Reuters US Domestic News Summary

At least two children placed emergency 911 calls from a pair of adjoining fourth-grade classrooms after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered on Tuesday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, according to Colonel Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Trump urges end to gun-free school zones, easier confinement of 'deranged' people Former President Donald Trump on Friday argued the United States should make it easier to confine "deranged" people and eliminate gun-free school zones after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers this week at a Texas school.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump loses bid to thwart New York AG's probe of his businesses

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lost a bid to stop New York state Attorney General Letitia James' probe of his business practices, allowing the three-year investigation to move forward. Trump, a Republican, last year sued James in federal court in upstate Albany, arguing the civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization misled banks and tax authorities about the valuations of its assets should be halted because he felt James, a Democrat, was using the case to further her political career.

Prosecutors urge jury to convict ex-Clinton campaign lawyer for lying to FBI over Trump tip

Federal prosecutors on Friday presented closing arguments to a Washington jury in a criminal case against a former attorney for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, urging them to convict him for lying to the FBI in a bid to harm Donald Trump. The case against the lawyer, Michael Sussmann, centers on whether he lied by claiming he was not representing any clients when on September 19, 2016, he arranged a private meeting with the FBI's then-general counsel James Baker to pass along a now-debunked tip alleging that the Trump Organization was secretly communicating with Russia's Alfa-Bank.

U.S. prosecutors get guilty verdict in Capitol riot case, extending win streak

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday extended its streak of victories in jury trials against rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, securing a guilty verdict in its prosecution of a New Jersey man facing a felony charge. After less than a day of deliberation, a federal jury in the District of Columbia found Timothy Hale-Cusanelli guilty of all five counts he faced, including obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony carrying a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

'Send the police now': Kids called 911 from Texas classroom during massacre as police waited

Frantic children called 911 at least half a dozen times from the Texas classrooms where a massacre was unfolding, pleading for police to intervene, as some 20 officers waited in the hallway nearly an hour before entering and killing the gunman, authorities said on Friday. At least two children placed emergency 911 calls from a pair of adjoining fourth-grade classrooms after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered on Tuesday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, according to Colonel Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Trump urges end to gun-free school zones, easier confinement of 'deranged' people

Former President Donald Trump on Friday argued the United States should make it easier to confine "deranged" people and eliminate gun-free school zones after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers this week at a Texas school. "Clearly, we need to make it far easier to confine the violent and mentally deranged into mental institutions," Trump said in a speech at a convention in Houston of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights advocacy group.

After massacre, some in gun-friendly Uvalde favor tougher gun laws

Guns are part of everyday life in Uvalde, Texas, a Republican-leaning corner of the state's Hill Country where hunting is a common pastime and gun stores abound. Support for the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution still runs strong here, even after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 elementary school children and two teachers with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle this week.

Bubs Australia to ship at least 1.25 million baby formula cans to United States

Bubs Australia Ltd plans to ship at least 1.25 million cans of its baby formula to the United States to help ease a nationwide shortage, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday. Some of it is currently in stock for transport and more will be produced by the Australian company in the coming weeks and months, according to the FDA.

Moderate Democratic congressman Schrader loses to left-wing challenger in Oregon primary

Moderate U.S. congressman Kurt Schrader of Oregon, who at times angered fellow Democrats by opposing pieces of President Joe Biden's agenda, has been defeated by left-wing primary challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner. The Associated Press called the race on Friday for McLeod-Skinner, who ousted the seven-term incumbent and moderate who had been endorsed by Biden.

White House says no decision made on student loan forgiveness

The administration of President Joe Biden has not made a final decision on student loan cancellation, a White House spokesperson said on Friday, after a news report said it was planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower. The Washington Post report cited three people familiar with the plan. Two of them said the $10,000 debt forgiveness would apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Forest Service says it started all of New Mexico's largest wildfire

Two blazes that grew into New Mexico's largest ever wildfire were both started by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the agency said on Friday, prompting the state's governor to demand the federal government take full responsibility for the disaster. Forest Service investigators determined the Calf Canyon Fire was caused by a "burn pile" of branches that the agency thought was out but reignited on April 19, the Santa Fe National Forest said in a statement.

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