Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said water storage is near historic lows in the reservoirs it operates in the state, which serve the Central Valley breadbasket as well as the cities of Sacramento and San Francisco. Trump Organization defense rests case in criminal tax fraud trial Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump's real estate company rested their case on Monday after calling just two witnesses in the Trump Organization's criminal trial in a New York state court on tax fraud charges.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. still talking to Russia about Griner and Whelan release - officials

The United States is still talking to Russia about a deal to free jailed Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan but Moscow has not provided a "serious response" to any of its proposals, a senior U.S. diplomat said in comments published on Monday. Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. chargée d'affaires in Moscow, told Russia's state-owned RIA news agency that talks were continuing through the "designated channel".

U.S. seeks to limit flaring and methane leaks from public lands drilling

President Joe Biden's administration on Monday proposed rules aimed at limiting methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on public lands, Washington's latest move to crack down on emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. The proposal complements new rules the U.S. government already proposed for the industry on private lands. It would place monthly limits on flaring and require oil and gas companies to undertake methane leak detection programs for operations on federal lands, where nearly a tenth of U.S. oil and natural gas production takes place, primarily in Western states.

Biden asks Congress to help avert rail strike

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he was calling on Congress to intervene to avert a potential rail strike amid a railroad labor standoff that threatens to idle shipments of food and fuel and strand rail travelers. "Congress has the power to adopt the agreement and prevent a shutdown," he said in a statement. "Congress should get this bill to my desk well in advance of December 9th so we can avoid disruption."

U.S. warns California cities to prepare for fourth year of drought

Federal water managers on Monday urged numerous California cities and industrial users to prepare for a fourth dry year, warning of possible "conservation actions" as drought conditions continue despite early rains. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said water storage is near historic lows in the reservoirs it operates in the state, which serve the Central Valley breadbasket as well as the cities of Sacramento and San Francisco.

Trump Organization defense rests case in criminal tax fraud trial

Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump's real estate company rested their case on Monday after calling just two witnesses in the Trump Organization's criminal trial in a New York state court on tax fraud charges. Outside accountant Donald Bender wrapped up his testimony for the defense and was followed on the witness stand by a paralegal from the offices of one of the defense lawyers. Juan Merchan, the judge in the case, set closing arguments for Thursday and Friday with jury deliberations expected to begin next Monday.

U.S. Supreme Court leans toward limiting public corruption prosecutions

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared poised to make it tougher to prosecute political corruption cases as they signaled sympathy toward appeals by an ex-aide to Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and a businessman of bribery and fraud convictions. The justices heard arguments in appeals by Cuomo's former executive deputy secretary Joseph Percoco and onetime construction company executive Louis Ciminelli, who were charged in a corruption crackdown by federal prosecutors in Manhattan centered on the halls of the state capital of Albany.

Powerful tornadoes, hail forecast for wide swath of U.S. south

Powerful tornadoes and large hail may batter a large swath of the southern United States on Tuesday afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast. The NWS on Monday warned the violent storms would hit parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, with heavy wind damage expected.

U.S. Supreme Court defends Alito over report of second leak

The U.S. Supreme Court's legal counsel on Monday defended Justice Samuel Alito after two Democratic lawmakers demanded answers about a former anti-abortion leader's claim that he was told in advance about the outcome of a major 2014 ruling the conservative jurist wrote in a case concerning contraceptives. "There is nothing to suggest that Justice Alito's actions violated ethical standards," legal counsel Ethan Torrey wrote in a letter to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Hank Johnson.

Buffalo supermarket shooter pleads guilty to terrorism, murder

An avowed white supremacist pleaded guilty on Monday to first-degree murder and other state charges in a mass shooting in May that killed 10 people at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, prosecutors said. At a hearing at Erie County Court, Payton Gendron, 19, pleaded guilty to multiple counts related to the shooting, including a charge of domestic terrorism motivated by hate.

Republicans in one Arizona county refuse to certify election results

Republican officials who have embraced voter fraud theories resisted certifying the midterm election results in one Arizona county on Monday, defying a state deadline and setting the stage for a legal battle. In Cochise County, a conservative stronghold in southeastern Arizona, the two Republican members of the three-person board of supervisors voted to postpone certifying the county's election results. They said they wanted to hear more evidence from those who have argued, without evidence, that the county’s voting machines were not properly certified.