment's notice, but it won't end gnawing uncertainty for trade partners or companies. Trump responded within hours to the ruling on Friday, slapping a new 10% tariff on all imports and ordering new trade investigations that could lead to additional levies in months, while insisting that trade and investment deals reached with nearly 20 countries - most with higher tariffs - should remain untouched.

Storm paralyzes travel, forcing more than 8,000 US flight disruptions

U.S. airlines are set to add flights on Tuesday, even as they wrestle with thousands of scrubbed flights the day after a powerful Northeast winter storm forced ⁠more than 8,000 cancellations and delays. The storm blanketed parts ​of the U.S. Northeast, closing roads and cancelling schools.

US Supreme Court won't revive NRA free speech suit against NY ex-official

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to revive the National Rifle Association's lawsuit accusing a former New ⁠York state official of coercing banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the gun rights group. The justices in 2024 had reinstated the group's lawsuit accusing Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, of violating its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. But they declined to do so a second time after a lower court again dismissed the lawsuit.

Olympics-LA28 CEO voices strong support for embattled chair Wasserman

Los Angeles 2028 CEO Reynold Hoover on Monday gave his full backing to Chair Casey Wasserman, telling Reuters his support remains unwavering despite increased scrutiny following the most recent release of U.S. Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The comments were Hoover's first on the matter since Wasserman's name appeared in the documents published late last month, and his first since the mayor of Los Angeles called on him to step down. The documents featured flirty email exchanges from more than two decades ago between Wasserman and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, a close Epstein associate.

Meta users survey ⁠found 19% of young teens on Instagram report seeing unwanted nude images

Nearly 1 in 5 users aged 13 to 15 told Meta that they saw "nudity or sexual images on Instagram" that they didn't want to view, according to a court filing. The document, made public on Friday as part of a federal lawsuit in California and reviewed by Reuters, includes portions of a March 2025 deposition of Instagram head Adam Mosseri.

JPMorgan says it closed Trump's bank accounts a month after Jan. 6 attack

JPMorgan Chase told President Donald Trump and his hospitality business in February 2021 it was closing their accounts at the bank, according to new documents released Friday as part of a $5 billion lawsuit Trump has filed against the bank and CEO Jamie Dimon. Several businesses cut ties with Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, including two law firms that represented him and the Trump Organization, and the PGA of America, ​which stripped Trump's club in Bedminster, New Jersey, of the 2022 PGA Championship.

Democrats outpace Republicans in fundraising for key US House races

Democratic candidates so far have outraised Republican hopefuls in the most competitive districts for the U.S. House of Representatives with crucial mid-term elections nine months away, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance reports. Incumbents in battleground districts, regardless of party, have a clear edge over their challengers, hauling in more than $84 million last year, according to federal reports released in January.

Longevity expert Peter Attia steps aside from CBS News following Epstein emails

Longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia has stepped aside as a contributor to CBS News, a network spokesperson said on Monday, roughly three weeks after his emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became ⁠public. Attia's name appears more than 1,700 times in the trove of 3 million documents released as part of the Epstein files by the U.S. Department of Justice on January 30.

Trump administration steps up efforts to scrutinize foreign funding of universities

The Trump administration is stepping up work to uncover what it sees as malign foreign influence at U.S. colleges and universities, officials said on Monday as they announced that the State Department would assist the Department of Education in that effort. President Donald Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to universities over issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, raising free speech and academic freedom concerns.

Trump warns countries that 'play games' with US trade deals will face higher tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the U.S. after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying that he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws. Trump, in a series of social media posts, said he also ⁠may impose ​license fees on trading partners as uncertainty over his next tariff moves gripped the global economy and sent stocks lower.

Supreme Court wades into US-Cuba business disputes, with billions at stake

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to explore legal questions arising from the fraught history of U.S.-Cuban relations when it considers the scope of a 1996 law that lets U.S. nationals seek compensation for property confiscated by the communist-led Cuban government. The justices hear arguments on Monday in two cases centered on the federal law called the Helms-Burton Act, one involving U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and the other involving the cruise lines Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.

Olympics-US women's ice hockey team decline State of the Union invite, reports say

The U.S. women's ice hockey team that beat rivals Canada for gold at the Milano Cortina Olympics have declined an invitation to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington this week citing schedule conflicts, according to multiple reports on Monday. USA Hockey reportedly said they were grateful for the invitation and appreciate the recognition of the team's triumph last week but they were unable to be on hand when Trump issues his speech to Congress at 9 p.m. ET (0200 GMT) on Tuesday.

Top Noem aide entered cockpit before firing pilot over missing blanket, sources say

Top U.S. homeland security aide Corey Lewandowski entered the cockpit of a government jet uninvited during a flight last year, after which he fired a pilot over a misplaced blanket, two people familiar with the matter said. Lewandowski, a long-time ally of President Donald Trump, was traveling with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when they discovered her blanket was missing, the people said, requesting anonymity to ⁠discuss internal government operations.

US judge permanently blocks release of report on Trump documents case

A U.S. judge permanently barred the Justice Department on Monday from releasing a prosecutor's report on the criminal case accusing President Donald Trump of unlawfully retaining classified documents following his first term in office. Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon found that releasing the report would be a "manifest injustice" to the Republican president and two former associates who were charged alongside him because it would detail substantial allegations of criminal wrongdoing in a case that never reached a jury.

US Senate Democrats introduce bill to force refunds of Trump tariffs deemed illegal

A group of 22 U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday introduced legislation that would require President Donald Trump's administration to fully refund within 180 days all of ⁠the revenue, with interest, collected from tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The legislation would require the Customs and Border Protection agency, which collects tariffs at U.S. ports of entry, to prioritize small businesses.

Maryland sues Trump administration to halt construction ⁠of ICE facility

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said on Monday that the state had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to halt construction of a new federal immigration detention center in the state. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has federal oversight of immigration, spent more than $100 million on a 54-acre square-foot warehouse in Maryland's Washington County to convert into a detention center capable of holding 1,500 people at a time, Brown said.

US CDC's Ralph Abraham becomes second top official to leave this month

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Principal Deputy Director Ralph Abraham has stepped down, the agency said on Monday, announcing the exit of its second top official this month. The CDC, which is temporarily being run by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, said the departure was effective immediately and attributed it to unforeseen family obligations. It did not comment on who would replace Abraham.

Reversing course, US will keep TSA PreCheck program operational

President Donald Trump's administration reversed course on Sunday on the program that lets millions of airline travelers get expedited security screening, announcing it will remain operational after earlier saying it would be suspended amid a shutdown of much of the Homeland Security Department. The department said the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program will remain operational, though ‌the administration apparently has suspended a second program called Global Entry that expedites U.S. customs and immigration clearance for pre-approved, low-risk international travelers entering the United States.

Shelving ‌China actions harms US national security, House Democrats say

The Trump administration's "troubling" decision to pause key tech security measures aimed at Beijing jeopardizes U.S. national security in the interest of steadying relations with China, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Monday. In a letter sent to Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick and seen by Reuters, the lawmakers raise questions about the shelving of a ban on China Telecom's U.S. operations ​as well as proposed bans on U.S. sales of routers by TP-Link and the U.S. internet businesses of China Unicom and China Mobile. The moves were reported by Reuters on Feb. 12.

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