Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Judge Glenn Suddaby of the U.S. District Court in Syracuse agreed to issue the order at the request of six New York residents who are members of Gun Owners of America, which competes with the National Rifle Association in political influence. Election-eve lawsuits target U.S. ballot rules Hours before U.S midterm voters head to the polls on Tuesday, courts were hearing a handful of last-minute lawsuits that could govern election rules and the counting of ballots in battleground states.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Twitter owner Musk backs Republicans on eve of U.S. midterms

Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner, urged Americans to elect a Republican Congress in U.S. midterms on Tuesday to counterbalance President Joe Biden's Democrats, the first time a major social media CEO explicitly took a side. "Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic," Musk said in a tweet on Monday to his more than 110 million followers.

Special Report-Voting-system firms battle right-wing rage against the machines

Donald Trump’s stolen-election falsehoods have thrust America’s voting machine suppliers into a national struggle to protect their businesses. Industry leaders Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software are waging a political and public relations ground war to beat back threats to their state and local government contracts, rooted in bogus conspiracy theories about vote manipulation. Dominion has also turned to the courts, filing eight defamation lawsuits against Trump allies and media outlets including Fox News.

Biden approval ticks lower as Democrats brace for midterm losses -Reuters/Ipsos

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating dipped to 39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday, reinforcing nonpartisan election forecasters' expectations that his Democratic party was in for a drubbing in Tuesday's midterm elections. The two-day national poll found that Americans' approval of Biden's job performance had dropped by one point, nearing the lowest point of his presidency.

Biden, Trump make final pitches to U.S. voters on eve of midterms

One day before midterm elections that could usher in a new era of divided government in Washington, President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump will hold competing rallies in a final effort to mobilize supporters. Biden, who has avoided campaigning in several swing states amid lagging popular approval, will travel to reliably Democratic Maryland on Monday, where the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Wes Moore, is widely expected to win back the Republican-held governorship.

U.S. judge suspends many of New York's new gun restrictions

A federal judge in New York temporarily suspended many parts of the state's new gun restrictions on Monday to allow members of a gun-owners' rights group to continue their lawsuit challenging the new law as unconstitutional. Judge Glenn Suddaby of the U.S. District Court in Syracuse agreed to issue the order at the request of six New York residents who are members of Gun Owners of America, which competes with the National Rifle Association in political influence.

Election-eve lawsuits target U.S. ballot rules

Hours before U.S midterm voters head to the polls on Tuesday, courts were hearing a handful of last-minute lawsuits that could govern election rules and the counting of ballots in battleground states. The lawsuits, filed in states with key races, mark the tail-end of a months-long legal push by Democrats and Republicans to define the rules for voting in Tuesday's election. Attorneys are also preparing for post-election challenges, including on how ballots cast in the midterms are counted.

Donald Trump appeals New York court order for watchdog at company

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday appealed a judge's order to install a watchdog at the Trump Organization before a civil fraud case by the state's attorney general goes to trial. Manhattan-based Justice Arthur Engoron on Thursday granted state Attorney General Letitia James' request to appoint an independent monitor to halt alleged ongoing fraud at the real estate company and keep the Trumps from transferring assets out of her reach.

Richard Branson must face lawsuit in U.S. over Virgin Galactic space travel problems

A U.S. judge on Monday said British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson must face shareholder claims he concealed problems in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc's spaceship program, and sold hundreds of millions of dollars of stock at inflated prices. While dismissing most claims in the proposed class action, U.S. District Judge Allyne Ross in Brooklyn said shareholders could try to prove that Virgin and Branson defrauded them into overpaying for the space tourism company's shares, which now trade more than 90% below their February 2021 peak.

Penguin, Simon & Schuster merger blocked over impact on authors - U.S. judge

A U.S. judge cited negative impacts on top-selling authors in blocking a planned $2.2 billion merger of Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher, and rival Simon & Schuster, according to a written opinion released Monday. Judge Florence Pan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in a brief order issued Oct. 31 that she found the Justice Department had shown the deal may substantially lessen competition "in the market for the U.S. publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books."

Oath Keepers founder denies plan to storm U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the U.S. far-right Oath Keepers group, told a jury on Monday he never ordered members to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and he thought it was "stupid" that some of them decided to enter the building. Rhodes, a Yale Law-educated former U.S. Army paratrooper, is on trial along with Oath Keeper associates Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins on multiple charges in connection with the attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol that sent lawmakers and staffers fleeing for their lives.