US Domestic News Roundup: United Steelworkers accuse Exxon of union busting at Texas refinery; Two wealthy dads convicted in first U.S. college admissions scandal trial and more

The virtual talks between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and China's Vice Premier Liu He follow Tai's announcement on Monday that she would seek "frank" talks and hold China to its commitments under a "Phase 1" trade deal negotiated by former President Donald Trump. McConnell under fire for debt-ceiling as Democrats claim victory Senator Mitch McConnell, long known as the Republican mastermind in Congress, lost support among some members of his own party this week after offering Democrats a temporary deal to avert a cataclysmic U.S. credit default and safeguard the Senate's endangered super-majority rule.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

United Steelworkers accuse Exxon of union busting at Texas refinery

The labor union representing workers locked out of an Exxon Mobil Corp refinery on Friday accused the oil company of trying to "bust our union" by supporting efforts to officially remove the union with a decertification vote. Any vote would be tainted by "serious unfair labor practices," the USW said in a statement that accused Exxon of "misleading people with confusing statements regarding our union, our negotiations and the company's spiteful lockout."

Despite preparation, California pipeline operator may have taken hours to stop leak

The company that operates the pipeline that spilled an estimated 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off California has an 800-page manual on handling an oil spill - but it is unclear whether its employees followed those procedures. Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp and several state and federal regulatory agencies have provided differing accounts of what happened on Oct. 2, when the pipeline spill that fouled beaches, killed wildlife and closed down fishing along miles of coastline was officially reported.

China presses U.S. to cancel tariffs in test of bilateral engagement

China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries' top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world's biggest economies. The virtual talks between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and China's Vice Premier Liu He follow Tai's announcement https://www.reuters.com/business/bidens-new-china-trade-plan-echoes-trumps-assumes-beijing-wont-change-2021-10-04 on Monday that she would seek "frank" talks and hold China to its commitments under a "Phase 1" trade deal negotiated by former President Donald Trump.

McConnell under fire for debt-ceiling as Democrats claim victory

Senator Mitch McConnell, long known as the Republican mastermind in Congress, lost support among some members of his own party this week after offering Democrats a temporary deal to avert a cataclysmic U.S. credit default and safeguard the Senate's endangered super-majority rule. The 79-year-old Kentucky Republican, who had insisted for months that Democrats use a complex procedure to raise the debt ceiling on their own, offered a temporary fix to extend it into early December after the U.S. Treasury said it would run out of money to pay its bills by Oct. 18.

'Solar warriors' train for Native America energy fight

It is a jump from doing office paperwork to building solar power systems but that is the leap Lorraine Nez is taking to bring renewable energy to her Native American reservation. Nez was one of a dozen Native trainees who took a month-long course this summer on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation to become certified solar power installers and trainers.

U.S. appeals court reinstates Texas abortion law, two days after it was halted

A U.S. appeals court late on Friday temporarily reinstated Texas's restrictive abortion law, which bars the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy and outsources enforcement of the ban to ordinary citizens. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a conservative-leaning intermediate appeals court, granted a request on Friday by the Texas Attorney General's Office to temporarily suspend a judge’s order blocking the abortion ban.

Trump's DC hotel lost millions despite foreign payments -U.S. House panel

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's showcase hotel in Washington bled millions of dollars during his time in office even as he concealed payments from foreign governments, a U.S. House of Representatives panel said on Friday. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform said recently obtained government documents raised "troubling" questions about the Trump International Hotel, a historic building the Trump Organization leases from the federal government and a popular gathering spot for his supporters and for foreign dignitaries.

U.S. will not pursue charges against police officer over Jacob Blake shooting

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer for his involvement in the August 2020 shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake, who is Black, was shot by police several times in the back in front of his young children and was left paralyzed from the waist down. The incident sparked days of deadly protests against police brutality and racism in his hometown and across the United States.

McConnell says Republicans will not again aid Democrats in raising debt limit

One day after the Senate approved a temporary lift to the U.S. debt ceiling, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden that he would not aid Democrats again in raising the debt limit. Following weeks of partisan fighting, the Senate approved https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-republicans-haggle-over-short-term-debt-fix-2021-10-07 the short-term fix that will allow the United States to avoid defaulting on its bills in a 50-48 vote on Thursday evening. The House will vote on the measure on Tuesday.

Two wealthy dads convicted in first U.S. college admissions scandal trial

Two wealthy fathers who were the first to face trial in the U.S. college admissions scandal were convicted on Friday of charges that they corruptly tried to buy their children's way into elite universities as phony athletic recruits. A federal jury in Boston found former casino executive Gamal Aziz and private equity firm founder John Wilson guilty on all charges they faced in a case centered on a vast, nationwide fraud and bribery scheme that involved many other parents.

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