US Domestic News Roundup: Grand jury declines to indict Emmett Till's accuser - New York Times; Trump uses FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home to solicit campaign donations and more

With an 80% chance of the House of Representatives flipping to Republican control, according to poll-tracking website FiveThirtyEight.com, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are planning probes into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the sources said. U.S. coal plants delay closures in hurdle for clean energy transition Travel brochures in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, tout the town’s beaches on Lake Michigan as the Malibu of the Midwest.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Grand jury declines to indict Emmett Till's accuser - New York Times

A grand jury in Mississippi has declined to indict a white woman whose discredited accusations against Emmett Till in 1955 led to the lynching of the Black teenager, a brutal death that helped ignite the civil rights movement, the New York Times reported. A panel in Leflore County, Mississippi, heard more than seven hours of testimony before deciding it did not have enough evidence to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, on charges of kidnapping or manslaughter, the newspaper reported, citing a statement on Tuesday from the local prosecutor.

Trump uses FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home to solicit campaign donations

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday tried to turn the news that the FBI had searched his Florida estate to his benefit, citing the investigation in text messages and emails soliciting political donations from his supporters. The unprecedented search marked a significant escalation of the federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed records from the White House as he was leaving office in January 2021. Trump continues to flirt publicly with running again for president in 2024 but has not said clearly whether he will do so.

Trump to testify in New York probe into his business practices

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to testify on Wednesday in a civil investigation by the New York attorney general into his family's business practices, as he deals with a flurry of other legal woes. New York State Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a probe into whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values. Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, fought for months to avoid testifying.

U.S. Republicans prepare consumer watchdog, SEC probes as mid-term elections loom

U.S. Republican lawmakers are preparing a crackdown on the U.S. consumer and securities watchdogs in the expectation they will gain control of a key congressional committee following the November mid-term elections, according to a dozen financial lobbyists, congressional staffers and lawmakers. With an 80% chance of the House of Representatives flipping to Republican control, according to the poll-tracking website FiveThirtyEight.com, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are planning probes into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the sources said.

U.S. coal plants delay closures in hurdle for clean energy transition

Travel brochures in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, tout the town's beaches on Lake Michigan as the Malibu of the Midwest. But pages of glossy photos leave out a feature of the landscape: a coal-fired power plant on the shore that will remain open until mid 2025 instead of closing this year as planned. Alliant Energy Corp's Edgewater coal-fired plant in Sheboygan is one of at least six across the country that this summer have announced delays or potential delays to their planned closures, citing concerns about energy shortages.

Analysis-Florida governor's bid for conservative pension bloc faces hurdles

Florida's governor wants pension plans in conservative U.S. states to band together to fight shareholder initiatives on issues like climate change and diversity, but the idea may prove hard to pull off. The call by Ron DeSantis last month opened a new front in Republican efforts to push back against activist-led environmental, social and governance -- or ESG -- initiatives at corporate shareholder meetings.

Biden heading to South Carolina for beach vacation

Finally over his coronavirus infection, President Joe Biden departs on Wednesday to spend most of the next week on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, an oceanfront golf resort that he has visited in the past. Biden has spent many weekends at his homes in the Delaware cities of Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach but has not been to Kiawah Island since he took office in January 2020. He was a regular visitor to the island south of Charleston as vice president.

Explainer-What charges might Trump face for removing White House records?

Here is an outline of the legal problems Donald Trump might face over his removal from the White House of official presidential records that his son said had prompted an FBI to search on Monday of the former president's Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION?

Alex Jones' Sandy Hook punitive damages likely to be slashed, experts say

U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could end up owing as little as 10% of the $45.2 million in punitive damages that a Texas jury awarded to the parents of a Sandy Hook victim last week, legal experts told Reuters on Monday. A jury handed down the punitive damages verdict on Friday and awarded the parents $4.1 million in compensatory damages on Thursday after a two-week trial in Austin, Texas, where Jones' Infowars radio show and webcast is based.

Abortion foes win Republican governor nods in Wisconsin, Minnesota

Republican voters in Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday nominated abortion foes for governor, ensuring the issue will be central to what are expected to be two of the most high-profile races in November's general election. In Wisconsin, Republican construction magnate Tim Michels will face Democratic Governor Tony Evers, Edison Research projected, while in Minnesota, former Republican state Senator Scott Jensen will challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz.