Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The justices will hear arguments in the administration's appeals of rulings by federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., halting its actions to terminate Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, previously provided by the U.S. government to more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria. House Democrats urge Trump to keep US ban on Chinese cars More than 70 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday not to permit Chinese automakers to build or sell cars in the United States.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Exclusive-US spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory

U.S. intelligence agencies are studying how Iran would respond if President Donald Trump were to declare a unilateral victory in the two-month-old war that has killed thousands and become a political liability for the White House, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter said. The intelligence community is analyzing the question along with others at the request of senior administration officials. The goal is to understand ​the implications of Trump potentially pulling back from a conflict that some officials and advisers worry could contribute to deep Republican losses at the midterm elections later this year, according to the sources.

Fed likely to hold rates steady at what may be last meeting of Powell era

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on ​Wednesday as officials debate whether to flag risks of rising inflation in a policy statement issued after what may be Jerome Powell's final meeting as head of the U.S. central bank. With oil prices high and rising ‌again due to the U.S.-led war with ​Iran, policymakers ahead of the Fed's latest two-day session said they were increasingly concerned that elevated energy costs could evolve from a one-off shock into higher underlying inflation, with interest rates needing to stay on hold longer than expected or, in the extreme, to move up.

US to produce passports bearing Trump's image

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it would produce a limited number of commemorative passports bearing a portrait of Donald Trump, the latest example of the administration attaching the president's likeness or name to official property. The passports will be released as part of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in July, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, which did not mention that the passports would contain Trump's image.

Analysis-Trump’s court setbacks fail to blunt his campaign against media

President Donald Trump has suffered a string of courtroom setbacks in his battles with the American media, but the rulings have done little to blunt a broader campaign of pressure and retaliation that extends beyond the press. Courts have consistently sided with news organizations, rejecting Trump’s defamation lawsuits and blocking efforts by his administration to limit press access ‌or defund public media, citing the robust free-speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

San Francisco, Port of Oakland settle airport trademark lawsuit

The City of San Francisco and the Port of Oakland have settled their trademark dispute over the use of "San Francisco" in the Oakland airport's name, according to a press release issued Tuesday. The Port of Oakland had previously decided to change its airport's name to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport." San Francisco argued in a lawsuit that the name change would cause confusion with its San Francisco International Airport.

US congressional panel asks Southern Poverty Law Center boss to testify

The chairman of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Tuesday asked the Southern Poverty Law Center's boss to testify before the panel in May after the civil rights group was indicted last week. Here are some details:

Trump administration indicts former NIH official over COVID records

The Trump administration has indicted a former National Institutes of Health official over allegations of evading federal records requests related to COVID-19 pandemic research grants and the use of personal email for government business. A grand jury in Maryland charged David Morens, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) during the pandemic, with conspiring to evade records requests received by the agency between April 2020 and December 2022.

Kennedy's US advisory board puts focus on 'profound autism', improved medical care

A U.S. advisory committee appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended on Tuesday that the government adopt the term "profound autism” for those with the highest support needs, and improve gaps in medical care for people with autism. The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee ‌helps guide federal autism research spending, worth about $2 billion annually, and coordinates efforts among government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

California adopts new rules allowing manufacturers to test and deploy heavy-duty autonomous vehicles

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday adopted new regulations for autonomous vehicles, allowing manufacturers to test and deploy heavy-duty driverless vehicle technology on the state's roads. The new regulations also expand safety and oversight requirements for all classes of autonomous vehicles, the California DMV said in a statement.

King Charles to visit New York to commemorate 9/11 victims

Britain's King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla arrive in New York on Wednesday to commemorate victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on ‌the city, part of a four-day state visit to the U.S. The king and queen's scheduled arrival in New York follows a packed day in Washington on Tuesday, when Charles delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress, held private meetings with President Donald Trump amid tensions between the U.S. and UK over the Iran war, and sat down with leaders of the U.S. tech industry.

Exclusive-Trump approval sinks to new low as war with Iran drives cost-of-living concerns

President Donald Trump's approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20.

Supreme Court examines Trump's move against Haitian and Syrian immigrants

The U.S. Supreme Court examines on Wednesday moves by President Donald Trump's administration to strip humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants, part of his signature immigration crackdown. The justices will hear arguments in the administration's appeals of rulings by federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., halting its actions to terminate Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, previously provided by the U.S. government to more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.

House Democrats urge Trump to keep US ban on Chinese cars

More than 70 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday not to permit Chinese automakers to build or sell cars in the United States. The lawmakers, led by Representative Debbie Dingell and Ro Khanna, urged Trump to keep a ban in place that has the strong backing of U.S. and foreign carmakers and other auto groups.

US seeks new nominees for key preventive health panel

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ⁠Jr., on Tuesday asked for nominations to the ​influential task force that decides which preventive medical care is provided at no cost to patients. The Preventive Services Task Force, which typically has 16 members, last met over a year ago. Three successive planned meetings ⁠were canceled and new members have not been named to replace the five volunteers whose terms expired in December.

US judge to weigh preservation groups' bid to stop Trump's Kennedy Center overhaul

A coalition of historic preservation and architecture groups will ask a judge on Wednesday to halt plans by President Donald Trump’s administration for a major renovation of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, marking the latest clash over Trump’s legal authority to reshape Washington. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (1400 GMT) to consider issuing a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed in March by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects and six other groups.

King Charles promotes US-UK unity in speech to Congress amid Iran tensions

Britain's King Charles told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday that despite an age of uncertainty and conflict in Europe and the Middle East, the UK and the U.S. ⁠will always be staunch allies united in defending democracy, at a time of deep divisions between the two long-time allies over the war with Iran. "Whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy, to protect all our people from harm, and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the service of our countries," Charles told U.S. lawmakers during a rare speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, and after a prolonged standing ovation at his entrance with Queen Camilla.

Virginia high court leaves Democratic-led redistricting vote blocked for now

Virginia's top court on Tuesday left in place a county judge's order temporarily blocking the state from certifying the results of last week's referendum, when voters approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map aimed at flipping four Republican U.S. House seats. The ruling, which came in ​one of three lawsuits Republicans have filed challenging the ballot measure, is not the last word on the election. The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments in another lawsuit on Monday over whether Democrats complied with legal requirements when initiating the referendum, but it has not yet reached a final decision in any of the cases.

White House drafts guidance to bypass Anthropic's risk flag for new AI models, Axios reports

The White House is developing guidance that could allow federal agencies to sidestep Anthropic's supply-chain risk designation and onboard new artificial intelligence models, including Mythos, Axios reported on Tuesday. A draft executive action under consideration could provide the Trump administration with a pathway to de-escalate its dispute with Anthropic, Axios ⁠reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Purdue Pharma receives $5.5 billion sentence, paving way for opioid settlement

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma was sentenced on Tuesday to $5.5 billion in fines and penalties stemming from its 2020 guilty plea to charges of deceiving government regulators and paying kickbacks to doctors to boost opioid sales. The sentencing in New Jersey federal court clears the way for the company to dissolve in bankruptcy and use its assets to fund a $7.4 billion settlement intended to compensate people harmed by the opioid epidemic.

Fed chief nominee Warsh set to clear key confirmation hurdle on Wednesday

Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, is set to clear a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday, opening the way for him to succeed Jerome Powell in coming weeks amid the White House's unprecedented efforts to exert control over the world's most powerful central bank. The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) to advance Warsh's nomination to the full Republican-controlled Senate. ⁠All 13 ​Republicans on the panel are expected to support Warsh after North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis dropped his opposition following the Department of Justice's decision on Friday to end a criminal investigation into Powell that Tillis viewed as a threat to the Fed's political independence.

Elon Musk says OpenAI was his idea, before executives looted it

Elon Musk took the stand on Tuesday at a high-stakes trial over the future of OpenAI, casting his lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker as a defense of charitable giving. The world's richest person is suing OpenAI, its co-founder and Chief Executive Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the public by abandoning OpenAI's mission to be a benevolent steward of AI for humanity, and transforming the nonprofit into a profit-seeking juggernaut.

US mandates what it calls 'enhanced' security checks for immigration applicants

President Donald Trump's administration has mandated what it calls "enhanced" security checks for immigration applicants, according to internal guidance sent to the employees of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Internal guidance by USCIS directed officers to refrain from approving any pending cases that have not undergone the expanded background checks. The guidance was first reported by CBS News.

DOJ cites shooting in bid to end lawsuit over Trump's White House ballroom

The Justice Department on Monday night asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit that has impeded President Donald Trump's plans for a White House ballroom, saying its opponents "suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome" and that an alleged assassination attempt on the president showed the project was necessary. In a nine-page ⁠court filing, Justice Department leaders said Saturday's foiled attack at the White House Correspondents Association dinner demonstrated why a White House ballroom is required for national security.

What the Fed has seen about the war's impact on the economy so far

Federal Reserve officials last met just over two weeks into the U.S.-led war on Iran and then had little data at their disposal beyond surging gasoline prices to assess its impact on the economy and the outlook for interest rates. As they meet again this week, the data over the past six weeks has not done much to sharpen that picture, especially on the topics most critical to their policymaking like the job market, inflation and overall activity.

US Senate blocks bid to ⁠prevent Trump from military action against Cuba

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday blocked a Democratic-led resolution that would have barred President Donald Trump from military action against Cuba without congressional approval. The Senate voted 51 to 47, almost entirely along ⁠party lines, on a procedural measure that blocked a war powers resolution, as members of Trump's party argued that there are no active U.S. hostilities against Cuba.

Powell's tenure as Fed chief, bookended by Trump, draws to a close

On a chilly spring day in 2017, Jerome Powell made a six-hour round trip by car through heavy mountain fog from Washington to West Virginia University for an evening talk with students about Federal Reserve history and the political balance of its structure, topics that can be ponderous even for close watchers of the U.S. central bank. At the time a Fed governor who had been appointed by President Barack Obama in late 2011, the points he made that night would before long move from the abstraction of a college lecture hall to the center of the monetary policy debate. Eight months later, Powell was nominated for the Fed's top job by President Donald Trump, only to quickly fall out with him in a battle over the independence of the central bank that rumbles on today.

Trump's DOJ indicts former FBI director James Comey over '86 47' post

The U.S. Justice Department brought criminal charges against James ‌Comey on Tuesday for a second time, accusing the former FBI director of threatening President Donald Trump by posting a photo of seashells ‌arranged to show the numbers "86 47." The charges, brought in the federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, accuse Comey of threatening the life of the U.S. president and transmitting a threat across state lines.

US soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro ouster

The U.S. Army soldier charged with winning $400,000 by using confidential information to bet on the removal of ousted Venezuelan ​President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to fraud charges on Tuesday. Gannon Van Dyke, 38, rose to stand as he entered the plea in U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett's courtroom in Manhattan.