US Domestic News Roundup: Texas judge blocks probes of transgender kids' parents statewide; Trump cannot sue rape accuser to stop her defamation case, U.S. judge rules and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Texas judge blocks probes of transgender kids' parents statewide

A Texas judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state from investigating parents who provide their transgender children with gender-transitioning medical treatments that Governor Greg Abbott calls "child abuse." District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum imposed a statewide temporary injunction on investigations that Abbott ordered the Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) to carry out, saying the probes endangered children and their families.

Trump cannot sue rape accuser to stop her defamation case, U.S. judge rules

Donald Trump cannot sue E. Jean Carroll, a writer who says he raped her in the mid-1990s, on the grounds that her defamation lawsuit against him violated a New York state law intended to protect free speech, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan accused the former U.S. president of "bad faith" by needlessly delaying the former Elle magazine columnist's lawsuit, which began in November 2019 and could have "long ago" been decided.

Ukraine war becomes a cudgel in Republican Party's internal conflict

The war in Ukraine has opened a new front in the U.S. Republican Party's civil war, with party primary candidates vying to run in the November midterm elections attacking each other for past comments praising Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Senate and House of Representatives races in at least three states, Republican candidates have been put on the defensive over comments describing Putin as intelligent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "thug" and Ukraine as not worth defending. They now face criticism at a time when U.S. public opinion strongly supports Ukraine and its president.

U.S. continues to exempt unaccompanied migrant children from border expulsion policy

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said unaccompanied migrant children will continue to not be expelled from the United States under a border policy put in place by former President Donald Trump, in a bid to counter a court challenge to the current practice. "The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) director is terminating with respect to unaccompanied noncitizen children an Order under Title 42 suspending the right to introduce certain persons into the United States", the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said early on Saturday.

U.S. State Dept warns Americans not to travel to Ukraine

The U.S. State Department on Friday said that U.S. citizens who travel to Ukraine, including those who go to participate in the conflict, face a very real risk of capture or death as it warned that Washington would not be able to facilitate evacuation. "They may be subject to potential attempts at criminal prosecution and may be at heightened risk for mistreatment," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

NYC's Museum of Modern Art patron stabs 2 employees when denied admission

A Museum of Modern Art patron whose membership card was recently revoked for unruly behavior stabbed two MoMA employees on Saturday when they denied him admission to the famed midtown Manhattan site and then fled, police said. The two victims, both women, were rushed to a local hospital for treatment of multiple stab wounds to their upper bodies, but "we're told they're going to be OK," John Miller, deputy New York City police commissioner, told a news briefing afterward.

Disney to pause Florida political donations over law limiting LGBTQ discussion

Walt Disney Co is pausing all political donations in Florida after an employee outcry over legislation that would limit discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools, Chief Executive Bob Chapek said in a memo to staff on Friday. The latest announcement comes a day after the Hollywood Reporter published a letter by LGBTQ+ employees and their allies within Disney TV Animation criticizing Chapek as "tone-deaf" for his initial messaging on the bill.

Idaho activist Ammon Bundy arrested for trespassing in child welfare dispute

Right-wing activist and Idaho gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy was arrested on Saturday on a trespassing charge for refusing to leave a hospital where an infant was taken into protective custody from his parents in a child-welfare case, police said. Bundy's campaign said on Twitter that he had gone to the hospital in Meridian, Idaho, about 10 miles (15 km) west of the state capital Boise, in support of a family whose baby boy "had been medically kidnapped."

Alzheimer's patient groups pressure U.S. to pay for Biogen drug

Patient groups are mounting a public pressure campaign aimed at persuading the U.S. government to loosen proposed restrictions on new Alzheimer's treatments, spending millions of dollars on television and local advertisements that began running during the Sunday morning political shows. The unusual ad campaign comes after a high-profile disagreement between government health agencies over who should have access to Biogen’s Aduhelm, the first treatment for the mind-wasting disease to be approved in 20 years.

Texas top court deals blow to clinics seeking to block abortion law

Texas's high court on Friday effectively ended a challenge by clinics to a state law that banned most abortions in Texas by ruling that state officials including those tasked with doctor licensing have no role in enforcing the law. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that only private citizens, not state officials, can enforce the law known as SB8 by suing anyone who performs or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.

(With inputs from agencies.)