Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Cornyn and other lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, were due to meet on Monday and hope to reach an agreement on gun legislation by the end of the week, after a wave of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Abortion rights protester locks neck to U.S. Supreme Court fence An abortion rights protester on Monday chained himself to a perimeter fence set up outside the U.S. Supreme Court to protest its expected decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Judge delays trial of two officers charged in George Floyd murder

A Minnesota judge on Monday delayed until next year the trial of two former Minneapolis police officers charged in the murder of George Floyd, citing the need to ensure fair proceedings. Hennepin County district court judge Peter Cahill ruled that the trial for J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, which was scheduled to start this month, is now set for January 5, 2023. The pair are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Yellen faces grilling in Congress over 'wrong' inflation forecast

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen faces a gauntlet of tough questions about how the Biden administration has handled the economy in Congress this week, after admitting she was "wrong" about the path inflation would take. Yellen testifies to the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, thrusting one of the most experienced, yet least political of Joe Biden's advisers into the hot seat as Republicans hammer the president over inflation that has reached 40-year highs.

Migrant caravan in Mexico heads for U.S. border as Americas Summit starts

Several thousand migrants, many from Venezuela, set off from southern Mexico early Monday aiming to reach the United States, timing their journey to coincide with the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week. Migration activists said the group could be one of the region's largest migrant caravans in recent years.

Kevin Spacey must face sexual abuse accuser's lawsuit in New York

A federal judge on Monday rejected Kevin Spacey's bid to dismiss a civil lawsuit in which fellow actor Anthony Rapp accused the Oscar winner of making an unwanted sexual advance during a party at Spacey's Manhattan home in 1986, when Rapp was 14. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said there was a genuine factual dispute about whether the now 62-year-old Spacey forcibly touched Rapp's "intimate parts" to gratify his own sexual desire.

Republican lawmaker urges top Senate Democrat to give gun talks time

Senator John Cornyn, the leading Republican in talks aimed at ironing out bipartisan legislation to address a plague of U.S. mass shootings, urged the top Senate Democrat on Monday to give negotiators sufficient time to either reach a deal or fail. Cornyn and other lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, were due to meet on Monday and hope to reach an agreement on gun legislation by the end of the week, after a wave of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Abortion rights protester locks neck to U.S. Supreme Court fence

An abortion rights protester on Monday chained himself to a perimeter fence set up outside the U.S. Supreme Court to protest its expected decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. The man, who secured a heavy-duty U-shaped bicycle lock around his neck, chanted "Overturn Roe? Hell no!" as a group of anti-abortion protesters marched and shouted back at him, carrying signs with slogans including "Protection at Conception."

Cosby accuser describes going to Playboy Mansion with the comedian

A woman who accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1970s began her court testimony on Monday, describing how she and a friend met the comedian as teenagers and accompanied him to the famed Playboy Mansion. Judy Huth, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Cosby for unspecified damages, told jurors she was playing frisbee at a public park on a weekday when she noticed a movie filming nearby. She and a friend, Donna Samuelson, walked closer and recognized Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier and other actors.

Biden waives solar panel tariffs for four countries, invokes defense law

President Joe Biden waived tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations for two years and invoked the Defense Production Act to spur solar panel manufacturing at home, the White House said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report. The tariff exemption applies to panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and will serve as a "bridge" while U.S. manufacturing ramps up, the White House said.

Proud Boys leader Tarrio charged with sedition for role in U.S. Capitol attack

The former leader of the right-wing group the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four associates were charged with seditious conspiracy on Monday for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters. Federal prosecutors accused the five men of plotting the attack in advance and encouraging other Trump supporters to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 election defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.

Spotlight on Trump supporters' assault on U.S. Capitol as Jan. 6 hearings begin

The U.S. Congress's probe of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters trying to overturn his election defeat enters a new phase this week with hearings meant to refocus attention on the violence and those who planned it. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6 will attempt to reverse Republican efforts to downplay or deny the violence of the day, with five months to go until Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years.