US News Roundup: U.S. rights groups ask courts to freeze Trump asylum rule; Pentagon to deploy additional 2,100 troops

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Puerto Rico faces tougher scrutiny over federal Medicaid funding

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday called for heightened scrutiny of Puerto Rico's Medicaid program as the bankrupt territory seeks increased federal healthcare funding while it deals with repercussions from a government corruption scandal. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce agreed to several accountability measures linked to a $12 billion funding boost over four years for the low-income healthcare program in Puerto Rico. A group of Republican U.S. senators, meanwhile, sought information on whether any safeguards are in place to deter misuse of the island's federal Medicaid dollars.

Judge in Durst murder case rules jurors may consider handwriting evidence

Jurors in real estate scion Robert Durst's trial for murder may consider handwriting evidence that prosecutors say implicates him in the killing of his longtime friend, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Wednesday. But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham told prosecutors their handwriting experts will have to explain their methodology before they can tell jurors whether they think Durst wrote a potentially incriminating note.

Asylum seekers anxiously cross into U.S. as new policy kicks in

As a new Trump administration policy aimed at making almost all migrants ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border spread fear this week, those at the front of the line in Mexican border cities found the gates to the United States were still open, though they will face a much higher bar to stay. As the policy went into effect on Tuesday, migrants in Ciudad Juarez and other Mexican border towns were cautiously optimistic: U.S. officials were still moving down the list of asylum seekers, calling migrants to cross the bridge into the United States and apply.

U.S. judge blasts drug lord El Chapo's 'overwhelming evil,' imposes life sentence

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Mexican drug lord who twice escaped maximum-security prisons in that country, will spend the rest of his life in a U.S. penitentiary, a federal judge said on Wednesday after accusing him of "overwhelming evil." Guzman, 62, berated the U.S. justice system, and a former associate described how he had paid a gang $1 million to try to kill her before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan imposed the mandatory sentence of life plus 30 years.

New York mayor says he regrets trusting U.S. Justice Department on Garner chokehold case

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday that he regrets trusting the U.S. Department of Justice after federal prosecutors declined to charge a city policeman who used a fatal chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, five years ago. He also said that New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill would decide by August whether to punish or fire Daniel Pantaleo, the white officer who has been on desk duty since he was seen in bystanders' cellphone videos putting Garner in a chokehold for about seven seconds on July 17, 2014.

Jury weighs fate of Illinois man in slaying of student from China

A U.S. court jury on Wednesday began deliberating whether life in prison or the death penalty should be imposed on an Illinois man convicted of the abduction and decapitation murder of a Chinese graduate student two years ago. The same jury found Brendt Christensen, 29, guilty last month of all charges in the disappearance and death of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Man sentenced for threatening to bomb Harvard ceremony for black students

An Arizona man was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Wednesday after admitting he made online threats to bomb Harvard University and shoot students at its first commencement ceremony for black students in order to "end their pro-black agenda." Nicholas Zuckerman, 25, wept as he apologized to a federal judge in Boston for the "hateful" threats he posted on Instagram in May 2017 at a time when he was regularly being "amped up" reading about politics.

Pentagon to deploy additional 2,100 troops to U.S.-Mexico border

The Pentagon said on Wednesday it would send an additional 1,000 Texas National Guard and 1,100 active duty troops to the border with Mexico, the latest deployment in support of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Major Chris Mitchell, a Pentagon spokesman, told Reuters that acting Defense Secretary Richard Spencer had approved the additional troops on Tuesday night, and they would be assisting with tasks like logistical support and aerial surveillance.

California settles decades-long lawsuit over lead paint, but outcome is bittersweet

When Californian counties and cities first sued paint makers in 2000, they wanted the companies to pay billions to remove dangerous old lead paint from hundreds of thousands of homes. After a 19-year legal struggle, they have finally succeeded in getting the companies to fund a remediation program, albeit on a much smaller scale. Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra Grocery Products Co. and NL Industries have agreed to a $305 million settlement, according to a filing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California on Wednesday.

U.S. rights groups ask courts to freeze Trump asylum rule

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that sued to block the Trump administration's latest initiative to bar almost all asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border have asked courts to freeze the measure while their cases are heard. The ACLU filed documents on Wednesday asking for a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.