Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Lawmakers are offering a $1.25-$1.75 per gallon SAF credit depending on the feedstock used, as part of a tax and climate bill that aims to lower U.S. carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030 and cut the federal budget deficit by $300 billion. Trump says FBI agents raided his Florida home Former President Donald Trump said his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was raided by FBI agents on Monday, which came amid a U.S. Justice Department investigation of Trump's removal of official presidential records to the Palm Beach estate.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. fuel retailers rail against green aviation fuel tax credit

U.S. fuel retailers are fighting the inclusion of a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Democrats' $430 billion spending bill, arguing SAF is more carbon intense and less efficient than renewable diesel. Lawmakers are offering a $1.25-$1.75 per gallon SAF credit depending on the feedstock used, as part of a tax and climate bill that aims to lower U.S. carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030 and cut the federal budget deficit by $300 billion.

Trump says FBI agents raided his Florida home

Former President Donald Trump said his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was raided by FBI agents on Monday, which came amid a U.S. Justice Department investigation of Trump's removal of official presidential records to the Palm Beach estate. The Justice Department declined to comment on the raid, which Trump in a statement said involved a "large group of FBI agents."

Michigan AG alleges conspiracy by Trump backers to break into voting equipment

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is alleging that her Republican political opponent in the November elections orchestrated a conspiracy with a state lawmaker and a lawyer to break into voting equipment in a hunt for evidence to prove former president Donald Trump’s false voter-fraud claims. The charge that Nessel’s Republican challenger, Matt DePerno, was involved in a potential felony is outlined in a petition filed by Nessel, a Democrat, seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to continue the investigation. The petition notes that DePerno has emerged as “one of the prime instigators of the conspiracy,” creating a conflict of interest for her office to take the case further.

Biden tours flood damage in eastern Kentucky

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday surveyed the damaged houses, uprooted trees and mud-filled roads left by severe flooding in eastern Kentucky and linked the devastation to climate change. Extreme hot weather hit the region as families struggled to recover from flooding caused by torrential rains that began in late July. At least 37 people died, and some survivors escaped the fast-rising water with little more than their lives.

Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers sentenced to life, 35 years on hate crimes charges

A judge sentenced a white father and son to life in prison and their neighbor to 35 years on Monday for a federal hate crime in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man shot after jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood. Travis McMichael, a 36-year-old former U.S. Coast Guard mechanic, his father Gregory McMichael, a 66-year-old former Glynn County police officer who later worked for the local prosecutor's office, and William "Roddie" Bryan, a 52-year-old mechanic, were sentenced in the coastal city of Brunswick.

Analysis: Democrats score big wins on climate, drugs with $430 billion U.S. Senate bill

Democrats scored a major policy victory when the U.S. Senate passed a $430 billion climate change, healthcare and tax bill that will help reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change while also cutting drug costs for the elderly. President Joe Biden's congressional allies hope the bill, which they pushed through the Senate over united Republican opposition, will boost their chances in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Republicans are favored to recapture the majority in at least one chamber of Congress.

Nebraska Republicans lack votes to pass 12-week abortion ban

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts will not convene the state legislature for a special session to consider stricter abortion laws because Republican lawmakers did not have the votes to pass a ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, he said on Monday. The statement by Ricketts, a Republican, comes as several other Republican-led states have grappled in recent weeks with how far to go in restricting abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

DeSantis to campaign for Trump-endorsed candidates in key swing states

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely seen as a potential leading Republican presidential contender, will campaign this month for party candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump in swing states which will be key to the 2024 White House race. DeSantis, who is currently running for re-election in Florida, will speak at "Unite and Win" rallies on behalf of congressional and gubernatorial candidates in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania on Aug. 14 and 19, his campaign and rally organizer Turning Point Action said on Monday.

States tell U.S. court CDC lacks authority to set transportation mask rules

A group of 23 states led by Florida told a federal court on Monday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lacks the legal authority to impose a nationwide transportation mask mandate. In May, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to overturn a U.S. District Court judge's April order that declared the government mandate requiring masks on airplanes, buses and in transit hubs unlawful. Hours after the federal judge in Florida declared the mandate unlawful, the Biden administration said it would no longer enforce it.

U.S. airline rules need 'refresh,' says transport chief Buttigieg

The U.S. approach to regulating airlines and ensuring passengers are properly treated needs improvements, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday. "We've been due for a refresh on a lot of our rules toward airlines and when you get it right, the entire system is better off - certainly passengers are better off," Buttigieg told Reuters. "(Airlines) have a responsibility to take good care of passengers and we have a responsibility to hold them accountable."