US News Roundup: Republican ex-lawmakers back Biden on first day of Trump convention; Biden would not trash all Trump's foreign policy legacy and more

Trump eyes campaign reboot with made-for-TV convention as protesters clash on site Republicans will make their case this week that the economic and political future of the United States depends on the re-election of Donald Trump, at a party convention designed to highlight his pre-pandemic record as president and sow doubt about opponent Joe Biden.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Factbox: Why North Carolina and Wisconsin, U.S. political convention hosts, matter for Trump and Biden

Democrats and Republicans chose Wisconsin and North Carolina, two battleground states that will help decide the Nov. 3 presidential election, to host their nominating conventions before the coronavirus forced them to scale back the events. Here is a look at how Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are faring in each of the politically important states.

Black man shot, injured by police in Wisconsin city, curfew imposed

Protests erupted in the U.S. city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, following a police shooting there of a reportedly unarmed Black man, prompting officials to impose a curfew. The victim, identified by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers as Jacob Blake, was hospitalized in a serious condition on Sunday evening after police shot him multiple times, local media reported.

Portland Police declare 'riot' after officers attacked

Portland Police declared a gathering of protesters as a "riot" late on Sunday after saying its officers were attacked with lasers, rocks and bottles. In a Twitter post https://bit.ly/2ErTEY8, the police asked the gathering in the U.S. city's North Precinct to disperse, adding that failure to comply with the order could lead to arrests and crowd control agents including tear gas and impact weapons.

Trump's diplomatic legacy: lost trust, scarred ties and sanctions

President Donald Trump made some of his flashiest 2016 campaign pledges in foreign policy areas, such as vowing to reevaluate the U.S. relationship with NATO, abandon a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and bring U.S. troops back from "forever wars." The Republican president, a former businessman from New York who boasts about his deal-making skills, has delivered on some of his pledges, while partially meeting a few others. Some he has so far completely failed to achieve.

Small but growing Russian support for QAnon conspiracies seen online

Russian government-supported organizations are playing a small but increasing role amplifying conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon, raising concerns of interference in the November U.S. election. Academics who study QAnon said there were no signs Russia had a hand in the early days of the movement, which launched in 2017 with anonymous web postings amplified by YouTube videos.

Firefighters, military planes, troops arrive in California to fight massive blazes

Crews from across the U.S. West, military planes and National Guard troops poured into California on Sunday to join the fight against two dozen major wildfires burning across the state, as officials warned of more dry lightning storms approaching. The worst of the blazes, including the second and third largest wildfires in recorded California history, were burning in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, where more than 200,000 people have been told to flee their homes.

Trump eyes campaign reboot with made-for-TV convention as protesters clash on site

Republicans will make their case this week that the economic and political future of the United States depends on the re-election of Donald Trump, at a party convention designed to highlight his pre-pandemic record as president and sow doubt about opponent Joe Biden. Against the backdrop of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA/0100B5K8423/index.html over 175,000 Americans, and an ensuing recession that has seen the loss of millions of jobs and Trump's erosion in the polls, Republicans plan a partly virtual, partly in-person extravaganza https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-convention-people-factbo/factbox-who-is-speaking-at-the-republican-national-convention-and-why-idUSKBN25J0RI studded with Trump family members that features the president speaking every night even as protesters target the convention site.

As president, Biden would not trash all Trump's foreign policy legacy

When Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in 2016, almost immediately, and with evident relish, he set about trying to demolish Barack Obama's carefully crafted foreign policy legacy. In the following days, months and years, Trump threw out a trade deal with the Asia-Pacific, a global climate accord, a nuclear agreement with Iran and a process to end decades of hostility with Cuba.

Republican ex-lawmakers back Biden on first day of Trump convention

More than two-dozen former Republican U.S. lawmakers, including former Senator Jeff Flake, endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president on Monday, the first day of the Republican National Convention, in the latest rebuke of President Donald Trump by members of his own party. The 27 former members of Congress joined a "Republicans for Biden" initiative organized by the Biden campaign to encourage Republican support for the Democrat, the Biden campaign said. They cited Trump's "corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency, and urgent need to get the country back on course" as reasons for the move, according to a Biden campaign statement. Tropical storm Laura likely to become hurricane by Tuesday: U.S. NHC

Tropical storm Laura is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by early Tuesday, the U.S National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. The system is located about 255 miles (415 km) east south-east the Isle of Youth, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (100 km/h), NHC said on Monday.