US Domestic News Roundup: Amid Brittney Griner trial, Russia says prisoner swaps 'difficult'; Highland Park shooting suspect admits to deadly attack, prosecutor says and more

"Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail," attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said in a statement made on behalf of Graham. Detained U.S. basketball player Griner arrives in Russian court for hearing on drugs charges U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner returned to a Russian court on Thursday for the second hearing of her trial on drug charges that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, days after she urged U.S. President Joe Biden to secure her release.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Amid Brittney Griner trial, Russia says prisoner swaps 'difficult'

Russia said on Thursday that it was difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the U.S. basketball star detained in Russia on drugs charges. Referring to a letter that U.S. President Joe Biden intends to send to Griner according to NBC news, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "hype" around the case does not help, and that "this kind of correspondence does not help".

Highland Park shooting suspect admits to deadly attack, prosecutor says

The man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens of others at an Independence Day parade outside of Chicago admitted to authorities that he carried out the shooting, a prosecutor said on Wednesday during the suspect's first court appearance. Robert Crimo, the 21-year-old suspect facing seven counts of first-degree murder, appeared at the bond hearing via a video link from jail, two days after the attack in Highland Park, Illinois. Dressed in black and wearing shoulder-length hair, Crimo was denied bail by Judge Theodore Potkonjak.

Senator Graham says he will not cooperate with Georgia Trump election probe

Senator Lindsey Graham will not comply with a subpoena issued by a grand jury in Georgia investigating former U.S. President Donald Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, attorneys for the lawmaker said on Wednesday. "Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail," attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said in a statement made on behalf of Graham.

Detained U.S. basketball player Griner arrives in Russian court for hearing on drugs charges

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner returned to a Russian court on Thursday for the second hearing of her trial on drug charges that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, days after she urged U.S. President Joe Biden to secure her release. The 31-year-old was charged with intentionally importing narcotics into Russia. She was detained in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport with vape cartridges containing hashish oil, a substance illegal in the country, and has been kept in custody since.

Why a wave of social media ads may signal a potential DeSantis White House run

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising Republican star, has been careful not to nurture growing speculation that he will make a presidential bid in 2024. He has brushed off questions about his political ambitions, while the party's presumptive front-runner, Donald Trump, repeatedly hints he will run again. But there are signs that DeSantis could be preparing for a White House run even as he campaigns for another term as governor in November's midterm elections.

U.S. weekly jobless claims rise; layoffs hit 16-month high in June

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week and demand for labor is slowing, with layoffs surging to a 16-month high in June as aggressive monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve stokes recession fears. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 235,000 for the week ended July 2, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 applications for the latest week.

Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd's death awaits federal sentencing

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is due to be sentenced in federal court on Thursday for violating the civil rights of George Floyd, a year after a state court sent him to prison for more than two decades for murdering Floyd in an arrest. Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal civil rights charges in December in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota, a decision that averted a second trial but almost certainly extended his time behind bars.

U.S. House panel asks gunmaker CEOs to testify amid mass shootings

The U.S. House Oversight Committee has called on the chief executives of three gunmakers to testify on July 20 as part of its investigation into the firearms industry following a wave of high-profile mass shootings, the panel said on Thursday. The CEOs of Smith & Wesson Brands, Sturm, Ruger & Co as well as privately held Daniel Defense were sent letters on Wednesday requesting their appearance, the Washington Post reported.

Biden administration to propose requiring states to set tailpipe emissions targets

The U.S. Transportation Department on Thursday is announcing it is proposing to require state transportation agencies to set declining targets for reducing tailpipe emissions on the national highway system. The department's Federal Highway Administration told Reuters states will have flexibility "to set targets that work for their respective climate change policies and other policy priorities, so long as they are in line with the net-zero goals by 2050 set forth in this rule."

Police missed chance to shoot Uvalde gunman before massacre

An Uvalde police officer awaiting a supervisor's permission to fire his rifle missed a chance to take out a school shooter who went on to massacre 19 children and two teachers, according to a report published on Wednesday. The previously unreported detail was included in a report by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University that was commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety.