US Domestic News Roundup: Legal clashes await U.S. companies covering workers' abortion costs; In Colorado and elsewhere, 2020 election deniers seek top voting offices and more

She is seeking the Republican nomination for secretary of state in Tuesday's primary contest, a position that would put her in charge of the state's election apparatus. Abortion ruling casts cloud over usual cheer at U.S. Pride parades People attending Pride celebrations hosted by LGBTQ+ communities across the United States this weekend expressed outrage at the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, and a wave of anti-transgender legislation.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 27-06-2022 18:58 IST | Created: 27-06-2022 18:28 IST
US Domestic News Roundup: Legal clashes await U.S. companies covering workers' abortion costs; In Colorado and elsewhere, 2020 election deniers seek top voting offices and more
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Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Legal clashes await U.S. companies covering workers' abortion costs

A growing number of large U.S. companies have said they will cover travel costs for employees who must leave their home states to get abortions, but these new policies could expose businesses to lawsuits and even potential criminal liability, legal experts said. Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Lyft Inc, Microsoft Corp, and JPMorgan Chase & Co were among companies that announced plans to provide those benefits through their health insurance plans in anticipation of Friday's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

In Colorado and elsewhere, 2020 election deniers seek top voting offices

Tina Peters, an election official in western Colorado, has been indicted for election tampering and barred by a judge from overseeing voting in her home county this year. But Peters, who has echoed former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, is far from cowed. She is seeking the Republican nomination for secretary of state in Tuesday's primary contest, a position that would put her in charge of the state's election apparatus.

Abortion ruling casts cloud over usual cheer at U.S. Pride parades

People attending Pride celebrations hosted by LGBTQ+ communities across the United States this weekend expressed outrage at the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, and a wave of anti-transgender legislation. For more than 50 years, LGBTQ+ people and supporters have marched on the last weekend in June to celebrate hard-won freedoms. But now many fear those freedoms are under threat.

Digital World board members get subpoena over Trump's social media deal

Blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp said on Monday each of its board directors had received subpoenas from federal prosecutors over the company's merger plans with former U.S President Donald Trump's social media firm. Earlier this month, the company reported that the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority probing the deal had also sought more information.

Ghislaine Maxwell reported jail staff threatened her safety, prompting suicide watch

Ghislaine Maxwell reported Brooklyn jail staff threatened her safety, prompting employees to place her on suicide watch, prosecutors said on Sunday, arguing there was no need to delay her sentencing on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, 60, is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday for her December conviction for helping her then-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein, the globe-trotting financier, and convicted sex offender, abuse girls between 1994 and 2004. Prosecutors say she deserves between 30 and 55 years in prison.

Biden signs gun safety bill into law, takes swipe at Supreme Court

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the first major federal gun reform in three decades, days after a decision he condemned by the Supreme Court expanding firearm owners' rights. "God willing, it's going to save a lot of lives," Biden said at the White House after signing the bill with his wife Jill by his side.

Democratic women call on Biden, and Congress to protect federal abortion rights

Leading Democratic women called on President Joe Biden and Congress on Sunday to protect abortion rights nationwide after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, in a ruling that has heightened political tensions between the federal government and states. Two Democratic progressives, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged Biden to use federal land as a safe haven for abortion in states that ban or severely restrict the practice, after the high court on Friday overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that had recognized women's constitutional right to abortion.

Factbox-Four key races in Illinois, Colorado midterm primaries

Voters in Illinois and Colorado will pick candidates for the U.S. Congress and other offices in primaries on Tuesday, in another test of former President Donald Trump's influence in the Republican Party ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Maryland and Oklahoma also hold nomination contests. Following are four key races to watch:

Airlines cancel nearly 700 U.S. flights as labor crunch weighs

Airlines canceled nearly 700 flights in the United States early Monday, as they struggled to keep up with a surge in summer travel demand due to a shortage of staff ranging from pilots to crew members. Total flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States as of 6.07 am ET were 669, as per flight-tracking website Flightaware.com. Nearly 860 flights were canceled on Sunday.

Roe v Wade ruling disproportionately hurts Black women, experts say

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn a woman's constitutional right to an abortion is expected to have a disproportionate impact on Black women and other women of color, who have traditionally faced overwhelming costs and logistical obstacles in obtaining reproductive healthcare, experts said. The reversal of Roe v Wade leaves the decision of whether or not an abortion is legal in the hands of state governments. While some states have recently reaffirmed the right to an abortion, 26 states are likely or certain to ban abortion in most or all circumstances.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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