Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Amid homeless crisis, New York to step up forced hospitalization of mentally ill

New York City Mayor Eric Adams rolled out a plan on Tuesday to allow more mentally ill homeless people to be hospitalized against their will in order to tackle "a crisis we see all around us." Adams, speaking from City Hall, said the city had a "moral obligation" to help New Yorkers struggling to meet their own basic needs because of mental illness, even if those people resisted intervention.

Biden says inflation is slowing in 'good news for the holiday season'

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday hailed easing prices for gasoline, clothes and appliances as "good news for the holiday season," but said it would take time for inflation to return to normal levels. Biden, speaking at SKI Siltron CSS's semiconductor facility in Bay City, Michigan, said he remained "laser-focused" on battling inflation exacerbated by supply chain disruptions and Russia's war in Ukraine, while working to create more high-paying jobs in manufacturing.

Walmart sued by employee over deadly Virginia shooting

An employee at the Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, where a supervisor fatally shot six people last week, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the company, claiming she and others had warned management about the shooter’s behavior and that nothing was done. Donya Prioleau, who is suing Walmart Inc for $50 million in Virginia state court, said she worked as an overnight stocker with Andre Bing, who also wounded at least six others at the Chesapeake store on Nov. 22 before killing himself, according to Chesapeake police.

U.S. Senate passes same-sex marriage protection bill

The U.S. Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would protect federal recognition of same-sex marriage, a measure taken up in response to worries the Supreme Court could overturn a 2015 decision that legalized it nationwide. The narrowly tailored bill, which would require the federal government to recognize a marriage if it was legal in the state in which it was performed, is meant to be a backstop if the Supreme Court acted against same-sex marriage.

Trump faces new trial date in rape accuser's lawsuit

A U.S. judge on Tuesday delayed by two months the scheduled defamation trial of Donald Trump by a writer who accused the former U.S. president of rape. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set an April 10, 2023 date for E. Jean Carroll to try to prove that Trump lied by denying he raped her about 27 years ago in a dressing room in a Bergdorf Goodman department store.

U.S. Supreme Court mulls Biden immigration enforcement shift

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday struggled over a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to implement guidelines - challenged by two conservative-leaning states - shifting immigration enforcement toward countering public safety threats. The justices heard about two hours of arguments in the administration's request to overturn a judge's ruling in favor of Texas and Louisiana that halted U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines narrowing the scope of those who can be targeted by immigration agents for arrest and deportation.

Oath Keepers founder convicted of sedition in U.S. Capitol attack plot

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia group, was found guilty on Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to overturn then-President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss - an important victory for the Justice Department.

The verdicts against Rhodes and four co-defendants, after three days of deliberations by the 12-member jury, came in the highest-profile trial so far to emerge from the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, with other high-profile trials due to begin next month.

Biden says Ukraine, COVID are priorities; Senate Democrats push for spending bill

Top U.S. Democrats said on Tuesday that securing more funding for Ukraine and COVID-19 and passing a full-year spending bill are priorities before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives early next year. President Joe Biden held talks at the White House with Democratic and Republican leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate on what can be done in the remaining weeks when Democrats still control both chambers.

Biden approval rises, bolstered by support from Democrats - Reuters/Ipsos

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating rose to 40% this week, boosted by increased support within his Democratic Party, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll finished on Tuesday. The two-day national poll still shows Biden's approval near the lowest level of his presidency. His general unpopularity weighed on Democrats in the Nov. 8 midterm elections when Republicans narrowly seized control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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 as forecasters warned millions of Americans to be prepared for dangerous weather throughout the day and into the evening. Some 15 million people living in U.S. South and parts of Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky were under the threat of severe weather that could produce powerful "long-track" tornadoes - twisters that stay on the ground far longer than normal tornadoes, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.