Reuters US Domestic News Summary

In the lawsuit, Eastman asked a federal judge to tell the Justice Department to return his property, destroy records it had obtained and block investigators from being allowed to access the phone. U.S. abortion ruling ignites legal battles over state bans Battles over abortion shifted to state courts on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide, as judges blocked statewide bans in Louisiana and Utah and clinics in Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas sued seeking similar relief.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

New York judge rules law allowing noncitizens to vote for mayor is unconstitutional

A New York state judge struck down a recent law on Monday that gave hundreds of thousands of noncitizen residents of New York City the right to vote in municipal elections for mayor and other local offices. Judge Ralph Porzio, of New York State Supreme Court for Staten Island, ruled the law violated the state constitution, which says that "Every citizen" is entitled to vote.

U.S. Supreme Court endorses football coach's on-field prayers

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the latest in a spate of decisions expanding religious liberty, ruled on Monday that a Washington state public school district violated the rights of a Christian high school football coach who was suspended for refusing to stop leading prayers with players on the field after games. Broadening the religious rights of government employees, the justices sided with Joseph Kennedy, who until 2015 served as a part-time assistant football coach in the city of Bremerton and has since become a cause celebre for conservative Christian activists. The court's conservative justices were in the majority in the 6-3 ruling, with its liberal members dissenting.

Trump's election attorney John Eastman says FBI seized his phone

The FBI seized the phone of former U.S. President Donald Trump's election attorney, John Eastman, last week, the lawyer said in a court filing on Monday. Eastman disclosed the search and seizure in a lawsuit he filed in federal court in New Mexico. In the lawsuit, Eastman asked a federal judge to tell the Justice Department to return his property, destroy records it had obtained and block investigators from being allowed to access the phone.

U.S. abortion ruling ignites legal battles over state bans

Battles over abortion shifted to state courts on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide, as judges blocked statewide bans in Louisiana and Utah and clinics in Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas sued seeking similar relief. The six are among the 13 states with "trigger laws" designed to ban or severely restrict abortions once the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a right to the procedure, as it did on Friday.

Biden pick for immigration enforcement withdraws after long delay

Ed Gonzalez, a Texas sheriff, said on Monday he had told President Joe Biden that he had withdrawn from consideration for the post of director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a lengthy delay at getting confirmed by the U.S. Senate. "More than a year has passed since the president nominated me for this important position, which has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration," Gonzalez said in a tweet, referring to Barack Obama, a Democrat who was president from 2009 to 2017.

Jan. 6 panel announces another hearing for Tuesday

The House of Representatives Jan. 6 select committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday to consider recently obtained evidence on the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the panel said, presenting its sixth hearing sooner than expected. The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), the committee said in a statement on Monday. A spokesperson for the House Jan. 6 select committee had no comment on the focus of Tuesday's hearing or witnesses who will testify.

Biden swipes at China with memorandum to combat illegal fishing

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed a national security memorandum to fight illegal fishing, part of pledged efforts to help countries combat alleged violations by fishing fleets, including those of China. The White House said in a statement that it would also launch an alliance with Canada and the United Kingdom to "take urgent action" to improve monitoring, control, and surveillance in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Three dead in Amtrak train crash and derailment in Missouri

An Amtrak train carrying hundreds of passengers derailed in northern Missouri on Monday after hitting a dump truck at an uncontrolled crossing, killing two aboard and a person in the truck, and injuring at least 50, local authorities said. The train, carrying approximately 243 passengers and a dozen crew members, hit the vehicle at a public crossing near Mendon, Missouri, at 1:42 p.m. ET (1742 GMT) as it was traveling eastbound from Los Angeles to Chicago, Amtrak said. Eight cars and two locomotives derailed, it said.

U.S. Supreme Court sides with doctors challenging opioid convictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday made it harder for prosecutors to win convictions of doctors accused of running "pill mills" and excessively prescribing opioids and other addictive drugs, by requiring the government to prove that defendants knew their prescriptions had no legitimate medical purpose. The 9-0 ruling, authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, sided with Xiulu Ruan and Shakeel Kahn, who argued that their trials were unfair because jurors were not required to consider whether the two convicted doctors had "good faith" reasons to believe the numerous opioid prescriptions were medically valid.

Roe v Wade ruling disproportionately hurts Black women, experts say

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn a 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 allows state governments to decide whether an abortion is legal. 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.

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