Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Senator Graham wins temporary reprieve from testifying in Trump Georgia probe

An appeals court put on hold U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's scheduled testimony for Tuesday before a grand jury in Georgia probing efforts by Donald Trump to overturn the former president's 2020 election defeat, with the case returning to a lower court for another look. A federal judge on Monday had rejected Graham's challenge to the subpoena to testify before the grand jury. Graham, a Republican, had argued his position as a U.S. senator provided him immunity from having to appear before the investigative panel.

U.S. wants airlines to boost help for stranded, delayed passengers

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has urged the 10 largest U.S. airlines to do more to help stranded and delayed passengers, calling the level of disruption travelers have faced this summer as "unacceptable." Buttigieg, who has faced pressure from U.S. lawmakers who want airlines to offer better service or face stiff fines, has clashed with major U.S. airlines over who is to blame for tens of thousands of flight delays and cancellations this summer.

Wendy's customers fall ill, CDC probes E.coli outbreak in four states

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is probing an E.coli bacteria outbreak in four states from an unknown food source, with many of the affected reported to have had sandwiches at Wendy's Co. Of the 37 sick, 22 people were said to have consumed Wendy's sandwiches with romaine lettuce in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania in the week before they fell ill, the agency said on Friday.

Cheney vows to oppose Republican candidates who deny Trump's election loss

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney vowed on Sunday to oppose Republican candidates who back former President Donald Trump's falsehoods about a stolen 2020 election and declared Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley "unfit" for office after they voted to overturn the presidential results. Cheney, who is Trump's leading critic and vice chair of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, told ABC's "This Week" that a broad movement of election denial could undermine the U.S. constitutional order if left unchecked.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden tests negative for COVID

U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after isolating for five days following a positive test, the White House said on Sunday. "After isolating for five days and receiving negative results from two consecutive COVID-19 tests, the First Lady will depart South Carolina later today for Delaware," her spokesperson said in a statement.

As U.S. midterms loom, New York race tests abortion's sway with voters

Democrat Pat Ryan did not mince words in laying out his version of the stakes in Tuesday's New York state special congressional election, telling supporters that Republican attacks on abortion are contributing to an "existential" threat to U.S. democracy. "This is not the country I fought to defend, when the government is telling women what to do with their bodies, and ripping away their rights," Ryan, an Army combat veteran, told several dozen Democratic supporters last week at a Woodstock home overlooking the Catskill Mountains about 100 miles (160 km) north of New York City.

Pence's comments are encouraging, says Democratic lawmaker on Jan. 6 probe panel

A member of the U.S. congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol said on Sunday he was encouraged by Mike Pence's recent comments that the former vice president was willing to consider testifying before the committee. "I was encouraged to hear it and I hope it meant what it sounded like it meant. We have been in discussion with the (former) vice president's counsel for some time," U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

As Biden kicks off U.S. tour, some Democratic candidates want to keep their distance

U.S. President Joe Biden launches a coast-to-coast tour this week to tout the new climate and tax bill and boost Democrats running in November's elections. But when he arrives, some of those candidates may be nowhere in sight, fearing Biden is too much of a liability. Democrats hope the trip will boost the president's poor poll numbers and draw attention to his achievements. But some candidates for Congress worry that campaigning with Biden will hurt them in the Nov. 8 election, according to more than a dozen interviews with senior Democrats and local campaign officials in battleground states including Pennsylvania and Arizona.