Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The court on a 5-4 vote granted a request by a group of Republican state attorneys general to put on hold a judge's decision invalidating the emergency public health order known as Title 42 while it considered whether they could intervene to challenge the ruling. Ringleader in plot to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to 16 years in prison The leader of a foiled plot by members of right-wing militia groups to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday in a U.S. District Court, prosecutors said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. Supreme Court leaves pandemic-era border restrictions in place, takes up case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place for now a pandemic-era order allowing U.S. officials to rapidly expel migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border in order to consider whether 19 states could challenge the policy's end. The court on a 5-4 vote granted a request by a group of Republican state attorneys general to put on hold a judge's decision invalidating the emergency public health order known as Title 42 while it considered whether they could intervene to challenge the ruling.

Ringleader in plot to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to 16 years in prison

The leader of a foiled plot by members of right-wing militia groups to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday in a U.S. District Court, prosecutors said. Adam Fox, 39, was found guilty in August by a federal court jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on one count each of conspiring to abduct Whitmer, a Democrat, and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in a scheme prosecutors said was intended to spark a "second American Revolution."

Embattled Republican Santos faces new heat over 'Jew-ish' heritage claim

U.S. Representative-elect George Santos, a New York Republican who this week acknowledged lying about his education and employment history while running for Congress, faced fresh criticism on Tuesday over his claims of Jewish heritage. The Republican Jewish Coalition said Santos would not be welcome at the group's future events after misleading its members about his ties to their faith.

Trump tax returns to be released by U.S. House panel on Friday

Former Republican President Donald Trump's redacted tax returns will be made public on Friday, a spokesperson for the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said on Tuesday. The Democratic-controlled committee obtained the returns last month as part of an investigation into Trump's taxes, after a lengthy court battle that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the committee's favor.

Southwest cancels thousands more flights; U.S. government vows scrutiny

Southwest Airlines Co on Tuesday came under fire from the U.S. government after the low-cost carrier kept canceling flights due to harsh winter weather that grounded planes and disrupted holiday travel. U.S. airlines have canceled thousands of flights as an arctic blast and a massive winter storm swept over much of the country before the Christmas holiday weekend.

Bankman-Fried's criminal case assigned to judge in Trump, Prince Andrew cases

Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case over the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange has been reassigned to a judge recently known for handling defamation lawsuits against former U.S. President Donald Trump and a sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan replaces his colleague Ronnie Abrams, who recused herself on Friday after learning that the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where her husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021.

U.S. FDA weighs regulating cannabis compound CBD in food, supplements - WSJ

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to make recommendations on how to regulate the use of popular cannabis compound CBD in food and supplements, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing agency officials. After weighing the evidence on the compound's safety, the FDA will decide within months how to regulate legal cannabis and whether that will require new agency rules or new legislation from Congress, according to the report.

Warmer weather on the way for western New York after deadly blizzard

Thousands of western New Yorkers were digging out from under four feet of snow (1.2 meters) dumped during a deadly Christmas blizzard, even as the National Weather Service predicted a final two inches of snow on Tuesday. Western New York was hardest hit by an Arctic deep freeze and storm front that extended over most of the United States for days as far south as the Mexican border.

Insider trading convictions over healthcare leaks are voided by U.S. appeals court

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out the insider trading convictions of four defendants, including two former hedge fund partners, over leaks from a U.S. healthcare agency about planned changes to Medicare reimbursement rates. In a 2-1 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed fraud and theft charges against former Deerfield Management Co partners Theodore Huber and Robert Olan, former U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) employee Christopher Worrall, and David Blaszczak, the founder of political consulting firm Precipio Health Strategies.

Arizona judge rejects governor-elect's request to sanction election denier Lake

An Arizona judge on Tuesday rejected Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs's request to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. Lake had filed a lawsuit alleging voter fraud and challenging the counting and certification of the November electoral contest in a bid to be declared the winner despite a lack of evidence. The suit was rejected by the Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday.