Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Trump-appointed justice could signal major Supreme Court shift on abortion With President Donald Trump poised to nominate a U.S. Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy created by the death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a new 6-3 conservative majority could be emboldened to roll back abortion rights.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump hedges when asked whether he would transfer power peacefully

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 election to Democratic rival Joe Biden. "We're going to have to see what happens," Trump, a Republican, told reporters at the White House when asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer. Trump says he thinks 2020 election will end up at Supreme Court

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he thinks the 2020 election will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, adding that is why it was important to have nine justices. Trump, speaking at an event at the White House, said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, would not even have to hold a hearing for the Supreme Court nominee and that the process would go quickly. Crews make headway against massive California wildfire

Firefighters notched a victory in their battle to beat back a massive blaze raging outside Los Angeles, more than doubling containment in the past 24 hours, the U.S. Forest Service said on Wednesday. The Bobcat Fire, which has been burning in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles since Sept. 6, was 38% contained as of Wednesday morning, John Clearwater, USFS spokesperson for Angeles National Forest, said in an email update. Eric Trump must testify in New York probe before the election, judge rules

A New York judge on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump's son Eric to make himself available by Oct. 7 to be interviewed under oath for a state probe into financing for properties owned by his family's company. Justice Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan Supreme Court said Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, offered no grounds to delay his deposition by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James until after the Nov. 3 presidential election. Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden, Trump about even in Florida, Arizona

The race between Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump looked like a toss-up among likely voters in Florida and Arizona, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Wednesday. Reuters/Ipsos is polling likely voters in six states - Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona - that will play critical roles in deciding whether Trump wins a second term in office or if Biden ousts him in the November election. Louisville police officers cleared of criminal charges in Breonna Taylor death

Two white policemen who fired into the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker, will not be prosecuted for her death because their use of force was justified, and a third was charged with endangering her neighbors, Kentucky's attorney general said on Wednesday. Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the Louisville grand jury's decision at a news conference, as protesters against racial injustice and police brutality massed in the streets of Kentucky's largest city. Biden courts crucial Black voting bloc in key state of North Carolina

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday said Black turnout was the linchpin to his hopes of winning the White House in November and reversing economic and social inequities that have held back African Americans. Noting that the coronavirus pandemic had hit the minority community especially hard, Biden said Black Americans would only achieve equality once they were in a position to build wealth, and voting was the starting point. Exclusive: Top adviser steps aside from FDA COVID-19 vaccine reviews over potential conflict

A physician who heads the influential U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee recused herself from the panel's review of COVID-19 vaccines because of her role overseeing a clinical trial for Moderna Inc's candidate, her spokeswoman told Reuters. Hana El Sahly, associate professor of virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, last year became chairwoman of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee - the panel of outside experts that will make recommendations on whether coronavirus vaccines should be approved. Trump-appointed justice could signal major Supreme Court shift on abortion

With President Donald Trump poised to nominate a U.S. Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy created by the death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a new 6-3 conservative majority could be emboldened to roll back abortion rights. The ultimate objective for U.S. conservative activists for decades has been to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. But short of that, there are other options the court has in curtailing abortion rights. Mourners pay respects to Ginsburg at U.S. Supreme Court

Mourners quietly filed past the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's flag-draped coffin outside the white marble court building on Wednesday as the United States began three days of tributes to the liberal icon. Hundreds of people lined up outside the court for a chance to pay their respects to the pioneering women's rights advocate, who died on Friday at age 87. Inside the court, Ginsburg's fellow justices celebrated her life in a private ceremony.